President to perform aarti at Dashaswamedh Ghat in Varanasi

Varanasi: President Pranab Mukherjee will spend the early morning of May 13 as a VIP pilgrim in the holy city of Varanasi, taking part in the celebrations of Ganga Saptami-the day of the rebirth of Goddess Ganga-at Dashaswamedh Ghat, before offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The President's pilgrim progress is expected to last an hour.

The President will perform 'aarti' amid the chanting of the 'devi sukta' and 'rudra sukta' mantras, while offering reverence to Goddess Ganga on her banks at the Dashaswamedh Ghat on the occasion of 'Ganga Saptami', which is believed to be 'Ganga Utapatti Divas' (the birthday of Ganga), disclosed Pt Shrikant Mishra, who is hosting the event.

According to Mishra, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will be the other VIP pilgrim performing the same rituals with the President, mentioning that all these rituals would be performed by a team of 51 priests under his supervision.

The final itinerary of the President's Varanasi visit from the afternoon of May 12 to the morning of May 13 was received by the district administration on Saturday night. According to the ADM Protocol office, after arriving at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) by chopper from the LBS International Airport, the President would attend the varsity's centennial year function at the Swatantrata Bhawan on the evening of May 12.

Following a night's stay at the varsity guest house, the President's fleet would reach Dashaswamedh Ghat before 6 am on May 13. Said Mishra, "As the President is arriving on a very auspicious day, the rituals to be performed by him have been selected accordingly." After the President completes the rituals and performs 'aarti', he would be given dry fruits as 'prasad' and also a 'rudraksha' garland.

From Dashaswamedh Ghat, the President would move to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple (KVT). KVT's chief executive officer MP Singh said that during his 20-minute stay inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the President would offer 'rudrabhishek', 'dugdhabhishek' and 'jalabhishek' amid the chanting of mantras by 11 priests.

Following the rituals, the temple trust and officials would honour the President on the temple campus. After completing his pilgrimage in Kashi, the President will leave KVT at 7.10 am to return to the BHU campus to board his chopper for the airport. Mentioning legends and the significance of Ganga Saptami, Mishra explained that as per the 'puranas' and other mythological beliefs, Ganga first descended to earth on the occasion of 'Ganga Dussehra'. However, he said, sage Jahnu swallowed Ganga's water.

The Gods then had to intercede to plead with the sage, following which he released Ganga once again on the day of Saptami of Shukla Paksha of the Vaishakh month as per the Hindu calendar. The day has since been known as 'Ganga Utapatti' (rebirth of Goddess Ganga).