The holy date of Kartik Poornima saw a large number of devotees take holy dip in sacred rivers across the nation
A large number of devotees took a holy dip in the Sarayu river on Kartik Purnima amid tight security in Ayodhya on Tuesday, the first religious congregation in the temple town since the judgement in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Barbi Masjid case.
People began flocking to the ghats since early the hours amid chants of “Sita Ram” playing on loudspeakers in the streets, while many devotees who came from neighbouring districts in Uttar Pradesh camped overnight near the river. Devotees from various districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Barabanki, Sultanpur, Gonda and Bahraich, flock to Ayodhya every year on this festive season for a massive religious congregation on the banks of Sarayu.
A huge crowd also gathered on the banks of Ganga and Yamuna in Allahabad. Large number of devotees took the holy dip at the sangam ghat, the place of confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.
Same was the case with Kashi as larger number of devotees flocked to the sacred city to take the holy dip.
The same fervour was witnessed in devotees in religious destinations of Uttarakhand.
In Odisha too devotees congregrated at various places in capital Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to take part in festivities. The day also witnessed mishap in Bihar where 10 people lost their lives at different places.
In Varanasi the ocassion is also celebrated as Dev Deepawali. It is marked by various events , specially the lighting of earthen Diyas in the evening
There are 12 poornima nights in one calender year, and kartik poornima is considered to be very special.
Kartik Purnima or the night of the full moon of Kartik month of the Hindu calendar falls 15 days after Diwali, the night of Kartik Amavasya.
The night has special significance for the HIndus who consider it auspicious to take a holy dip in sacred waters on this ocassion.