PRAYAG
The Holy Sangam

THE FORT

The Fort at Allahabad has been the centre of attraction for all classes of people. It is a spiritual haven and a treasure house of innumerable Hindu relics. It is here the far-famed Akshaya Vata is situated. Devout pilgrims worship it with great ardour, performing several rituals. This is also the place, where religious frenzy manifests like committing religious suicide, though sastras specifically condemn this practice in well-defined terms. As some scriptures advocate this atmahan - suicide, as prayaschitta for the guilt of mahapataka, many take recourse to this evil practice. Old and invalid desperate and perverted fall from its high branches to end themselves, hoping to be released from the cycle of births and deaths once for all. Next to it lies Siva linga in a beautiful small shrine. After completing circumambulation pious people take vows to give up for the rest of their lives, the pleasure of eating one particular type of food, which till then held very dear to them. So, it marks the beginning of a new phase of spiritual up gradation. The Asoka Pillar a single tapering shaft of polished sand stone of 11 meters high is another attraction here. 

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