Kanwar Yatra
Encyclopedia
The Kānvar Yatrā or Kavad Yatra (Devanagari
: काँवर यात्रा or कांवड़ यात्रा) is annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva
, known as Kānvarias, to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar
, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand
to fetch holy waters of Ganges River
, Ganga Jal, which is later offered at their local Shiva temples. The Yatra
takes place during the sacred month of Shravan
(Saawan) (July -August), according to the Hindu calendar
. The Yatra used to be a small affair undertaken by a few saints and older devotees till the 1990s, when it started gaining popularity, today lakh
s of devotees from surrounding states of Delhi
, Uttar Pradesh
, Haryana
, Rajasthan
, Punjab and some from as far as Bihar
, Jharkhand
, Chhattisgarh
and Madhya Pradesh
reach these places to participate in Kanwar Mela, in 2003. 55 lakh
pilgrims reached Haridwar, with traffic growing each year, heavy security measured are undertaken by the government and the traffic on Delhi-Haridwar national highway (National Highway 58
) is diverted for the period.
word kānvar is derived from the Sanskrit
kānvānrathi (काँवाँरथी). Kānvar-carrying pilgrims, called Kānvariās, carry covered water-pots in kānvars slung across their shoulders. This practice of carrying Kavad as a part of religious pilgrimage, especially by devotees of Lord Shiva, is widely followed throughout India (see Kavadi
). Yatra
means a journey or procession.
period, traditionally set aside for religious pilgrimages, bathing in holy rivers and penance. During the annual Monsoon
season thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims carrying water from the Ganges in Haridwar, Gangotri or Gaumukh, the glacier from where the Ganges originates and other holy places on the Ganges, like Sultanganj, the only place where the river turn north during its course, and return to their hometowns, where they later they perform abhisheka
(anointing) the Shivalingas at the local Shiva temples, as a gesture of thanksgiving.
While most pilgrims are men, a few women also participate in Yatra. Most travel the distance on foot, a few also travel on bicycles, motor cycles, scooters, mini trucks or jeeps. Numerous Hindu organizations and other voluntary organizations like local Kanwar Sanghs, the Rashtryia Swayam Sewak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. setup camps along the National Highways during the Yatra, where food, shelter, medical-aid and stand to hang the Kanvads, holding the Ganges water is provided.
Smaller pilgrimages are also undertaken to places like Allahabad
and Varanasi
. Shravani Mela is a major festival at Deoghar
in Jharkhand
, where thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims bringing holy water, from the Ganges at Sultanganj
, covering a distance of 105 kilometres on foot. Here till about 1960, the yatra was confined to a few saints, old devotees, and rich Marwaris of neighbouring cities, and the phenomenon has seen considerable rise in the recent years.
Once the pilgrims reach their hometown, the Ganges water is used to bathe the Shivalingam on the Amavasya
(New Moon
) day in Shravan month or on the Mas Shivratri day.
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: काँवर यात्रा or कांवड़ यात्रा) is annual pilgrimage of devotees of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, known as Kānvarias, to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar
Haridwar
Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...
, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
to fetch holy waters of Ganges River
Ganges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...
, Ganga Jal, which is later offered at their local Shiva temples. The Yatra
Yatra
' , in Hinduism and other Indian religions, generally means pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, places associated with Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and other sacred pilgrimage sites. Tīrtha-yātrā refers to a pilgrimage to a holy site, and is...
takes place during the sacred month of Shravan
Shraavana
Shraavana is a month of the Hindu calendar, also known as Sawan. In India's national civil calendar, Shraavan is the fifth month of the Hindu year, beginning in late July and ending in the third week of August. In the Tamil calendar, it is known as Aavani and is the fifth month of the solar year...
(Saawan) (July -August), according to the Hindu calendar
Hindu calendar
The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
. The Yatra used to be a small affair undertaken by a few saints and older devotees till the 1990s, when it started gaining popularity, today lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
s of devotees from surrounding states of Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Punjab and some from as far as Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
and Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
reach these places to participate in Kanwar Mela, in 2003. 55 lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
pilgrims reached Haridwar, with traffic growing each year, heavy security measured are undertaken by the government and the traffic on Delhi-Haridwar national highway (National Highway 58
National Highway 58 (India)
National Highway 58 is a National Highway in Northern India. It links Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh with Badrinath in Uttarakhand. This Highway passes through Badrinath, Joshimath, Chamoli, Nandaprayag, Rudraprayag, Srinagar, Devprayag, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Muzaffarnagar, Purquazi, Meerut,...
) is diverted for the period.
Etymology
Kanwar Yatra is named after the kānvar (काँवर), a single pole (usually made of bamboo) with two roughly equal loads fastened or dangling from opposite ends. The kānvar is carried by balancing the middle of the pole on one or both shoulders. The HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
word kānvar is derived from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
kānvānrathi (काँवाँरथी). Kānvar-carrying pilgrims, called Kānvariās, carry covered water-pots in kānvars slung across their shoulders. This practice of carrying Kavad as a part of religious pilgrimage, especially by devotees of Lord Shiva, is widely followed throughout India (see Kavadi
Kavadi
Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God...
). Yatra
Yatra
' , in Hinduism and other Indian religions, generally means pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, places associated with Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and other sacred pilgrimage sites. Tīrtha-yātrā refers to a pilgrimage to a holy site, and is...
means a journey or procession.
The Yatra
The month of Shravan is dedicated to Lord Shiva and most devotees observe a fast on Mondays during the month, as it also falls during the chaturmasChaturmas
Chaturmas is a holy period of four months , beginning on Shayani Ekadashi—the eleventh day of the first bright half, Shukla paksha, of Ashadh —until Prabodhini Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the first bright half of Kartik in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.Chaturmas is reserved the...
period, traditionally set aside for religious pilgrimages, bathing in holy rivers and penance. During the annual Monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
season thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims carrying water from the Ganges in Haridwar, Gangotri or Gaumukh, the glacier from where the Ganges originates and other holy places on the Ganges, like Sultanganj, the only place where the river turn north during its course, and return to their hometowns, where they later they perform abhisheka
Abhisheka
Abhisheka is a Sanskrit term comparable to puja, yagya and arati that denotes: a devotional activity; an enacted prayer, rite of passage and/or religious rite or ritual...
(anointing) the Shivalingas at the local Shiva temples, as a gesture of thanksgiving.
While most pilgrims are men, a few women also participate in Yatra. Most travel the distance on foot, a few also travel on bicycles, motor cycles, scooters, mini trucks or jeeps. Numerous Hindu organizations and other voluntary organizations like local Kanwar Sanghs, the Rashtryia Swayam Sewak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. setup camps along the National Highways during the Yatra, where food, shelter, medical-aid and stand to hang the Kanvads, holding the Ganges water is provided.
Smaller pilgrimages are also undertaken to places like Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
and Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
. Shravani Mela is a major festival at Deoghar
Deoghar
Deoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
in Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, where thousands of saffron-clad pilgrims bringing holy water, from the Ganges at Sultanganj
Sultanganj
Sultanganj is a city and a notified area in Bhagalpur district in the Indian state of Bihar.-History:Sultanganj is a town in Bhagalpur district and has a railway station, of the same name on the loop-line of the Eastern Railway running from kolkata to Kiul. An excellent all-weather road connecting...
, covering a distance of 105 kilometres on foot. Here till about 1960, the yatra was confined to a few saints, old devotees, and rich Marwaris of neighbouring cities, and the phenomenon has seen considerable rise in the recent years.
Once the pilgrims reach their hometown, the Ganges water is used to bathe the Shivalingam on the Amavasya
Amavasya
Amavasya is the Indian name for a New moon. The word Amavasya is common to many Indian languages especially Sanskrit, Hindi, Assamese, Kannada, Bengali, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Telugu, and Gujarati...
(New Moon
New moon
In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth...
) day in Shravan month or on the Mas Shivratri day.