Varanasi: The anointment ceremony of Lord Vishwanath in Kashi was completed on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami which fell on Monday amidst the music of shenais and the beatings of Damru. Known as the Tilokotsav ceremony in local parlance, the ritual adheres to long-followed religious beliefs.
On the occasion, the silver idol of the deity was ornamented and the Tilak was applied on seven places of the deity symbolising the Saptarshis amid the chanting of Vedic hymns by the Acharya. Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma was the chief host. There was a Mangal Aarti ritual in the morning and songs in praise of the lord were performed in the evening.
The marriage festival of Lord Vishwanath starts on Basant Panchami and the marriage ceremony takes place on the day of Mahashivratri followed by the Gauna ritual (the practice of taking the bride to her in-laws after one or three or five years of marriage) on Rangbhari Ekadashi.
As per the folklore, the auspicious marriage of the lord was performed on Mahashivratri and he came to accept the Gauna of goddess Gauri on Rangbhari Ekadashi.
Every year, the lord is dressed in different attire, prepared by the locals of Kashi, for the wedding ceremony.
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