Thousands of devotees took a holy dip in river Ganges in Varanasi on the occasion of lunar eclipse.
"During lunar eclipse people take holy dip in Ganges. As per our mythology, bathing in Ganges during lunar eclipse gives huge positive outcomes for life. You can gain God's blessings. I urge all the Indians to sprinkle a bit of holy water of the Ganges on themselves and then take a bath. They will surely gain God's blessings," said a priest, Sunil Mihsra.
As per Hindu tradition, an eclipse occurs because a demon named 'Rahu' occasionally gobbles up the sun or the moon before letting them off after a certain period.
Banks of the river Ganges swarmed with devotees and priests as they offered prayers.
"This is a holy period of lunar eclipse and I have come from Mumbai for this special occasion. I will take holy bath in Ganges for salvation," said a priest, Gopal Mishra.
Kolkata and central Bhopal too got a glimpse of the spectacular celestial event.
"All the temples are closed in the city. People observe it in different ways may be it has got some scientific reason also. If you do certain things like touching the God's idol, it might cause some negative result on your life. It has been traditionally observed in this way and that is why people obey it," said a local, Anita Devi.
Apart from India, the eclipse was witnessed in North America, Australia, western South America and parts of eastern Asia.
