Deoghar: On the occasion of Basant Panchami, a huge crowd of devotees is seen in Baba Dham of Deoghar. People were seen here applying Abir-Gulal to each other and congratulating each other. Actually, the day of Basant Panchami is celebrated as Baba’s Tilakotsav in the world famous Baba Baidyanath temple, which lasts for two days. A crowd of faith is being seen regarding this on the first day. To perform this ritual of Tilak, a large number of devotees from Baba’s in-laws house i.e. Mithilanchal have started reaching Baba Dham with different types of Kanwar.
Every year on the day of Basant Panchami, a big group from Mithilanchal reaches Deoghar to perform Jalabhishek of Baba. These Mithila residents, who have a special type of Kanwar, distinct identity through dress and language, consider themselves to be Baba’s relatives. That’s why on the day of Basant Panchami people come to Deoghar to participate in Baba’s Tilakotsav. Then on Shivratri, Shiva returns with a resolve to attend the marriage.
The devotees who participate in Baba’s Tilakotsav are called Tilakharu. This tradition of celebrating Tilakotsav has been going on for centuries. The people of Mithla believe that Parvati, Sati, and Sita belonged to the Himalayan mountain range and Mithila is in the Himalayan range. Therefore Mother Parvati is the daughter of Mithila. This is the reason why Mithila residents celebrate Tilakotsav from the girl’s side. These Mithila residents, who came in many groups, gather at many places in the city. Then they celebrate Baba’s Tilakotsav on the day of Basant Panchami by doing puja, traditional bhajans and kirtans.
People attending Baba’s Tilakotsav play Abir-Gulal, share happiness among themselves and congratulate each other. According to the priest of the temple, the tradition of offering tilak to Devadhidev Mahadev is ancient. According to belief, this tradition was started by sages. According to this tradition, on the day of Basant Panchami, people of Mithila region offer Tilak to Baba. The people of Mithila have been following it till Basant Panchami.
The people of Mithila consider themselves the brother of Mother Parvati and Baba Bhole as their brother-in-law. On this day, they do Tilak on him and invite him to come with the wedding procession on the day of Shivratri. In this way, the tradition of offering Tilak can be seen only in the Dwadash Jyotirling located in Deoghar.