📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / India Post, Government of India
Religion
Millions Offer Milk at Baba Karu Khirhar Dham in Saharsa on Navratri Mahasaptami
✍️ Amar Ujala · Bihar
🗓 18 Oct 2026, 10:35 AM
👁 15
On the Mahasaptami of the Shardiya Navratri, millions of devotees gathered at Baba Karu Khirhar Dham in Saharsa, Bihar, to perform a milk abhishek, a ritual believed to honor the first milk offered by shepherds after a calf is born.
Saharsa in Bihar became a focal point of devotion on Mahasaptami, the eighth day of the Shardiya Navratri, as crowds converged on the Baba Karu Khirhar Dham. The temple, known for its unique milk‑river tradition, attracted devotees from across the state and neighboring regions.
The ritual involves pouring large quantities of milk over the deity, symbolising gratitude and seeking blessings. According to local belief, shepherds present the first milk produced after a cow or buffalo calf is born, offering it to the deity as a token of thanks.
Organisers estimated that several million people participated, creating a vibrant atmosphere of chanting, music and the continuous flow of milk that formed a temporary river across the temple courtyard. Security and crowd‑control measures were heightened to manage the massive turnout.
Authorities noted that the event underscores the deep-rooted cultural ties between agrarian life and religious practice in rural Bihar, and highlighted the temple’s role in preserving this distinctive tradition for future generations.
The ritual involves pouring large quantities of milk over the deity, symbolising gratitude and seeking blessings. According to local belief, shepherds present the first milk produced after a cow or buffalo calf is born, offering it to the deity as a token of thanks.
Organisers estimated that several million people participated, creating a vibrant atmosphere of chanting, music and the continuous flow of milk that formed a temporary river across the temple courtyard. Security and crowd‑control measures were heightened to manage the massive turnout.
Authorities noted that the event underscores the deep-rooted cultural ties between agrarian life and religious practice in rural Bihar, and highlighted the temple’s role in preserving this distinctive tradition for future generations.