‘Ganga Pushkaralu’ festival begins in Varanasi after 12 years
The Hindu
The 12-day Pushkaralu festival of Telugu-speaking people commenced on April 22 in Varanasi, with the Uttar Pradesh Government expecting more than one lakh Telugu-speaking people to visit Kashi in the next 10-odd days for the event
The 12-day Pushkaralu festival of Telugu-speaking people commenced on April 22 in Varanasi, with the Uttar Pradesh Government expecting more than one lakh Telugu-speaking people to visit Kashi in the next 10-odd days for the event, which will run from April 22 to May 3. The festival, in which pilgrims will worship their ancestors and the river Ganga, is being organised in Kashi this year after a gap of 12 years due to a special combination of planetary transits. It is the second event of the recent past to be organised in Varanasi, after the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam.
A large number of Telugu pilgrims arrived in Varanasi on April 22, with many special trains scheduled for the festival. The Varanasi district administration has made elaborate arrangements for crowd regulation as well as facilitating visitors in completing their rituals at ghats along the river Ganga, and also offer prayer at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
“We have made all the necessary arrangements like drinking water, toilets, changing rooms, rescue teams including divers, medical teams, and the police for crowd regulation etc. Dedicated teams of sanitary staff will take care of cleanliness works at the ghats between Assi and Dashashwamedh,“ S .Rajalingam, District Magistrate, Varanasi, said.
As per the legend, after severe penance, the devotee Pushkara was blessed by Lord Shiva with the ability to live in water, and purify holy rivers. On a request from Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), Pushkara decided to enter one of the 12 sacred rivers — Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Bhima, Tapti, Narmada, Saraswati, Tungbhadra, Sindhu, and Pranhita. Each river has its zodiac sign. The river for each year’s festival is decided in accordance with Brihaspati travel from one zodiac sign to another.
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