Lifting water at Sultanganj
A hundred kilometres on foot in saffron, carrying Ganga water on a pole
What it is
Through the month of Shravan, pilgrims fill sealed pots with water from the Uttarvahini Ganga at Ajgaibinath in Sultanganj, hang them from a decorated pole, and walk. The route runs east out of Bihar towards Deoghar. Walkers keep the pots off the ground the whole way.
Why it matters
Sultanganj is the start of one of the largest annual foot pilgrimages on earth, and the reason is geography: the Ganga turns north here, which makes the water at this one ghat the water people carry.
How it works
- Fill and seal the pots at the Ajgaibinath ghat.
- The pots do not touch the ground again until they are poured.
- Most walkers go barefoot, and most walk at night in the heat of the season.
- Who it is for
- Walkers. Also anybody who wants to stand at the ghat and watch it begin.
- Not for
- Anybody expecting to drive the route in Shravan. You will not move.
- Best season
- Jul - Aug only
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Cost
- The pots and the pole. Food and water are given free along the route.
- When
- The month of Shravan — July or August
- Booking
- None for the walk. A room in Sultanganj in Shravan needs one.
- Book ahead
- A month
- Languages
- Hindi
Rules
- Barefoot, for most
- The kanwar is never set down on the ground
- Vegetarian, no alcohol, for the duration
What to bring
- Foot care, seriously
- Light saffron cloth
- Electrolytes
Where
- Ajgaibinath Dham, Sultanganj: Where the kanwar yatra begins, on the north-flowing Ganga
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