Junagadh: The sacred 36-kilometre forest trail of Girnar, which usually echoes with the footsteps of lakhs of devotees every year, remained unusually silent this time due to damage caused by unseasonal rains. Considering the safety of devotees and the hazardous walking conditions in the forest, the district administration, in consultation with saints and seers, decided to cancel the annual Girnar Parikrama.

However, to keep the age-old tradition alive, a symbolic ritual was conducted at midnight on the occasion of Dev Diwali. At the entrance of Rudreshwar Jagir Bharati Ashram near Bhavnath Taleti, priests and devotees performed the traditional ceremony amid resonant chants of “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Girnari.”

The rituals began with the formal worship of Lord Guru Dattatreya. The District Collector said that though the public parikrama was suspended due to the poor condition of the route, saints and seers carried out a symbolic circumambulation to uphold the tradition.

Early in the morning, the saints commenced the symbolic parikrama and completed it by evening, as chants of “Jai Girnari” echoed across the mountain. While thousands of devotees who had travelled from distant places expressed disappointment over the cancellation, most respected the administration’s appeal and offered prayers at the foothills before returning home. DeshGujarat