Elderly saints complete walking pilgrimage leg from Aligarh to Ayodhya, honored at Chilbila temple

A group of elderly saints on a walking pilgrimage from Aligarh to Ayodhya Dham received a grand welcome upon reaching the ancient Shri Hanuman Temple at Chilbila in Pratapgarh district.

Roshnlal Umarvaishya, general secretary of the temple committee and a social worker, honoured the saints by draping them with shawls and garlanding them. Prasad was also arranged for the saints within the temple premises.

The group of 12 elderly saints, led by 76-year-old Sant Mohandas Maharaj, had started their pilgrimage on foot from Aligarh on August 30. The journey reached Chilbila after passing through Chitrakoot Dham and Prayagraj. Upon arrival at Chilbila, the saints bathed and performed formal worship and prayers to Shri Hanuman Ji Maharaj, then rested in the temple before partaking of prasad.

A special feature of this religious walking pilgrimage is that a Shri Ram Darbar has been installed on a tractor accompanying the saints, and an uninterrupted recitation of Shri Ramcharitmanas is continuously underway. Two saints take turns reciting the Manas, while the other saints walk on foot. One complete uninterrupted recitation has already been concluded at Chitrakoot Dham, and currently the second uninterrupted recitation is in progress.

Mohandas Maharaj, who is leading the pilgrimage, said that after beginning the journey from Aligarh, they reached Chitrakoot and performed a circumambulation of Kamadgiri. After that, they bathed in Prayagraj and the journey is progressing forward while visiting and worshipping at various temples. He said that all the pilgrims are overwhelmed by the darshan, worship and the honour accorded to the saints at the Shri Hanuman Temple located at Chilbila. They will proceed ahead to reach Ayodhya Dham where they will offer darshan and worship at Shri Ramlala and Hanumangarhi.

Social worker Roshnlal Umarvaishya said, "Getting the good fortune to serve elderly saints and receive their blessings is the grace of Hanuman Ji Maharaj. The honour and service of saints is a matter of good fortune for us." Present on this occasion were Shani Maharaj, Harinam Singh, Vivek Yadav, Adarsh Kumar, Anil Daksh, Mahendra Verma, Shiv Chetan Baba, Ashok Kumar Singh, Rajkumar Singh, Santosh Singh, Rajvir Singh, Nepal Singh, Lalaram Halwai, Dhyan Pal Singh, Ravindra Pal Singh, Vires Singh, Ved Prakash Sharma, along with saints and members of the temple committee.