A devotee seeks blessings of a Naga Sadhu on the bank of the Ganga river in Varanasi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: Carrying snakes in their hands and human skulls around their necks, the naga sadhus on Monday celebrated ‘bhasma’ Holi on the bank of the Ganga in Varanasi with ashes of the burning pyres.
Also known as ‘Masan (cremation ground) ki Holi’, in this age-old unique tradition in Varanasi, the celebrations took place on the iconic Harshchandra Ghat, where the dead bodies were consigned to flames.
The naga sadhus, who were joined by many others, including the foreigners, smeared the ashes taken from the burning pyres on their bodies and danced around them singing folk songs praising Lord Shiva.
Earlier a procession was taken out from Keenaram Ashram in which a large number of seers, naga sadhus and other devotees took part. They performed ‘Shiv Tandav’, a Sanskrit religious hymn dedicated to Lord Shiva and believed to be composed by the demon king Ravana, on their way to the Ganga bank after passing through different parts of the town.
A few foreigners were also seen celebrating the ‘bhasma’ Holi along with others.
The ‘bhasma Holi’ is celebrated on ‘Rangabhari Ekadashi’, five days before the Holi festival, which marks the reunion of Lord Shiva and her consort Parvati.
The convenor of the program Pawan Chaudhary said that ‘bhasma’ Holi symbolised the two contradictions of life. ‘’On the one hand are the burning pyres and on the other is joy,’’ he said.
The ‘Rangabhari Ekadashi’ was also celebrated in the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the town in which thousands of people took part. The people offered ‘gulal’ (a type of dry colour) to Lord Shiva and Parvati amid chants of ‘har har Mahadev’.