Varanasi: Ashrams and mutts across Varanasi witnessed a massive influx of devotees on Wednesday as thousands of followers gathered to seek the blessings of their spiritual gurus on the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima. As part of the celebrations, thousands of devotees took holy dip in the Ganga.In view of the heavy rush at ashrams, mutts and ghats, the district administration imposed traffic restrictions and diversions at several locations in the city and adjoining areas, including Shakteshgarh near Chunar in Mirzapur district.Even before sunrise, the ghats were crowded with devotees arriving for the ritual bath, while followers of heads of various ashrams and mutts began queuing up from late Tuesday night. As the day progressed, the crowd continued to swell, with devotees visiting spiritual centres across Kashi, renowned for its rich Guru-Shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition.A large gathering was witnessed at Aghorpeeth Baba Keenaram Sthal, Krim Kund, in the Ravindrapuri area, where devotees from across the country and abroad arrived to seek the blessings of Peethadhishwar Aghoracharya Baba Siddharth Gautam Ram. Following the morning cleaning, aarti, pujan and prabhat pheri, darshan and prasad distribution began. Devotees waited in long queues for hours to pay obeisance to the Aghoracharya and receive prasad.Similar scenes were witnessed at Avadhoot Bhagwan Ram Ashram in Padav, where followers gathered to seek the blessings of Aghoracharya Gurupad Baba Sambhav Ram. The Santmat Anuyayi Ashram at Garhwa Ghat also saw a large number of devotees offering prayers and receiving the blessings of Swami Sarnanand Ji Maharaj.At the Annapurna Temple, the rituals of Guru Pujan were performed by Mahant Shankar Giri, following which disciples sought his blessings.The district administration and police made elaborate arrangements to regulate crowds and ensure smooth movement of devotees at ashrams, mutts and major approach roads throughout the day.
