INDIA, July 18, 2023 (Indian Express): The annual Kanwar Yatra, during which hundreds of thousands of pilgrims carried waters from the Ganga and other holy rivers to Shiva shrines — amid massive security and traffic arrangements — concluded on July 16. The Kanwar Yatra is a pilgrimage organized in the Hindu calendar month of Shravana (Saavan). This year, it began on July 4. While traditionally, saffron-clad devotees walked barefoot with pitchers of water to various Shiva temples, the yatra, or journey, is now often carried out in trucks and other vehicles. In the Gangetic plains, the water is taken from pilgrimage sites such as Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand, Sultanganj in Bihar, and Prayagraj, Ayodhya or Varanasi from Uttar Pradesh.

Devotees carry the pitchers of holy water on their shoulders, balanced on decorated slings known as Kanwars. The water is used by the pilgrims to worship Shiva lingas at shrines of importance, including the 12 Jyotirlingas, or at certain specific temples such as the Pura Mahadeva and Augharnath Temple in Meerut, Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar, Jharkhand, or even in the devotee’s own village or town. This form of Shiva worship has special significance in the areas around the Ganga. An important festival with similarities to the Kanwar yatra in North India, called the Kavadi festival, is celebrated in Tamil Nadu, in which Lord Muruga is worshiped.

More on the Kanwar Yatra at source.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/kanwar-yatra-religious-significance-8846741/

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