Nahan (HP): Thousands of devotees took a holy dip in the Shri Renuka Ji Lake here on the occasion of Hariprabodhini Ekadashi on Thursday, officials said.

The holy 'snaan' started at 3 am in the wee hours and continued till late evening, locals said.

On the second day of the six-day long international Shri Renuka Ji Mela, number of people from different states of north India continued to throng the fair throughout the day.

Devotees took a holy dip in the Renuka Ji Lake and paid obeisance to Bhagwati Renuka Ji and Lord Parshuram.

Thousands of devotees take dip in the lake on the occasion of Hariprabodhini Ekadashi and Kartik Purnima (full moon), falling on November 23 and 27 this year.

Aacharya Surendra Sharma, a Bhavad Gita narrator, said this fair has been the biggest annual congregation of people in Sirmaur district since thousands of years.

This religious assembly dedicated to Lord Parshuram and Bhagwati Renuka Ji finds mentions in the several Purans including 'Skand Puran' and 'Brahmand Puran', he said.

Huge crowd was witnessed on the Snann Ghat on the bank of Renuka Ji Lake since morning, said Ram Lal Thakur, a devotee who has come here from Uttarakhand with his family to attend the fair.

'Today after taking Holi dip, we will proceed back to our native places,' Thakur said.

Elaborate security arrangements were made at the Snaan Ghat to control the crowd, the officials said. PTI COR BPL RPA