‘Narmada Prakatotsav’ celebrated with devotional fervour

 

 

 

The sacred festival of ‘Narmada Prakatotsav’ was celebrated with great devotion and religious fervour across Sanskardhani city on Sunday. From early morning, a massive gathering of devotees was seen at the banks of river Narmada, especially at Gwarighat, where lakhs of people reached for holy bath, worship and darshan. Lakhs of devotees took a dip in the river and prayed for peace, health and prosperity of their families. Besides local residents, devotees from Damoh, Sagar, Katni, Satna and Seoni districts also reached Jabalpur for Narmada darshan and worship. According to religious beliefs, Maa Narmada appeared on earth on the seventh day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Magh. The day is observed as Narmada Prakatotsav and holds special importance, as Maa Narmada is believed to grant spiritual merit through darshan itself. Devotees consider bathing, worship and daan (charity) on this day highly auspicious. Throughout the day, devotees continued to arrive at major ghats including Gwarighat, Tilwaraghat, Bhedaghat, Lamhetaghat and Jilherighat.

 

The entire city echoed with devotional chants, while processions carrying idols of Maa Narmada moved towards the river banks. A fair-like atmosphere prevailed at Gwarighat, Tilwaraghat and Bhedaghat. Devotees offered chunris to Maa Narmada throughout the day. In the evening, the floating lamps during aarti created a captivating scene on the river. RATH YATRA AND CHUNRI OFFERINGS State Public Works Minister Rakesh Singh led a Rath Yatra for Maa Narmada at around 10.30 am in the presence of saints. He pulled the chariot from Retnaka to Gwarighat and later offered a 351-foot-long chunri at Umaghat. Dandi Swami Kalikanand Ji Maharaj, Swami Girishanand Ji Maharaj, Jagadguru Swami Narsinghdevacharya Ji Maharaj, Swami Mukunddas Ji Maharaj, Swami Paglanand Ji Maharaj, Gyaneshwari Didi, Rambharti Ji Maharaj and Swami Kevalpuri Ji Contd from page 1 Maharaj also participated in the yatra. Extending greetings to the people of Sanskardhani Minister Rakesh Singh said Maa Narmada is not merely a river but a sacred force in which divinity resides in every particle.

 

He said that while bathing in holy rivers is considered meritorious, mere darshan of Maa Narmada grants even greater spiritual benefit. BJP President Ratnesh Sonkar, Mayor Jagat Bahadur Singh and other dignitaries were also present. SPECIAL WORSHIP AND AARTI Several religious programmes were organised during the day. The Narmada Prakatotsav Vishwas Samajik Aur Sanskritik Sanstha conducted cow worship in the morning, Rudrabhishek in the evening, and a grand Navagraha aarti at night. The celebrations concluded with distribution of prasad to devotees. The large participation and smooth arrangements made the Narmada Prakatyotsav a memorable spiritual event for the city. ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS In view of the heavy crowd, the district administration, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation and police made elaborate arrangements. The Ramapur route was declared one-way, with return traffic diverted through adjoining routes. Entry of private vehicles near ghats was restricted and electric rickshaws were deployed for devotees. Separate areas were earmarked for bhandaras to avoid congestion.