Bhopal: Despite the rainy morning, a multitude of devotees gathered on Monday for a sacred dip on the auspicious occasion of Kartik Purnima at the fair held at Bandrabhan, the confluence of Narmada and Tawa rivers in Narmadapuram. By 10 am, over 90 thousand devotees had already participated in the ritualistic bathing.
Anticipating a total of more than 1.5 lakh people taking part in the bath throughout the day, devotees flocked to Gwarighat, Barman, Narsinghpur, Mandla, and Omkareshwar of Jabalpur for the sacred dip. The ongoing four-day fair at Bandrabhan, which commenced on November 25 and concludes on November 28, has attracted devotees who camped along the Sangam’s banks since Sunday night in preparation for the main bath. After the morning bath, devotees engaged in worship along the Narmada river. With more than 500 shops set up at the fair, individuals from nearby districts also sought blessings from Goddess Narmada.
Regarding security measures, Amrita Dixit, Home Guard Platoon Commandant, informed that 70 soldiers are deployed to ensure the safety of devotees, with 5 boats continuously patrolling the area.
The tradition of bathing before sunrise on Kartik Purnima holds special significance, although this year, the rainy conditions from 4 am and lingering fog until 8 am resulted in fewer devotees participating in the ritual before sunrise. The number of participants began to rise after 9 am, even though rain resumed at 10:30 am after a brief stop at 7 am.
