Uttarakhand: Devotees take a dip in River Ganga at Haridwar ahead of lunar eclipse

Haridwar (Uttarakhand) [India], October 28 (ANI): On the occasion of Ashwini Purnima and ahead of the lunar eclipse, devotees at Haridwar's Har Ki Pauri were seen taking a dip of faith in the Ganges.
One of the devotees at Har Ki Pauri told ANI, "Today is lunar eclipse (Chandragrahan) and this is considered to be an auspicious day to take a bath in river Ganga and we have come from Odisha for this purpose. We felt really good and peaceful after coming over here."

As per Hindu beliefs, there is no bathing, charity or worship of any kind during the lunar eclipse and the temples are also closed as well.
One of the priests said, "The people who follow Sanatan Traditions take bath at various pilgrimages during this time period and they do charity as well."
"On the occasion of Chandragarahan (lunar eclipse), people go to pilgrimages to offer their prayers and express their thankfulness to God, it is believed (in Hinduism) that lunar eclipse is an attack on a God (moon) and in such situation people should stand with him," he said.
This is the reason that the devotees have been taking a bath in Ganga since morning after reaching Har Ki Pauri Brahmakund.
Meanwhile, Acharya Satyendra Das from Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya informed that the Sutak period will start from 4:04 pm after which all the temples will be closed and all religious proceedings will be stopped.

He also said that an eclipse will occur at 1:04 am and will be over by 1:44 am.
The Acharya also expressed possibility of storms and earthquakes in some places during this time period.
He further said, "Pregnant women should pay special attention during this period." (ANI)