Why Do Kanwariyas Wear Saffron and Walk Barefoot?

If you have ever watched a river of saffron-clad devotees flow along the highways in the month of Sawan, you have probably wondered about the many rules they keep. Why do kanwariyas wear saffron? Why do so many of them walk barefoot for hundreds of kilometres? Why must the kanwar never be placed on the ground, and why do they call out 'Bol Bam' through the night? None of these are random customs. Each one is a deliberate act of devotion with roots in scripture, symbolism and centuries of practice. This guide answers the most common questions plainly, one at a time — so that whether you are a first-time kanwariya, a curious onlooker, or a sewadar serving at a shivir, you understand not just what devotees do, but why.

Why do kanwariyas wear saffron (kesariya) clothes?

Kanwariyas wear saffron because it is the colour of Lord Shiva, of fire, of renunciation, and of the sacred vow they have taken. In Sanatan tradition, kesariya (saffron) represents Agni — the purifying flame — and the burning away of ego and worldly attachment. When a devotee puts on saffron for the yatra, they are visibly stepping out of ordinary life and into the role of a tapasvi, a person under a sacred discipline, for the duration of the pilgrimage.

There are practical reasons too. The colour marks a kanwariya to everyone on the road — police, traffic, fellow travellers and sewa shivirs — as a pilgrim on a vow who is to be respected and helped. Saffron unites millions of individual devotees into one visible ocean of bhakti, a reminder that they walk not as strangers but as a single community carrying Ganga jal to Mahadev. It is why the whole month of Sawan seems to turn saffron across North India.

Why do kanwariyas walk barefoot?

Many kanwariyas walk barefoot as a deliberate act of tapasya — self-discipline offered to Lord Shiva. Walking without footwear over hot roads and rough ground is a hardship willingly accepted, and in Hindu devotion, hardship borne with love becomes a form of worship. The bare feet are also a mark of humility: the devotee approaches Bhole Nath with nothing between themselves and the earth they walk on, holding no pride, only surrender.

There is a sense of purity in it as well. Just as one removes shoes before entering a temple, the barefoot kanwariya treats the entire yatra route as sacred ground, a moving pilgrimage where every step is an offering. It is important to understand that not every devotee walks fully barefoot, and the tradition does not demand it of everyone — but for those who take this vrat, the blisters and aching soles are accepted as part of the devotion rather than an obstacle to it. This is exactly why foot care is one of the most needed services at any sewa shivir.

Why must the kanwar never touch the ground?

The kanwar — the decorated pole bearing two sealed pots of Ganga jal — is treated as utterly sacred from the moment it is filled at the river until the jal is poured over the Shivling. Once the Ganga water has been collected with a vow, it is considered pure and consecrated, an offering already promised to Lord Shiva. Letting the kanwar or its pots touch the bare earth is felt to break that purity, as if the sacred offering had been set down among ordinary things.

This single rule shapes the entire journey. When a devotee needs to rest, the kanwar must be hung on a stand, a tree branch, or held upright by a companion — never lowered onto the ground. It is the reason dedicated kanwar stands are among the first things a well-run shivir provides. For the strictest vow, the Khadi kanwar, the kanwar is never set down at all: while the bearer rests, a fellow devotee holds it aloft so that the sacred pole remains standing throughout the pilgrimage.

Why is such strict purity kept — no alcohol, no non-veg?

For the duration of the yatra, a kanwariya observes strict purity of body and mind. This means only sattvic vegetarian food, and complete abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, meat and intoxicants of every kind. The reasoning is simple: the devotee is carrying a sacred offering to God and is, for those days, living as a tapasvi. What one eats and does is believed to affect the purity of the vow, and impure food or intoxication is thought to defile both the bearer and the jal they carry.

Beyond food, the niyam ask for purity of conduct: calmness, celibacy, truthfulness, and freedom from anger and quarrels through the journey. The idea is that the pilgrimage disciplines the mind as much as the body. A kanwariya who has walked hundreds of kilometres in restraint and devotion is meant to arrive at the temple not just physically, but inwardly cleansed — fit to make the jalabhishek. The following are the core purity rules most devotees keep:

• 🔱Only sattvic vegetarian food — no meat, fish or eggs for the whole yatra.
• 🔱No alcohol, tobacco, or any intoxicant.
• 🔱Wash and purify oneself before touching the kanwar or the Ganga jal.
• 🔱Keep a calm, truthful mind — avoid anger, abuse and quarrels.
• 🔱Observe celibacy and restraint through the pilgrimage.

Why do many kanwariyas walk at night?

A great many kanwariyas prefer to walk through the night and rest by day, and there are both devotional and practical reasons for this. Practically, Sawan falls in the peak of summer and monsoon heat; the night air is cooler, the roads are gentler on bare feet, and the long walk becomes far more bearable when the sun is down. For devotees carrying a heavy kanwar over long distances, this is no small mercy.

There is also a spiritual dimension. The quiet of the night is felt to be conducive to bhakti — with the world asleep, the mind settles into the rhythm of the steps and the chant, and the yatra becomes a moving meditation. Under the stars, with only the sound of 'Bol Bam' rising from the road, many devotees describe feeling closest to Mahadev. Night walking is why sewa shivirs stay open round the clock, offering light, food, tea and rest to bhakts moving through the darkest hours.

Why do kanwariyas chant 'Bol Bam'?

The chant 'Bol Bam' — often 'Bol Bam, Bam Bam Bhole' — is the heartbeat of the Kanwar Yatra. 'Bam' is a sacred sound associated with Lord Shiva, and to call it out is to keep His name constantly on the lips through the long walk. The chant is at once a prayer, an expression of joy, and a source of strength: raised together by hundreds of walking devotees, it lifts tired feet, dissolves the sense of distance, and turns a strenuous march into a shared celebration of devotion.

The chant also binds the community. A single voice begins 'Bol Bam' and a chorus answers 'Bam Bam Bhole', so that strangers on the road move as one, encouraging one another mile after mile. It keeps the mind fixed on Shiva rather than on fatigue — the very purpose of nama-japa, the repetition of the divine name — and it is the sound that announces a wave of kanwariyas approaching a shivir long before they are seen.

Bol Bam, Bam Bam Bhole — the name of Mahadev turns a hard road into a joyful one, and a crowd of strangers into one family walking home to Shiva.

Understanding the vow behind every rule

Seen together, the saffron clothes, the bare feet, the untouched kanwar, the strict purity, the night walking and the ceaseless chant are not separate customs but expressions of a single vow: to carry the sacred Ganga jal to Lord Shiva with a pure body, a humble heart and an undistracted mind. Once you understand the vow, every rule makes sense — and so does the sewa that supports it. At our Shiv Kavar Samiti shivir on NH-8 in Mahipalpur, run for over thirty years, the free food honours the vow of purity, the kanwar stands keep the offering off the ground, and foot care tends the barefoot walk. If you are travelling through Delhi this Sawan, you are always welcome to rest, take darshan, or lend a hand in the seva.