Union minister Smriti Irani joined millions of devotees as she took a holy dip in the Sangam in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, where the 49-day Kumbh Mela began on Tuesday.
She tweeted a picture of taking the dip and captioned it with “Har Har Gange”.
The Kumbh Mela began on Tuesday with a Shahi Snan as devotees led by naked, ash-smeared seers took the first holy dip chanting Lord Shiva’s name early in the morning into the cold water of the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. The Shahi Snan also marks the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti.
{{/usCountry}}The Kumbh Mela began on Tuesday with a Shahi Snan as devotees led by naked, ash-smeared seers took the first holy dip chanting Lord Shiva’s name early in the morning into the cold water of the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. The Shahi Snan also marks the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti.
{{/usCountry}}Officials said around 35 lakh devotees took the holy dip on Monday at 35 bathing ghats roughly stretched over an area of 5.5 km in the mela area.
Hindus believe that bathing in the waters of the River Ganga absolves people of sins and bathing at the time of the Kumbh Mela, or the “festival of the pot”, brings salvation from the cycle of life and death.
Heavy security has been put in place with police and paramilitary forces deployed at strategic places in Kumbh Mela area and other places in the city. More than 20,000 police, paramilitary and other personnel have been deployed in the Kumbh Mela area for the security of pilgrims.
On Monday, a small fire broke out at one of the camps, though there was no report of any casualty.