Haridwar: Depicting a unique Nepali culture, around 3.75 crore of lamps were lit by 300 devotees of the neighbouring country at the famous Har Ki Pauri Ghat in Haridwar late Thursday night for their husbands' long life and families' prosperity. Keeping the environment and cleanliness in mind, lamps made of bamboo were used this time so that they could burn off, along with the light.
According to Nepali culture, women have to make cotton wicks themselves and light the lamps at some pilgrim sites. It is believed that they perform puja by lighting lamps at a pilgrim site for the long life of their husbands and the prosperity of their families. As a custom, several devotees travelled from Nepal and gathered at Har Ki Pauri Ghat to perform the puja after the Ganga aarti. Before this, they sang devotional songs, including bhajans and kirtans.
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This time, the Ganga aarti was performed in front of famous priest Pawan Nandan Shastri, a disciple of Vijay Kaushal Maharaj. Shastri said that women light the oil lamps on the banks of the Ganges to address the hormonal imbalances that occur during menopause. He said that the Vamana Purana, a medieval-era Sanskrit text and one of the 18 major Puranas has a mention of this.
According to mythology, it is believed that by lighting lamps made by themselves at the Ganga Ghat, problems faced during menopause can be cured, Shastri said adding that based on this belief a large number of women travelled from Nepal to Haridwar to light oil lamps together. Shastri said earlier in 2012 that lamps were lit by 200 women from Nepal. The women had brought the lamps and wick with them and lit those at the Ganga Ghat together.
