Devotees

from every corner of the country reached Maha Kumbh to take bath on the last

bathing festival

Crowds

of devotees started gathering on the banks of Sangam from midnight itself to

take bath during Brahma Muhurta

Devotees

from West Bengal and Nepal also came running for the holy bath

There

was immense enthusiasm among the devotees to witness this rare coincidence of

144 years

Mahakumbhnagar,

26 Feb (HS): On the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri, the sweet sound of

cymbals, holy chants and the various colours of India mingled with each other

at the Triveni Sangam. Devotees from every nook and corner of the country made

the last day of Maha Kumbh memorable by taking a dip at this holy confluence

site. Since it was the last auspicious bath, a crowd of devotees started

gathering on the banks of the Sangam from midnight itself. Some waited

patiently to bathe in the 'Brahma Muhurta', while many took a bath before the

scheduled time.

Sangam

Yatra of four friends from West Bengal: These devotees also included four

friends from Siliguri in West Bengal, who stepped towards the ghat for bathing

wearing identical bright yellow dhotis. Akash Pal (MNC employee), Abhijit

Chakraborty (content writer), Raja Sonwani (working in the pharmaceutical

sector) and Abhishek Pal (lawyer) belong to different professions, but the

desire to celebrate Mahashivratri in Mahakumbh united them. Akash Pal said,

We are friends and came by car from West Bengal to Prayagraj. Where the

vehicle permission ended, we walked from there to reach Sangam. It is very

exciting to be a part of this wonderful gathering, especially on this

auspicious day. The four also carried saffron colored containers to carry

Ganga water. Apart from these, devotees from Bengal also arrived from places

like Durgapur and Cooch Behar.

Enthusiasm

of devotees from Nepal: The fair not only attracted people from all over India

but also devotees from neighbouring Nepal. Four teenagers Manish Mandal, Rabbaj

Mandal, Arjun Mandal and Deepak Sahni, along with their uncle Domi Sahni, took

the holy dip on Mahashivratri. All of them wore uniform tunics with Lord

Shiva's theme and the three youths also wore gamchhas with 'Mahakal' written on

them. We are from Janakpur in Nepal, a place associated with Mata Sita.

Our town is also famous for the Jahnavi temple. After the bath, we will go to

Ayodhya to visit Lord Ram, Sahni said. The group travelled from Janakpur

to Jaynagar and then reached Prayagraj by an Indian Railways train.

The

144 years factor increased enthusiasm: Many devotees said that they were

attracted by the '144 years' factor in this Maha Kumbh, due to which they

decided to come here at any cost. No one could stop themselves from witnessing

this rare moment. For this, devotees from states like Karnataka, Bihar, Delhi,

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh covered the length and breadth of the country.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi