Itanagar: More than 1,20,00 devotees from all over the country besides Nepal on Saturday took a holy dip at the Parsuram Kund on the mighty Lohit river in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti.
This year the Kund recorded higher number of pilgrims surpassing the turnout of 80,000 last year.
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 river at Brahmakund.
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 Saturday.
The district administration had made all possible arrangements including deploying over 150 police personnel for smooth and peaceful conduct of the holy dip by the pilgrims. (UNI)