The pilgrims’ progress at the world’s biggest spiritual congregation came to an end with the Maha Shivratri holy dip at Sangam in Prayagraj and the procession (peshwai) of Shaivite akhara sants and Naga sadhus culminating at Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on Wednesday last.
Around 15mn pilgrims took a holy dip on Wednesday, raising the total count to over 663mn during the 45-day event, which began on Paush Purnima (Jan 13), surpassing the previous record of 240mn footfall during the 2019 Kumbh. By 6 pm on Wednesday, over 500,000 devotees had thronged Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
CM Yogi Adityanath extended his heartfelt greetings to devotees across the country as rose petals were showered on them in Prayagraj and Varanasi. He once again monitored the on-ground situation from Gorakhpur through CCTV feeds to ensure that the final snan (holy dip) was conducted peacefully.
In Varanasi, millions of devotees were still in queue for darshan, as the temple was set to remain open non-stop until Thursday midnight. The temple doors were opened after the Mangla Aarti at 3.30 am on Wednesday, and to avoid inconvenience to pilgrims, all VIP protocols were suspended.
The seven Shaivite akharas, which had been camping in the city since Basant Panchami, began their procession from Hanuman Ghat. The peshwai processions were welcomed by police commissioner Mohit Agrawal, divisional commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, and DM S Rajalingam. After their ceremonial puja, darshan was once again opened to devotees.
The tent city facilities, set up across the Sangam ghats, have bookings until Feb 28. The temporary govt establishments will also be gradually dismantled, to be reassembled for the 2031 Ardh Kumbh.
