| Close to 250 Million Devotees Visited Prayagraj Sangam for Kumbh, over 10 Million on Mahashivratri Alone |
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PRAYAGRAJ, INDIA, March 5, 2019 (Financial Express): Even before midnight, devotees from different walks of life and parts of the country began to pour into Sangam city to take holy dip on Mahashivratri, the great night of Lord Shiva and the last bathing day in the one-and-a-half-month-long Kumbh Mela. Till Monday evening, more than 10 million devotees had taken a holy dip in the Sangam area, officials said. The bathing ghats brimmed with colour in the morning. Late-night showers in parts of the holy city failed to dampen the spirit of the pilgrims. As the sun came out, devotees enthusiastically greeted the sun, while some offered obeisance to the Sun God with traditional yoga asanas.
”Till evening, as many as 11 million devotees have taken a dip in the Sangam area. With Mahashivratri’s snaan, so far more than 240 million devotees have taken a dip during this year’s Kumbh,” Kumbh Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand told PTI. Till March 3, the number of devotees who had taken the dip during the Kumbh stood at 230 million, an UP government official said. According to Hindu mythology, Mahashivratri symbolises the last holy bath of Kalpvasis, who spend the month of Magh — the period of austerity — in minimal means. Ashutosh Varshney, an astrologer who has set up a camp in Sector-6 of Kumbh Nagri, said, ”Mahashivratri marks the culmination of the Kumbh and the prominent bathing days. This year, it fell on a Monday, the day dedicated to Lord Shiva, after a long time.” Kumbh is the largest religious gatherings in the world. It is held once in every 12 years.
| Amarnath Yatra to begin on July 1, Last 46 days |
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JAMMU KASHMIR, March 8, 2019 ( National Herald): Amarnath Yatra this year will begin July 1, go on for 46 days and will conclude on August 15. The decision was taken by the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik. The SASB said it noted the steps taken by its CEO for registration of pilgrims through 440 designated branches of Punjab National Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank and YES Bank and directed all steps be taken to begin advance registration on April 1. The board also directed wide publicity, through electronic and print media, of the need by all prospective pilgrims to secure compulsory health certificates from doctors/hospitals nominated by the state or Union Territories where they reside before seeking advance registration from the nearest designated Bank, which would issue a Yatra Permit valid for the specified date and route. It also said that it be widely-known that no one below 13 years of age or above 75 years would be allowed for the pilgrimage, and also appealed to all potential pilgrims to consult their doctors before embarking on the pilgrimage.
”The Board directed its CEO to take timely steps for ensuring uninterrupted telecom connectivity in the Yatra area during Yatra 2019. Appreciating the important services rendered by the Langar organizations, the Board looked to their continued support during Yatra 2018,” the statement said. It also said that the awareness campaign would be launched with the cooperation and support of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and all information relating to Yatra will be available on its website (www.Shriamarnathjishrine.com).
| Daily Inspiration |
Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires is to not sacrifice and consume any living creature.
— Tirukural 259
