ABSTRACT
In ordinary terms the kanwariyas describe the pilgrimage as kathin, causing kasht, and describe it as being much harder than other austerities that they know well such as the vratas, the votive fasts that women keep. The emotional quality of the pilgrimage was often likened with shraddha or showing respect or compared with puja where offerings are made in devotion. The new single file queue is closely monitored by hundreds of security staff, and pilgrims must pass through a second gate with an electronic counter, which regulates the number of pilgrims allowed to proceed per time slot. The act of carrying the kanwar is a condensed symbol of several closely associated related concepts: spiritual toil, renunciation, purity and devotion. In popular conception the act brings together the mind and body in worship of Shiva, and with this, the pilgrimage becomes saphal.
