Seers search for salvation along banks of Ganga with ‘dhuni tap’

Allahabad: The sight of seers surrounded by dense smoke and meditating are drawing the attention of many a visitors at the Magh Mela ground in Allahabad these days.
Joining the rush to attain salvation during the Magh Mela, seers choose the strict ritual of ‘dhuni tap’ as a form of atonement during the 10-day period between the snans on Basant Panchami and Magh Purnima.
Performed along the banks of Ganga, the ‘sadhak’ (the person who performs the ritual) fasts for the day, meditates and prays in a fixed asan. The seer is surrounded by the thick smoke billowing from fires lit up using cow dung.
Also known as ‘panch agni tap’, this harsh form of self-denial is being practised by saints since decades. “This is among the oldest forms of penance and it also finds a mention in ancient Hindu scriptures like the Padma Puran and Shiv Puran. The scriptures mention Naga seers surrounded by fire and meditating for hours together,” said city-based astrologer Ram Naresh Tripathi.
The ritual starts with seers sitting around four fires, using cow dung, while the sun acts as the fifth source of fire.
As the ritual progresses, the numbers of fires lit up also increases. “The ‘sadhak’ then carries a fire pot on his head. The final stage of the ritual is called kapal dhuni, wherein the fire (dhuni) is lit up in a bowl (kapal),” he added.
During the ‘dhuni tap’, seers also offer food to the burning cow dung cakes, while reciting mantras. Having made the offering, the seers blow a conch shell to invoke the deity. This marks the end of preliminary rituals and the seer then proceeds to meditate.
Most saints perform the ritual between the sandy banks of the two bridges over Ganga connecting Allahabad to Jhunsi during the Magh Mela.
Magh Purnima will be observed on February 9.