The Tradition of the Kanwar Yatra from Sultanganj to Deoghar

Udayesh Ravi

स्कन्धेतु कामरं धृत्वा बम-बम प्रोच्च्य क्षणे-क्षणे।
पदे-पदे अश्वमेधस्य अक्षयं पुण्यं अश्नुते।
(Skandhetu kāmaraṁ dhṛtvā bam-bam prochya kṣaṇe-kṣaṇe.
Pade-pade aśvamedhasya akṣayaṁ puṇyam aśnute .)

That is, one who carries the Kanwar on the shoulder and continuously chants “Bam Bam” earns the inexhaustible merit of an Ashwamedha sacrifice at every step.

According to the Shiva Purana, Ravana offered Ganga water to Ravaneshwar. Historian Rajendralal Mitra discusses this in an article on the temples of Deoghar in Part 52 of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

To fulfill their vows, people carry water in a bahangi from Jahnugiri in Bihar and walk 105 kilometers with it to Deoghar in Jharkhand to offer it to Baidyanath Ji. This is called the Kanwar Yatra. Today, this practice has spread throughout Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh. Day by day, it is also spreading to other states. In Maharashtra and Rajasthan too, people are bringing water over short distances and offering it to Shiva lingas in ancient temples. They also call this the Kanwar Yatra. However, there are several accepted rules for bringing Kanwar water from Jahnugiri, now known as Sultanganj, and offering it to Baidyanath Ji. These include walking barefoot, not using the toilet while carrying the Kanwar, not passing the Kanwar over the head when shifting it from one shoulder to the other, not placing the Kanwar on the ground, keeping it away from dogs, pigs, filth, and people considered impure due to contact with such things, eating only satvik food during the pilgrimage, sleeping on the ground, wearing saffron, red, or yellow clothes, constantly remembering and chanting Lord Shiva’s name, and not causing harm to any other living being. In short, the Kanwar Yatra means preserving the purity of one’s mind, body, and Kanwar completely.

For several decades, the Kanwar tradition in the Delhi National Capital Region has been written about. Many foreign scholars have also written on it. One such scholar is James G. Lochtefeld, who considers the Kanwar Yatra of Haridwar to be a replacement of the Kanwar tradition of Deoghar. According to him, people began doing this by imitation, and there is no mythological reference to support it.
It appears correct that the Kanwar Yatra of Deoghar must be ancient. However, accounts written in the 18th and 19th centuries make it clear that the Kanwar tradition existed in Deoghar. The only difference is that some described Kanwar water being brought in the month of Shravan, while others mentioned Shri Panchami.

On 21 February 1811, when Francis Buchanan moved ahead from Sultanganj, he saw pilgrims going to Baidyanath, that is, Deoghar. Some of them were bringing water from Prayag, while others from the north-flowing Ganga. He saw them carrying water containers tied to both ends of a bamboo pole and resting it on their shoulders. He recorded this in his book Journal of Francis Buchanan Kept During the Survey of the District of Bhagalpur in 1810–1811.

Historical accounts suggest that the followers of Guru Gorakhnath’s disciple tradition were the first main worshippers of Baidyanath Ji. A living proof of this is the Nath Bari attached to the western gate of the temple, whose remains some ignorant people are trying to destroy. There are numerous samadhis of Nath sect monks here. Archival evidence confirms that the headquarters of the Nath ascetics living here was Jahnugiri, where monks of the Dashanami sect with the surname Bharati lived. The Nath followers of Baidyanath Ji also bore the surname Bharati.

The center of the Dashanami akhara at Jahnugiri controlled all the ancient temples within a radius of about 400 kilometers that were ancient and bore the name Nath. These old monasteries can be identified by the samadhis of Nath monks within their premises. It was customary to build rectangular mounds over such samadhis and install a Shiva linga on top. Devotees still worship these mounds as Shiva lingas today. One reason for the installation of more than one linga in a single complex was this. Since cement or lime plaster was not commonly used earlier, there was also a tradition of constructing such samadhi mounds with clay.

In the Sanbel Bazaar south of the Nath Bari adjoining Baidyanath temple, Shiva lingas used to emerge from the foundation pits dug for houses. Newspapers would then report that Shiva resides in every stone of this place.

During excavation, human skeletons were also found. In fact, these were the samadhis of Nath monks. Recently, during the digging of a well in the Dhankund Nath temple complex in Banka district, such skeletons were also found under clay mounds. In other words, this region was an abode of Nath ascetics.

The Nathas of Jahnugiri had control over Baidyanath Ji. In due course, they became his servants. It may be assumed that while traveling to and from their headquarters, they used to offer water from the north-flowing Ganga, and from then on this pilgrimage tradition may have begun.

It cannot be denied that the Anand Ramayana mentions Lord Rama worshipping a Shiva linga situated above Jahnugiri before taking refuge at Baidyanath, who was then also called Ravaneshwar. However, there is no mention of bringing water in a Kanwar.
When William Hodges came to Deoghar in 1782, the area was under Bhagalpur. He was a guest of Bhagalpur Collector Augustus Cleveland. Hodges painted the temples of Baidyanath. He also wrote about the place in his diary. He noted that many pilgrims were seen in Deoghar, bringing water from the Ganga located to the west of the area. It was in large pots and small bottles. These were tied to both ends of a bamboo piece and carried on the shoulders. He wrote that it hung down to about one-fifth of the height of the person carrying it. He also mentioned that this water was sold. More importantly, in that painting, he depicted two people carrying Kanwars standing on the southern side of the temple complex.

William Franklin, who wrote about the search for Pataliputra in Inquiry Concerning the Site of Ancient Palibothra, Conjectured to Lie Within the Limits of the Modern District of Bhaugulpoor, wrote that Deoghar extended over a mile in circumference. Outside it were three large ponds. He wrote that there was a tradition of bringing Ganga water here to perform the abhishek of Baidyanath. This book was published in 1815.

Rajendralal Mitra said that there was no temple in Bengal like the temple of Deoghar, where millions of pilgrims came every year. He also noted the tradition of offering Kanwar water to Baidyanath.

In 1869, Babu Rasbihari Bose, who was the SDO of Banka, wrote in an issue of Indian Antiquary that Kanwariyas traveled from Sultanganj to Deoghar via Banka and Jamdaha. They came in great enthusiasm and sang devotional as well as satirical songs. They walked barefoot wearing saffron clothes and carrying Kanwars on their shoulders.

A man named Sadhusharan Prasad, who set out on a pilgrimage in 1893, wrote in his book Bharat Bhraman that many pilgrims brought Ganga water from Gangotri, Haridwar, Prayag, Buxar, Jahangira, and other places to offer it to Baidyanath Ji; and many others bought Ganga water from the local priests to offer to Shiva. In Magh and Phalgun, thousands of pilgrims from hundreds of miles away would bring Ganga water in Kanwars and offer it to Baidyanath Ji. Large crowds gathered to offer water to Baidyanath Ji on Shri Panchami and on Shivratri in Phalgun.

On the tradition of bringing Kanwar water, James G. Lochtefeld, the author of God’s Gateway: Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place, says that the Kanwar pilgrimages of Haridwar and Tarakeshwar in West Bengal are substitutions of the traditions of the Baidyanath temple in Deoghar.

By this he means that when the deity and traditions of one pilgrimage site are established in another region, it is called a substitution. Here it must be clearly stated that this tradition is originally from Deoghar. Shiva is everywhere. Therefore, carrying forward traditions by establishing their forms is not wrong.

Similarly, dozens of scholars have discussed that among the 12 Jyotirlingas, only Baidyanath is such that it grants health and protects human beings from death. Therefore, devotees across India established shrines of Baidyanath in many places for worship. Now all those places are called “Baidyanath.” In this light, the above facts prove that as soon as written evidence of the Kanwar tradition is found in Deoghar, it was not yet present anywhere else in India.

Box 01

An Incident Discussed in The Patriot
The date was 15 February 1880. It was a Sunday, and it was a very terrible day for Deoghar. Piles of dead bodies had accumulated, and the government had imposed strict rules on the houses of temple priests in order to enforce the new tax. Their own informants and red-turbaned soldiers were stationed in every neighborhood. The priests of Deoghar were deeply angry with the government. The local people did not know that the situation would become so tragic and that the devotees, considered like family members, would die prematurely in this city of Mahadev.

Every year, on the occasion of Vasant Panchami, this fair lasted for one or two days. It was during this occasion that the natural disaster struck the devotees who had come from outside. The issue was that the British government wanted to impose a tax on those associated with Baba Baidyanath Temple and dependent solely on priestly service. For poor Brahmins, this tax was another injustice. The government wanted to earn money from the old practice of priests accommodating their devotees in their homes. This was that tax.

The weekly newspaper Hindu Patriot wrote in its issue of 8 March 1880 that about 30,000 people had gathered at the fair. A large number of them fell ill and died. Government figures mentioned 20 deaths. There was severe cold here, and rain had been continuing for several days. The situation was miserable.

The Patriot describes that not a single pilgrim would stay in the house of his panda, or temple priest. The government was strict about this. If even one pilgrim was found in someone’s house, a heavy penalty would be imposed.

In fact, in Deoghar there had always been a family-like bond of joy and sorrow between the panda and the hereditary devotee. Whenever the devotees came to this pilgrimage place, they stayed in the homes of their priests, and after completing worship they invited their priests to visit their own homes. There was a register in which the names of the devotees’ ancestors and the dates of their visits were recorded. The priests also visited the homes of their respective devotees once every year for a week and brought back the offerings given by them. These devotees belonged to all castes and social groups. There was no discrimination. Even today, this can be understood by looking at the old registers.

At the time of the above incident, there was a doctor named Golam Khan. After retiring from government service, he settled in Deoghar itself and ran his clinic there. During this disaster, he was the one providing service, while the local SDO was busy taking a holiday away from headquarters.

Meanwhile, the British government insisted that a tax of eight annas per family per year had to be paid for allowing devotees to stay in their homes. Temple priests also had to register, and this registration was to be done at the district headquarters of Santhal Pargana in Dumka. Now the poor devotee was unhappy, and so was the priest. This tax structure was similar to that of Jagannath Puri, and it was too high for this pilgrimage site. At that time, there was no proper government or dharamshala arrangement for the pilgrims to stay, yet the government remained arrogant. Their policy was condemnable.

Seeing the condition of their devotees in the city during the rain and freezing cold on Vasant Panchami, people were forced to agree that they should pay the tax. However, they hesitated at the thought that this painful arrangement would continue every year. After much deliberation, it was decided that it should not be equal to Jagannath Puri but to Gaya Ji. But the problem was that the SDO sahib was on leave, and immediate registration was not possible. In no time, the cold took the lives of many pilgrims.

When the media rapidly reported this incident, the Lieutenant Governor in Calcutta asked for a report, and strict action was taken against the SDO. The matter reached the British Parliament. Then Commissioner Mr. Barlow had to come to Deoghar, speak with the temple priests about the tax issue, and assure them that their concerns would be conveyed to the government.

In the end, the British government amended Act II of 1879 and accepted the priests’ request, reducing the total amount from 6,000 rupees to 600 rupees. The rule also added that they would not have to pay any other municipal tax immediately, and employees would come daily to clean their houses. This incident was deeply heart-wrenching.

What is surprising is that only 24 days later, on Tuesday, 9 March 1880, the Shivratri festival drew five times more people than the earlier fair.

SDO fined people for shouting ‘Har-Har Bam Bam’

The incident occurred on 27 September 1903. It was a Friday. Two days later, on the 29th, it would be the full moon of Bhadrapada. A large crowd was expected in Deoghar for worship at Baidyanathji. According to government figures released after the fair, that crowd was sixty thousand.

The Deoghar SDO, Mr. Thompson, was hearing a case. He was recording police fines as “2 annas fine,” “4 annas fine,” and so on. Suddenly, irritated, he told his deputy, the Bengali babu Girish Chandra Nag, to round up all those shouting outside and fine them. The fine should not be less than 8 annas. Girish babu said, “Follow, sir,” and asked for a reason.

Angrily he shouted, “Why do these pilgrims pass this way? They make too much noise. Arrest all of them and bring them before me.” Girish Chandra Nag said nothing in response this time; he only nodded his head. He recorded this episode in his diary and was astonished by the SDO’s decision.

In those days the road from Deoghar to Jasidih ran right through the middle of the court complex. In 1856, when Santhal Pargana was made a district, Deoghar was made a subdivision. Looking back to earlier times, one finds that before the establishment of the court this was a road that led to the Rohini State headquarters.

Devotees arriving by train from distant western regions would pass along this route toward Baidyanathji. Their groups would march by shouting slogans like “Har Har Bam Bam” and “Hail Baba Baidyanathji.” This phenomenon increased greatly on Shri Panchami, Shivaratri, Dol Purnima and the Bhadrapada full moon. Mr. Thompson was deeply irritated by it. The chanting pricked him like a needle.

SDO Thompson had been brought into this post by a mission that was notorious for conversion activity. In those days there were no particular qualifications required to be an SDO. After Thompson, Mr. Piffard came to this post. He had not even passed high school. Because his father was a famous barrister and he belonged to a noble family, he obtained the position.

Thompson was a staunch Catholic. He was greatly annoyed by Indian modern religious practices. He was stingy in decisions involving religious activities. All his officers were unhappy with his actions.

On Thompson’s orders, pilgrims were arrested and fines were collected. His actions were criticized in Deoghar’s religious circles. He did not stop there; with some police he also began arresting sellers of ganja and bhang, and punished them. Thompson’s complaints reached the Commissioner of Santhal Pargana. By then, frightened pilgrims had altered their route. They began going a little south of the earlier road and stopped chanting at that spot. That route is now the Deoghar–Jasidih link road, from Kachahari Chowk (Maharana Pratap or VIP Chowk) to Satsang College Chowk.

At that time Mr. C. H. Bompas was the Deputy Commissioner of Santhal Pargana. He visited here under the pretext of a surprise inspection. On inquiry he found the complaint to be justified. He left after that. Pleased with his prompt investigation, people even named a neighborhood after him. That neighborhood is still called Bompas Town.

A few days later Mr. Piffard arrived as SDO. He was very kind-hearted. He restored everything to its previous state. Records from that time show that he would come up to the door of Baidyanathji, bow his head, and meet everyone. His subordinate officers were also happy with him.

When Thompson left, people breathed a sigh of relief.