Varanasi: PM Modi lights first diya on Dev Deepawali, enjoys laser show at Sarnath archaeological site

New Delhi, Nov 30: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi lit the customary earthen lamp at Raj Ghat in Varanasi to mark the beginning of the celebrations that is held on every ''poornima'' of the hindu month of Kartik. Eleven lakh earthen lamps with be lighted on both the banks of the Ganga.

Later, Prime Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath watched a light and sound show on Lord Buddha's legacy and teachings at the Sarnath archaeological site here on Monday.

The Prime Minister also interacted with Buddhist monks there.

Accompanied by Adiyanath, Prime Minister Modi visited the Sarnath archaeological site after participating in Dev Deepawali celebrations at the Raj Ghat in Varanasi.

The Dev Deepavali ("the Diwali of the Gods" or "Festival of Lights of the Gods"[2]) is the festival of Kartik Poornima celebrated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

It falls on the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartika (November - December) and takes place fifteen days after Diwali.

The steps of all the ghats on the riverfront of the Ganges River, from Ravidas Ghat at the southern end to Rajghat, are lit with more than a million earthen lamps (diyas) in honour of Ganga, the Ganges, and its presiding goddess.

The gods are believed to descend to Earth to bathe in the Ganges on this day.The festival is also observed as Tripura Purnima Snan. The tradition of lighting the lamps on the Dev Deepawali festival day was first started at the Panchganga Ghat in 1985.

During Dev Deepawali, houses are decorated with oil lamps and colored designs on their front doors. Firecrackers are burnt at night, processions of decorated deities are taken out into the streets of Varanasi, and oil lamps are set afloat on the river.