Sonepur, June 16: Nearly 20,000 people thronged the banks of the Mahanadi to take a dip at Papakshyaya Ghat near Binika, about 30km from here on the auspicious occasion of the lunar eclipse early on Thursday.

Though the overcast sky prevented the people from watching the celestial phenomena, thousands of people, including a large number from the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh, turned up in the wee hours on Thursday soon after the eclipse ended at 3.40am. During every lunar and solar eclipse, thousands of people come here up for a holy dip at the Papakhsyaya Ghat in western Orissa.

Legend has it that all sins of a person are washed away if he or she takes a dip at this particular ghat of the Mahanadi during a solar or a lunar eclipse. After the dip, the people visit an old banyan tree as part of the ritual.

Litterateur Atala Bihari Panda said the practice of people thronging the ghat for a holy dip during these solar and lunar eclipses dates back to the 13th century AD.

“History has it that in the 13th century, King Anangabhima Deva II, who ruled Sonepur, was cured of a dreaded skin disease after he took a bath in the ghat. To commemorate it, the king constructed a temple a few kilometres away from the ghat at Charda village, which is now famous as the Kapileswar temple,” said Panda.

“It is probably after this that the ghat was named Papa Kshyaya ghat and people came to this place to take a dip to wash their sins,” Panda added.

The banks of the Mahanadi at the Papa Kshyaya ghat on Thursday morning looked like a festival site with thousands turning up to take the holy dip. Namrata Mishra of Bargarh, who was there to take the holy dip, said she was very lucky to be there.

“These are rare occasions when we get a chance to wash our sins. I am lucky to be here,” she said.

Dinanath Singh of Sarangarh in Chhattisgarh, who came with his family, said that he always visited Papa Khsyaya ghat during the solar and lunar eclipse.

“I come here on every solar and lunar eclipse to take the holy dip. As it was cloudy, we couldn’t see the eclipse. But it gave me immense pleasure to be here to perform the ritual,” Singh said.

Over the years Papakshyaya Ghat in Binika has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sonepur district.