UCA News
Contribute

India

Millions Bathe In River At Hindu Festival In Southern India

Updated: September 14, 2004 05:00 PM GMT
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Share this article :

An estimated 30 million Hindus took a "holy bath" in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, during a recent religious event.

The 12-day Krishna Pushkaram ended Sept. 8. By that time many of the 192 "ghats," or stairs, that lead into the Krishna River as it flows through the state had borne hundreds of thousands of people who bathed in the waters.

Hindus consider 12 rivers in India holy. According to tradition, one river a year, in a cycle keyed to the planet Jupiter´s transit through the zodiacal signs, becomes especially holy. A ritual dip in the river at prescribed times during this period is believed to cleanse sins.

In July-August a year ago, an estimated 50 million people bathed in Andhra Pradesh´s Godavari River during the Godavari Pushkaram.

The state government spent 2.1 billion rupees (US$46.6 million) to arrange the Krishna Pushkaram this year, renovating 212 temples along the river. The arrangements involved 14 state departments.

The fisheries department fielded 3,000 expert swimmers and 628 other field staff to ensure safety, while police deployed 50,000 personnel for security in the six districts through which the river flows.

Most pilgrims came to Vijayawada, 1,765 kilometers south of New Delhi, where a stampede Aug. 28 killed five people including two women and a child.

Belgian Jesuit Father Michael Anthony Windey, who manages a village development project in the state, criticized the government for spending so much money on what he termed a superstition.

However, Bishop Gali Bali of Guntur called the festival "a wonderful manifestation of Hindus´ faith in the divine." The river also flows through Guntur district, based 32 kilometers southwest of Vijayawada.

Everyone should "respect and appreciate" the festival, "whatever may be the significance of the religious rituals performed there," the bishop said. He told UCA News the "grand festival not only attracted millions of people but created a sense of oneness and fellowship among them."

He suggested that if someone could tap and channel "this religious fervor," it would become "a powerful instrument" for social change.

Bishop Bali noted that several Christian institutions accommodated police and other security personnel during the festival, citing these gestures as a "praiseworthy contribution" from Christians.

UCA News spoke with some of the festival participants. Many came with their families to the festival to seek forgiveness of sins.

Retired high school teacher K.L. Narasimha Rao came more than 100 kilometers with six members from two generations of his family.

"We should not commit sin, but sins committed by us knowingly or unknowingly during the past 12 years will at least be partially washed away with this bath," Rao said as he waited on the river steps in Vijayawada.

A few such as Appa Rao espoused no religious motives. The 42-year-old barber from Vijayawada, still in his wet clothes, explained that he took a dip in the river "because everybody else was doing the same."

A policeman on duty, K. Butchaiah, 29, dismissed the whole event as "foolish," asserting that at least 60 percent of the crowd came "for fun and not out of devotion."

Alladi Teja, 36, said he came to Vijayawada on the third day of the festival with his wife and children, aged 3 and 5, to "worship the ancestors to get their blessings."

The rite was more solemn for farm laborer Manga Raj, 34, who said he came with his wife to fulfill a vow and seek solace after their 5-year-old daughter died of an illness four years ago.

A pushkaram is celebrated for 12 days, while the corresponding festival in northern India, called a "kumbh mela" (pitcher festival), runs about a month, with a number of auspicious times for bathing.

Since some rivers cut across regions, two different festivals may be observed at different parts of the same river in the same year but following different astrological calculations.

END

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
November begins with the Feast of All Saints. That month will mark the beginning of a new UCA News series, Saints of the New Millenium, that will profile some of Asia’s saints, “ordinary” people who try to live faithfully amid the demands of life in our time.
Perhaps the closest they will ever come to fame will be in your reading about them in UCA News. But they are saints for today. Let their example challenge and encourage you to live your own sainthood.
Your contribution will help us present more such features and make a difference in society by being independent and objective.
A small donation of US$5 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goals.
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
YOUR DAILY
NEWSLETTER
Thank you. You are now signed up to our Daily Full Bulletin newsletter
 
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia