Langur-dressed devotees make a beeline in Punjab

Starting with the celebrations of Navratri, a 10-day 'Langur Mela' on Sunday commenced in Punjab's Amritsar which will be concluded on the next of Dussehra. It is believed that parents wish for a child and vow to dress them as 'langurs' (baboon) once their wish is granted.

Pilgrims in large numbers throng to the Bada Hanuman temple to offer prayers situated in the Durgiana temple complex.

The locals believe that this temple can make their wish come true, so they follow this 700-year old tradition of dressing up as monkeys during the festival of Navratri.

A devotee named Taniya, hailing from Yamuna Nagar in Haryana especially visited Amritsar to offer prayers at Bada Hanuman Mandir. "We will be staying here for the next ten days and my son will be dressing up as a langur twice a day for these ten days. I wanted a son and when he was born, I had vowed to come here and dress him up as a langur," she said.

The story behind practice stems from Ramayana era. According to legend, after Lord Ram sent her wife Goddess Sita into exile at the behest of a washerman. Sita took refuge in Maharshi Valmiki's ashram and gave birth to her two sons, Luv and Kush. Meanwhile, Lord Ram had performed the Ashwamedha Yagna and sent his horse to win over all the kingdoms. However, when it came to Maharshi Valmiki's ashram, the two boys tied it down and captured it.

Incidentally, when Lord Hanuman came to rescue the horse captured by Luv and Kush, the boys tied Lord Hanuman and made him sit there.

Zee Media Newsroom