Lakhs take holy dip at Parasuram Kund on Makar Sankranti

Itanagar, Jan 15 (ANI): Over 1,20,000 devotees from all over the country including Nepal took a holy dip at the Parsuram Kund on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti.

It may be recalled that this year the Kund recorded higher number of pilgrims, surpassing the turnout of 80,000 that was witnessed last year.

Lohit Deputy Commissioner RK Sharma informed that his holiness Adhoksha Janandji Maharaj, the Sankaracharya of Govandhan Peeth, Orissa, who was the special guest on the occasion on Saturday, also took holy dip amidst tight security, according to.

Braving chilly breeze blowing from the Lohit River since wee hours, thousands of devotees jostling for their turn made a beeline to the famous Kund on the river, which carries a strong mythological link with the legend of Parsurama, a Hindu sage.

According to the legend recorded in the Kalika Purana, Srimat Bhagawata and the Mahabharata, sage Parsurama washed away his sin of matricide in the waters of the Lohit River at Bramhakund.

Situated within the Kamlang reserve forest, the Kund is surrounded by dense forest of Ruddhraksha trees, the fruit of which is considered sacred to Hindu ascetics as well as general believers of the faith.With strong belief that a holy dip frees one from all sins, male and female of all age groups like every year congregated from across the country for the purpose on this day.

Like most pilgrim centres in other parts of India, Parashuram Kund has been a source of spiritual inspiration of a multitude of devotees since time immemorial.

The personality and exploits of Parashuram are part of India's millennial memory. Both epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and numerous scriptures have repeated reference of his deeds. From the study of the Mahabharata, it is clear that Parashuram taught archery and military science to the warriors of the Mahabharata such as Bhisma, Drona, Karna and even wrote treatises on its known as Dhanuveda. There is also a legend of his killing the Kshatriyas, the warriors class, to establish the path of righteousness at the time of its decline.

The origin of the kund is associated with Parashuram's matricide described in the Srimad Bhagvat, Kalikapurana and in the Mahabharata. One day, Renuka, mother of Parashuram, went to fetch water. While returning, she felt drawn towards King Chitranatha playing with celestial nymphs. Consequently, she was late in returning to the ashram. Jamadagni, her husband, worried over her delay as it was getting late for the midday worship. On perceiving through his divine power the reason for her delay, Jamadagni was so enraged that, on her arrival, he asked his sons to kill her.

None of his six sons except Parashuram could oblige. He immediately beheaded his mother. The handle of the axe which he used, however, clung to his hand. Pleased with his son, Jamadagni desired Parashuram to ask for any boon. Parashuram asked six boons and one was for the immediate recovery of his mother. However, this did not wipe out his sin. He was told that the only way to wash off his sin was by taking a dip in the Brahma Kund. Only then would the axe stuck to his hand drop. Parashuram ultimately came to the Brahma Kund and made a passage for the kund to come out by digging the bank of Brahma Kund. The spot where the axe dropped from his hand came to be known as Parashuram Kund.

The Kalika Purana states that a mere bath in the kund leads to emancipation. The waters of the kund are considered as sacred as the waters of the River Ganga. In the 18th century a sadhu re-established the site of Parashuram Kund. The sadhu who came through Chowkham, as the story goes, was driven out from his village as he was looked upon as a swindler. The villagers thereafter were afflicted with some unknown disease. Meanwhile, the sadhu, had hidden himself in a cave around the kund away form the angry villagers. The villagers came in search of him and offered him fruits and flowers and asked forgiveness.

The site of the Kund as established by the sadhu was in existence till 1950 when the old site was completely changed by the earthquake that shook the whole of the North-East and the kund was completely covered.

A very strong current is now flowing over the original site of the kund, but massive boulders have in a mysterious way embedded themselves in a circular formation in the riverbed thus forming another kund in place of the old. (ANI)