Devotees throng Tapti ghats in Betul for Bhai Dooj, siblings take holy dip

Bhai Dooj was celebrated with devotion and enthusiasm in Betul on Wednesday. Devotees began arriving at various ghats of the Tapti river at daybreak. Large numbers of brothers and sisters bathed in the river at Khedi Ghat, Athner Ghat and Barahling.

At Multai, the origin point of the river Tapti, people kept coming from the morning. Devotees took a dip in the river and prayed for happiness, peace and prosperity.

At the Tapti Khadi Ghat in Khedisanvaligarh, hundreds of devotees offered prayers after bathing. People lit lamps and worshipped Maa Tapti and Yamdev. There is also a tradition of floating lamps on the river in the evening.

According to religious belief, it is considered especially auspicious for brothers and sisters to bathe together in the Tapti on Bhai Dooj, also known as Yama Dwitiya.

According to social worker Manohar Agrawal, Maa Tapti belongs to the family of Surya. Yamraj, Yamuna, Shani and Tapti hold a special place in this family. He said it is believed that on Bhai Dooj, Yamraj visits his sisters Tapti and Yamuna for the auspicious tilak. On that occasion, he blessed both sisters that brothers and sisters who bathe in the Tapti and the Yamuna on this day will not suffer unbearable pain at the time of death.

Another mythological belief holds that Yamraj went to his sister Yamuna's house on Bhai Dooj. Yamuna applied a tilak to him and performed aarti. Pleased, Yamraj granted a boon that a brother who gets a tilak from his sister on this day and bathes in a holy river will be freed from the obstacles of Yama.

Following this belief, sisters apply a tilak on their brothers' foreheads and pray for their long life and good health. In return, brothers give their sisters gifts, express their affection and pledge to protect them.