MP: 12 lakh devotees offer 'deep daan' along Mandakini river in Chitrakoot on Diwali

Satna, Oct 20 (PTI) Around 12 lakh devotees from different parts of the country offered 'deep daan' on the banks of the Mandakini river in Chitrakoot on Monday night to mark Diwali, an official said.

According to Hindu scriptures, Lord Ram, his wife Sita and brother Laxman spent around 11 of their 14 years of exile in Chitrakoot, which straddles MP's Satna district and UP's Karwi area and is among the country's foremost pilgrimage centres.

'Deep daan' is a ritual in which devotees float oil lamps (diyas) on sacred rivers in India.

"Around 22 lakh devotees have taken a holy dip in the Mandakini in the five-day annual mela (fair) that began in Chitrakoot on Saturday, and many more are likely to take the dip in the coming two days," Satna Superintendent of Police Hansraj Singh told PTI.

Devotees are camping along a 10-km stretch of Chitrakoot and strong police presence is being maintained in the area, the official added.

MP has 70 'ghats' (river banks) of the Mandakini, while others are located in the Karwi area of adjoining Uttar Pradesh.

Pilgrims visiting Chitrakoot also perform 'parikrama' (circumambulation) of around five kilometres, of which about three kilometres fall in Madhya Pradesh. PTI LAL BNM