Large crowd including Seers and Ministers witness rituals

T. Narasipur: The ‘Ganga Aarti’ ritual, which is one of the magnificent events in Varanasi, was conducted for the first time at Triveni Sangama in the town on the second day of the 11th edition of Kumbha Mela yesterday after the sunset. The three-day mega cultural and religious meet will conclude this evening.

‘Ganga Puje’ was performed with the brass lamps and chanting of mantra in the presence of the large crowd. Devotees lit earthen lamps and let them to float in the river as done at Varanasi, during ‘Ganga Puje.’ The floating lamps were part of the ‘Deepa Aarti’ organised held as part of the Mela.

This beautiful ritual which filled the devotees with the spiritual thoughts was conducted in the presence of various religious heads including Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, Adichunchanagiri Seer Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, his Cabinet colleagues like G.T. Devegowda, S.R. Mahesh and C.S. Puttaraju, MLAs Anitha Kumaraswamy, A.H. Vishwanath, Dr. Yathindra Siddharamaiah and M. Ashwin Kumar.

Devotees lit the earthen lamps on the banks of the river and Triveni Sangam amidst traditional dance and devotional songs. Popular aerial fireworks with loud noises high above in the sky thrilled the gathering.

CM promises to popularise Mela

Later speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy promised to popularise Kumbha Mela in ‘Dakshina Kashi’ Triveni Sangama on the lines of Prayagraj of Uttar Pradesh to attract people from across the nation. He also prayed for peace, progress, prosperity, good spell of rains to mitigate the inter-State water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The ‘Ganga Aarti’ and colourful dazzling illumination arrangements made by the District Administration for Gunjanarasimhaswamy Temple, Agasthyeshwara Temple, Triveni Sangama surroundings, on the banks of the rivers, major circles and junction mesmerised the visitors.

Special pujas and homas were conducted at the Yaga Mantap, right from dawn on the second day too. Though there was not much crowd in the morning, people started arriving by noon. The people also thronged Agasthyeshwara and Gunjanarasimhaswamy Temples to offer prayers.

Religious meet

Kollegal MLA N. Mahesh, who inaugurated the religious meet, opined that Sangama is more sacred than River Ganga. He said taking a holy dip in the sacred water during Kumbha Mela leads to self-transformation, he added.

Sri Madhusudhananandapuri Swamiji of Omkara Ashrama, Bengaluru, said that those who cannot visit Kumbha Mela at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, can have a holy dip at the confluence of three rivers in T. Narasipur.

Water-level increased

As the number of devotees arriving to take a holy dip in the river increased, the authorities decided to release more water from the Kabini dam. So, the water level at Triveni Sangama rose. Water was seen flowing over the temporary bridge made of sandbags.

The authorities were making repeated announcements on mikes not to use shampoo, soap and other detergents and not to leave old clothes, plastics and other articles in the river, as it gets polluted.

Cultural events

Also, series of cultural programmes were organised by the District Administration and Kannada & Culture Department to mark the occasion.