The Kanwad Mela which started from July 16 on Guru Poornima and saw a record footfall of pilgrims on the first Monday of Shravan month will last till July 30. From the night of July 29, the Kanwadias shall start offering the holy water collected from Ganga at the Shivalayas in their home town and for the whole day of July 30, the offerings shall continue.
Though a continuous stream of Kanwadias is coming to the city, but on account of Panchak period, fewer Kanwadias have reached Haridwar in these past two days. The streets leading to Har ki Paidi are resounding with slogans of 'Har Har Mahadev' and so is the Kanwad Patri route traversed by the Kanwadias carrying holy water in cans, heading towards their destination.
Notably, Panchak is a period of five nakshatras (constellations) Dhanista, Shatbhisha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada and Revati considered inauspicious for worship and making purchases for home. Most of the Kanwadias avoid the pilgrimage during this period. Every year, most of the Kanwadias come from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan but since Panchak period is falling during the beginning of the pilgrimage, the number of Kanwad pilgrims is going to rise after 24 July.
A Kanwad pilgrim from Rajasthan, Vaibhav Kumar told The Pioneer, “During Panchak period, we observe one meal a day and spend our time in chanting lord Shiva's name. Making a halt for five days, we again start our pilgrimage after Panchak is over."