Around 20,000 devotees took a holy dip in the six natural hot springs, collectively known as Surajkund, at Hazaribagh’s Barkatha on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

Not only from Jharkhand, people from Bihar, Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra also flocked to the hottest spa of Asia, situated 63km away from the district headquarters, on Sunday. Legend has it that Lord Ram created the six kundas (spas) — Suraj, Bharat, Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Shatrughan — to help a priest get rid of a skin disease. The spas are supposed to have medicinal properties.

Manoj Kaushal of Gaya said he came to the place every year. “This is the best spot to take a holy dip on Makar Sankranti as it has Lord Ram’s blessings,” he added.

Many devotees were seen throwing amla into the spas for fulfilment of their wishes, a common practice here.

On Saturday, Barkatha MLA Amit Yadav inaugurated the Surajkund fair, which will continue till January 28.

Bulbul, another hot spa on the border of Chatra, saw 5,000 people taking the dip.