Sawan 2023: Devotees offer prayers across the country

The holy month of ‘Sawan’ (Shravan) commenced on July 4, and with great enthusiasm across the nation. A large number of devotees were seen visiting temples to offer prayers to Lord Shiva on Tuesday.

Many devotees offered prayers after bathing at ‘Sangam’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj. Prayagraj, one of the important pilgrimages for the Hindus.

This year due to ‘Adik Maas’ the swan will be observed for 58 days, from July 4 to August 31.

According to the Hindu Calendar, an extra month is added every 3 years due to Sun’s transit from one zodiac to another. This is commonly known as Sankranti.

The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath also offered prayers at Gorakhnath temple on the first day of Sawan.

Apart from this, Kanwar Yatra also starts from the Day 1 of Sawan. A notable ceremony that occurs in the month of Sawan is the Kanwar Yatra. For this ritual, people collect water from holy rivers and pour it into little mud pots called Kanwars. To visit Lord Shiva temples, devotees dress in saffron and travel on foot while carrying sacred water.

Kanwariyas, or devotees, travel to locations like Haridwar, Gaumukh, and Gangotri in Uttarakhand, as well as Sultanganj in Bihar, to collect the sacred River Ganga water for worship. Special arrangements are also made by the state governments on all the routes of Kanwars.

Priests of Mahakaleshwar Temple at Ujjain also performed ‘Bhasam Aarti’ as it is highly significant on this occasion.