Sonepur fair begins today

sonepur: asia's biggest cattle fair, the hariharkshetra mela, begins at sonepur today. bihar revenue and land reforms minister ramai ram is likely to inaugurate the fair as the representative of bihar chief minister rabri devi. lakhs of devotees take holy bath at the confluence of ganga, gandak and mehi river on the day of kartik poornima which falls on november 30 this year.after taking bath at kaunharaghat of hajipur and the kalighat of sonepur, the devotees offer gangajal on the shivlinga in the hariharnath temple. the hariharkshetra mela, which is primarily a cattle fair, has a lot of socio-religious significance. speaking about this 500-year-old fair, noted writer b k pandey said that the mela site tells the mythological story of liberation of a devotee (symbolised as an elephant) from the cruel jaws of evil forces (symbolised as crocodile). lord vishnu was so moved by his disciple's devotion that he descended on the hariharkshetra area to save him from the crocodile, he said and added that the shaivites and the vaishnavites resolved their differences at this place. quoting from the religious books, pandey said lord rama had also passed through hajipur and sonepur when he was going to participate in the sita swayamvar at janakpur. it is believed that the hariharnath temple at sonepur was built by rama himself to convince the shaivites and the vaishnavites that har (shiva) and hari (vishnu) are one, said pandey. the fair is held over an area spread over 200 acres of land right from hajipur to pahlejaghat area. according to the muzaffarpur gazetter, the mela was held at hajipur before 1857. pandey said it may be true that when the rivers changed their course, the mela was shifted to sonepur. british traveller marshal has also written about the grand fair. meanwhile, senior citizens of hajipur including, tp chauhan, meera singh, ajit kumar and m n das have demanded to extend the mela to hajipur. they also demanded to invite the agriculture experts from all over the country.