Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with his wife Sonal Shah visited Swami Avdheshanand Giri’s ashram in Prayagraj on Monday.
Shah was accompanied by UP CM Yogi Adityanath as they met Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati Ji Maharaj at Maha Kumbh.
Amit Shah also paid homage to Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj and other saints at Maha Kumbh.
Earlier in the day, Union Minister Shah and CM Yogi along with saints from various maths, temples and Akharas took a holy dip at Triveni Sangam while Vedic mantras were being chanted.
Under the guidance of saints, the leaders performed the ritual as holy water of Ganga was sprinkled on them as part of puja-archana as per official release.
After the holy dip both the Home Minister and CM performed special puja and Sangam Aarti at the site.
Amit Shah was accompanied by his wife Sonal Shah, son Jai Shah, daughter-in-law and granddaughters making it a family affair.
On this occasion CM Yogi gave Kumbh Kalash to Home Minister as a tradition and respect.
The saints garlanded the Home Minister, applied sandalwood paste and tilak as a mark of sanctity.
Amit Shah and CM Yogi in saffron robes took holy dip at Triveni Sangam along with prominent saints including Juna Peethadheeshwar Avdheshanand, Niranjani Peethadheeshwar Kailashanand, Akhada Parishad President Ravindra Puri and Baba Ramdev.
The saints performed Vedic rituals and sprinkled Sangam water on the Home Minister. Then Home Minister offered Arghya to Sun.
Tirtha purohits then performed special puja for both the Home Minister and CM at the Sangam site and concluded with Sangam Aarti. Maa Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati mantras were chanted at the site and it was a spiritually charged atmosphere.
Youngest members of the Shah family also received darshan from the saints, CM Yogi was seen sharing a lighter moment with the kids.
As Har Har Mahadev mantras resonated, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath bowed down to Ganga and Bhaskar.
After taking a holy dip in the Sangam, Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Yogi performed pooja and aarti with Vedic mantras and shlokas.
After the pooja, a grand Sangam Aarti was performed and Home Minister’s entire family including his wife, son and daughter in law participated in the rituals. CM Yogi Adityanath then gave a silver Kumbh Kalash to Home Minister before they went to Akshay Vat.
Earlier, Home Minister and CM Yogi reached VIP Ghat in Arail and then boarded a cruise to Sangam.
They paid obeisance to Ganga, fed Siberian birds and had a special meeting with Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Avdheshanand, Mahant Hari Giri and Mahant Prem Giri in a private room on the cruise.
Maha Kumbh started on January 13 with Paush Purnima and has already seen a massive turnout with over 130 million people taking a holy dip in Prayagraj.
As per tradition, pilgrims come to Sangam--the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati (now extinct) rivers--to take the holy dip to absolve sins and get moksha (liberation). Key bathing dates of Maha Kumbh are January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima) and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri).
As per Sanatan Dharma, this is a rare celestial alignment for spiritual purification and devotion. Maha Kumbh will see over 450 million visitors, a first ever in India.
