Varanasi: The festival of Makar Sankranti that holds great significance for the Hindu community. Devotees in Uttar Pradesh celebrated the occasion with great fervour.
A large number of devotees gathered at Ganga Ghat in Varanasi to take a holy dip on the occasion.
"Today is Makar Sankranti, which we also call Khichdi. People from far distances come and donate sesame. Food, water, and clothes are also donated today. Taking a holy dip holds great religious significance on Makar Sankranti. People can get rid of all their sorrows by performing rituals today," Vivekananda Pandey, a purohit at Dashshavamedh Ghat, said. A devotee from Delhi said, "It is a grand festival today. Charity on the occasion of Makar Sankranti is important. We also donated Khichdi on Makar Sankranti."
In Gorakhpur, devotees thronged Gorakhnath Temple on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday offered prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple in his parliamentary constituency, Gorakhpur. After Gorakshpeethadhishwar and CM Yogi offered Khichdi according to the special tradition of Nath Panth, a large number of devotees offered Khichdi to Guru Gorakhnath Baba on the occasion of the Makar Sankranti.
"We bring rice and urad dal from our house and donate khichdi with full faith here. We belong to Gorakhpur and we have been donating khichdi for ten years. I don't even feel cold due to excitement," said a devotee at Gorakhnath Temple.
"People even come from Nepal here. Generally, the festival of Makar Sankranti falls on 14 or 15 of January. We are not even feeling cold because of faith in our hearts. Devotees thronged the temple late at night and started donating khichdi from 1:00 am," said another devotee at the temple. Meanwhile, people also gathered at Ayodhya's Saryu Ghat and took a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
"Feeling happy to be in Ayodhya. We used to hear what Ayodhya used to be like in ancient times, and today Ayodhya has become the same as it used to be under Raja Dashrath. We came here to take a holy dip because of our faith in God," said a devotee at Saryu Ghat. —ANI
