Sore feet that trudge towards Shiva shrines in the month of Shravana find pace as the pinnacle of the holy shrine that is their destination lights up in the distance. Yes, there is great camaraderie among Bol bom devotees and a lot of excitement in the trip too, but more than anything it is the craving of the devotion-filled soul to make an effort at sincere renunciation and repentance that propel devotees to undertake the holy journey, writes Himanshu Shekhar Guru
In the month of Shravana one witnesses serpentine queues of saffron T-shirt clad devotees with water pots in their ‘kanwars’. The devotees who are known as ‘kanwariyas’ walk to places of worship barefoot from distant places to offer the holy water to Lord Shiva. The trip is locally known as the ‘Bol bom’ journey. In Orissa Bol bom devotees pour water on Shivalingas at shrines like the Lingaraj temple, Mukteshwar, Kedar Gouri and Brahmeswar temples in Bhubaneswar, Lokanath temple in Puri, Hari Shankar pitha in Bolangir and Gupteswar temple cave in Koraput.
— Legend ——
Mythology says devas and danavas churned the ocean and many precious things came out of this effort. However, while the good things were kept with pleasure at different places of the universe, there were no takers for the poison that also evolved in the process. Resultantly, the world started burning from the poisonous effect and, finally, Lord Shiva accepted to inhale the poison. But after inhaling it he started suffering from negative energy. He could not keep it in His throat and thus His throat turned blue. So all devas went on pouring water on Him to provide relief from the heat of the poison. The Bol bom tradition can be directly attributed to this mythological source.
— KANWAR ——
Although a devotee can carry sacred water in a pot, most Bol bom devotees carry two pots of water hanging from a kanwar and are also called ‘kaudias’. The trip is called kanwar yatra. The kanwar is a single pole, usually made of bamboo, with two roughly equal loads fastened or dangling from opposite ends. The kanvar is carried by balancing the middle of the pole on one or both shoulders. Kanwars are decorated with divine things used in the worship of Lord Shiva like the snake, damru, flowers, tiny idols and bale leaves.
— ELSEWHERE ——
The Bol bom trip is a spectacular affair at the famous shrines of Lord Shiva in states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Bol bom devotees throng to pilgrimage centres like Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch holy water of the Ganges. ‘Gangajal’ which is offered at local Shiva temples is considered sacred. At famous Shiva shrines like Kashi Vishwanath, Baidyanath, and Devghar a huge number of devotees throng. Baidyanath dham or Baba dham is a major centre. Gangajal taken from Sultanganj is poured on Baba Baidyanath at Devghar. The spirit of the devotees and the overall enthusiasm associated with the journey is tremendous and the zeal to reach the destination is great.
— THE TRIP ——
Kanwariyas set out on their trips on a Sunday. First they take bath in the river and perform a ritual on the spot. Then they fill their pots with sacred water and begin the journey. They utter slogans like Bhole baba par karega, Jatadhari par karega, Trishuldhari par karega, Jatia baba par karega. All these are names of the Lord. Also these days, vehicles are seen accompanying the devotees for assistance. In case one can’t measure the distance he takes help of the vehicle. Devotional bhajans recorded for the Bol bom yatra are played to create a divine atmosphere along the holy route. Many organisations provide water, tea and food to devotees. They make special arrangements for the hanging of the pole so that yatris can rest awhile and have some food because the ritual restricts keeping the pots on the bare ground.
— PARTICIPATION AND RITUALS –
Although many feel the trip is a way of seeking Lord Shiva’s blessings, youth of this generation feel it’s a kind of religious adventure. Not only young boys, girls, too, participate in the trip. Most devotees wear saffron shirts but it is not a hard-and-fast rule. However, all of them walk barefoot and that is the most difficult part of the journey which reflects that the tortured body of the devotee is steadfast in faith. Many devotees reach their chosen shrines by Sunday evening but wait for their turn to enter them and pour water. They stand in long queues as temples open only at dawn.
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
Deepak Patnaik is a 14-year-old teenager. He participated in the holy yatra this year for the first time “My father, uncles and their friends have participated in many trips. I followed their example. I asked them to include me but first they dithered. Finally, this year I told my father if he didn’t take me I would go with my friends. And I got the permission. I truly enjoyed the trip. I am a devotee of Lord Shiva and find solace visiting His shrine, but the Bol bom experience was a new and exciting one,” said Deepak.
“You can complete the Bol bom journey only if God wishes. Otherwise some trouble will come your way and you would miss the holy opportunity. We perform many vices in day-to-day life but once you go on the journey you make an effort of sincere repentance,” said Laxman Das, a devotee.
Nakul Patnaik has participated in many yatras over the years. He said, “Earlier, I was member of a Bol bom group. The members used to carry a big pot of water from Harishankar to Bolangir. I was one of the two who carried that big pot. I feel myself blessed for it. These days I don’t carry water; our group is into providing services to yatris. We distribute water packets, tea, biscuits and medicine at our camp. We have plans to provide snacks from this year onwards. We distribute around 40 bags of water pouches on the Shravana full moon night.”
