Dak Bams, the express-kanwarias with 24 hours in hand!

Revered even among ‘Kanwariyas’, Lord Shiva’s devotees, the high-speed Dak Bams are express kanwarias known to cover long distances, barefoot and on the run, to reach their pledged destination.

Once there, they offer Holy Ganga water to Lord Shiva within 24 hours of collecting it, during the pious month of Shravan, every year.

In their white attire, Dak Bams stand out in stark contrast to the saffron-clothed regular Kanwarias, and are, in fact, different from ordinary kawariyas, say priests.

“For the regular kanwaria there is no time limit. A Kanwaria can take as many days as he likes to complete his trek. But a Dak Bam is limited by time,” said Swami Dharanand Bhrahmachari, the head priest of ancient Mankameshwar temple, the revered Lord Shiva temple in Prayagraj, frequented by many Kanwarias.

The priest says that usually, only a man becomes a Dak Bam.

“Being a Dak Bam is a tough affair even among Kanwarias. He has to complete the entire distance for which he has taken a pledge, within 24 hours of collecting the Ganga water, which he carries on his shoulders all through the journey. If he fails to reach the temple and offer the water within this time, he fails to remain a Dak Bam. So, a Dak Bam has to continuously carry the sacred Gangajal on his back. He has to be always on the go. He cannot sit. He cannot sleep. He cannot eat. Even if he drinks water, he has to do so running— all this just to please his deity, Lord Shiva,” explained Swami Dharanand.

Owing to the sheer pace at which the Dak Bams are expected to move, usually those in age group of 15 to 30 are inducted as Dak Bams.

Hariom Singh, a Dak Bam from Kaushambi, busy collecting Gangajal near Sangam, said that he began practising the long run 15 days in advance to get his body and mind ready for the tough run.

“Along with my group of 10 friends, I practised running barefoot at night and as part of the preparations slept for mere 4-5 hours a day. We also gave up oily and spicy food. We also turned fully vegetarian for the duration. We often spread a white sheet on the ground and meditate seeking the Lord’s blessings for the success of the impending run as Dak Bams before starting off on the pilgrimage,” he explained.

“There are primarily fours kinds of Kanwariyas: Regular Kanwarya, Khada Kanwaria, Dandi Kanwaria and Dak Bam. All offer Gangajal to Lord Shiva. Usually, whenever a Lord Shiva bhakt gets the inner call or has a wish fulfilled, he takes the Kanwar pledge. He collects Gangajal from the source nearest to his location and then heads to the Shiva temple for which he has taken the pledge,” said Pt Diwakar Tripathi Purvanchali, director of Utthan Jyotish Sansthan, Prayagraj and a Lord Shiva devotee himself.

Tripathi said that the white attire, a walking stick for support and Gangajal on the back have become synonymous with Dak Bams over the years.

“Though a kanwariya is free to take the pledge to visit any Lord Shiva temple and perform the jalabishek, usually, Kanwarias of this region go to Padila Mahadev temple in Prayagraj, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi or Baba Baidyanath dham in Deoghar, Jharkhand,” he added.

Usually, during the month of Shravan, most famous Lord Shiva temples where the Kanwarias head to, are fully crowded. Dak Bams need to offer the sacred water at the earliest to fulfil their pledge or risk failure. Keeping this in mind, temple managements and the district administrations make special arrangements for Dak Bams to offer the sacred water as early as possible.

Also Read | Kanwad Yatra: Faith on the move, barefoot

KANWAR YATRA

The journey or trek is named after the Sanskrit word ‘Kanwar’ which is a single pole (usually bamboo) with two roughly equal loads of Gangajal dangling from both ends. This ‘yatra’ or journey takes place during the monsoon months of July-August or ‘Shravan Maas’ of the Hindu calendar, which is supposed to be an auspicious time.

According to tradition, the kanwar should not touch the ground before the consecration of the lingam, and therefore, a lot of charitable organisations place special kanwar stands along the way on which the kanwariyas can place their kanwars, and rest.

There are a lot of voluntary organisations that put up medical and food stalls for Kanwarias.

However, one factor that draws a lot of people towards these pilgrims is their hypnotic behaviour and their zeal to complete their journey despite harsh weather, foot sores and overall discomfort which they seem to be oblivious to.

First Published: Aug 09, 2019 15:39 IST