Guru Purnima Packs North India’s River Ghats With Devotees

Hundreds of thousands of devotees thronged major pilgrimage centres in northern India on Thursday to mark Guru Purnima, a Hindu festival that honours spiritual teachers. Long before daybreak, worshippers lined the ghats of the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, the Saryu River in Ayodhya, Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar and Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi to take ritual baths, offer prayers and seek blessings from their gurus. State authorities deployed police, river-patrol units and the National Disaster Response Force, particularly in Varanasi where the Ganga is in spate, to manage crowds and ensure safety. Local officials reported no major incidents as devotees performed traditional rites and charitable acts. The festival, observed annually on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Ashadha, is one of the biggest religious gatherings between the annual Kumbh Melas.