The Call of Shiva: The Inspiring Journey of Girish Mandal, The Unstoppable Kanwar Yatri
Girish Mandal,72, a Shiva devotee from Bihar, walks 105 km every Wweek during the Sawan month, defying pain in the name of his supreme deity.
Published : August 3, 2025 at 6:34 PM IST
|Updated : August 3, 2025 at 6:50 PM IST
Darbhanga: Every Monday of Sawan, Girish Mandal sets out on a sacred pilgrimage so challenging that few can even imagine completing it. From Sultanganj to Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar, the septuagenarian walks without stopping, covering a distance of 105 kilometers. He does it without breaks, rest and food.
For him, the Dak Kanwar Yatra is more than just a physical journey. It is more a divine calling that demands total surrender, unflinching faith, and an unshakable devotion to Lord Shiva.
According to Girish, he first attended the "call of Shiva" at the age of 25 in 1978. He completed his first Kanwar Yatra, but that experience was just the beginning. That was the beginning, and there has been no looking back since then.
He undertook a normal Kanwar Yatra for the first time, which took 14 hours to complete. "After offering water to Bholenath, I got the inspiration to start Dak Kanwar yatra. From 1979, I'm going to Deoghar," Mandal said.During these years, he has been reaching Badyanatha Dham in Deoghar from Sultanganj without stopping.
As soon as he offered the holy water of the Ganga at the Shiva linga at Baidyanath Dham, he felt an overwhelming sense of divine bliss. From that day forward, his heart and soul were bound to this pilgrimage, a path that would change the course of his life forever.
The austere Dak Kanwar Yatra
Unlike the traditional Kanwar Yatra, where devotees often take breaks during the journey, the Dak Kanwar Yatra involves rigour. The Dak Kanwariyas or devotees on the yatra carry the sacred water of the Ganga in a Kanwar and walk nonstop to the temple. Girish embraced this austere path, driven by the purest form of devotion.
Mandal, a resident of Imambadi of Laheriyasarai, who works as a private accountant in the Income Tax Department, said after completing the normal Kanwar Yatra for the first time, he had pledged with Pashupati Mishra, the operator of Sitaram Bhojanalaya of Darbhanga, that he would begin the Dak Kanwar Yatra from next time.
In 1979, he undertook the first Dak Kanwar Yatra on one Monday and the normal Kanwar Yatra on the remaining Mondays. Since 1981, he has been on the journey as Dak Kanwar Yatra every Monday of Sawan.
"The Dak Kanwad starts with collecting water from Sultanganj. We run for 40 km. When we get tired, we walk slowly. Sometimes we run, and sometimes we walk slowly. In this way, we go to Deoghar without stopping. Feet should not stop in the Dak Kanwad. Urination and defecation are prohibited during the entire journey." Mandal, the father of three sons and four daughters, said.
He said blisters form on his feet, he battles muscle pain, and suffers from exhaustion, but nothing stops his unwavering will to "meet Bholenath." "This is what I call the grace of Bholenath. Despite so much pain and physical exhaustion, I complete the journey," Mandal said.
The Shiva devotee said he is miffed with the Jharkhand government for its 'indifference' towards Dak Kanwar Yatris. According to him, the government should have provided facilities to pilgrims who are covering the long and arduous journey from Sultanganj to the Deoghar temple. The facility of offering water, which was available till 1990, has now been stopped.
"Earlier, a separate arrangement was made for offering water to the Dak Bam. There was no lawn for the Dak Kanwar Yatris. I request the Jharkhand government to make special arrangements for us. This will facilitate Dak Kanwar Yatris, who are covering such a difficult journey, to offer water. A little good sense can save us from the hassles of standing in the queue of general Kanwaris," Mandal added.
He has now set his eyes on completing Dak Kanwar Yatras 201 times. The Dak Kanwar Yatra may be a physically demanding pilgrimage, but for Girish, it is an unstoppable misson—a mission that will continue as long as "Lord Shiva calls him."
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