Ashes replace colours at Bhasma Holi in Uttarkashi

Uttarkashi: Two days before the country celebrates Holi with colours, devotees in Uttarkashi gather at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple to mark Bhasma Holi, a ritual in which ashes replace colours.

Residents said that interest in the observance has grown steadily, with more devotees joining each year.Observed for the past decade, the tradition draws Shiva devotees who smear each other with ashes collected from yagnas performed at the temple throughout the year. Many also take the ashes home as prasad. On Monday morning, after the aarti, the first offering was made to the swayambhu Shivalinga, the havan kund and the dhuni.

Devotees then assembled in the temple courtyard as Mahant Ajay Puri initiated the ritual by sprinkling ashes into the air while chanting mantras.The celebration is inspired by the Bhasma Holi observed at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain. Soon after the ritual began, the temple complex resonated with the sound of drums and cymbals as devotees sang hymns dedicated to Lord Shiva and applied bhasma on one another.Mahant Ajay Puri said the practice was introduced to preserve and promote a traditional form of Holi linked to Shaivite customs. "Throughout the year, people participate in yagnas seeking relief from personal difficulties. The ashes from those rituals are offered to the deity and later used during Bhasma Holi," he said.He added that the observance also encourages a natural form of celebration. "Chemical colours used during Holi can harm the skin. Bhasma from the yagya is natural," he said.