Agra ‘Bhai Dooj’, which falls two days after Diwali and which is better known as ‘Yam Dwitiya’ in Braj, is celebrated in a unique way in Mathura.
On this day, men holding the hands of their sisters throng the coveted Vishram Ghat on banks of river Yamuna and take a dip in the river to escape the curse of untimely death. They also offer prayers to the brother and sister duo ‘Yamraj’ (God of death) and ‘Yamuna’ ( pious river) on the day.
Vishram Ghat was aflutter with activity on Saturday as a sea of devotees turned up all through the day. Brothers and sisters had a dip in the river before offering prayers at a temple having idol of both Yamuna and Yamraj.
Security measures were in place and and boats were lined up to mark the limit of access. Precautionary steps were taken and police deployed for smooth movement of devotees.
“This is the only temple of Yamraj – the God of death and the brothers coming here to offer prayers need support and presence of their sisters to make a prayer. What they get in return is ‘mukti’ (release) from ‘phans’ (curse) of untimely death, a boon sought by sister Yamuna from her brother Yamraj, for brothers having dip in river with their sisters on this day of ‘Yam Dwitiya’,” said 68-year-old Gopeshwar Chaturvedi, a renowned environmentalist and patron of ‘Shri Mathur Chaturved Parishad’ who has been witnessing the ritual since long.
Chaturvedi informed, “They take a dip in the Yamuna and then go to the temple of ‘Yamunaji-Dharamraj’ on Vishram Ghat, which is believed to be a rare temple dedicated to the God of Death. The sisters pray to Yamraj to release their brothers from the tentacles of death and pardon him for his wrong-doings so that he enjoys both a long life as well as a good afterlife. The ritual of bathing begins early after ‘Yamuna Aarti’ at 3 am. Devotees reach a day in advance to attend the aarti.”
{{/usCountry}}Chaturvedi informed, “They take a dip in the Yamuna and then go to the temple of ‘Yamunaji-Dharamraj’ on Vishram Ghat, which is believed to be a rare temple dedicated to the God of Death. The sisters pray to Yamraj to release their brothers from the tentacles of death and pardon him for his wrong-doings so that he enjoys both a long life as well as a good afterlife. The ritual of bathing begins early after ‘Yamuna Aarti’ at 3 am. Devotees reach a day in advance to attend the aarti.”
{{/usCountry}}There are a lot of visitors from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and proceedings start in the early hours.