Mahashivaratri 2013: ​When 240 village deities came to greet Lord Shiva

BANGALORE: All roads in the city led to Shiva temples on Sunday. With Mahashivaratri, the great night of Lord Shiva, dawning on the city, pomp and fervour marked celebrations at the temples.
Devotees offered poojas like Rudrabhisheka, Shivapuja, Panchamurtha Abhisheka and Shatarudrabhisheka. The celebration at the Art of Living (AOL) International Centre on Kanakapura Road turned into a virtual parliament of grama devathes (village deities).Thousands of devotees flocked to the centre where 240 village deities from in and around Bangalore city had arrived. The event started at 5.30pm.
The celebration began with ‘Sudarshana Kriya’ and saw 30,000 people taking part. Pooja kunitha by folk artistes holding the village deities on their heads was the showstopper . The deities included Bhuvaneshwari, Annamma as also those from far-off places like Kunigal, Arasikere, Tumkur and Kolar.
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “For the first time ever, over 240 venerated village deities are coming together from Karnataka on the occasion of Shivaratri.”
Rudra Abhishekam was next on the list and the night culminated in a satsang.
“I’ve been living in Bangalore for seven years but had never seen a grama devathe. The deities from 240 villages were so grand and vibrant. We were amazed by the colourful occasion. I participated in all the poojas and it was quite an experience,” said Tanushree Bishnoi, a devotee at AOL.
A special aarthi to the 65-foot-tall Shiva idol every two hours marked the celebration at the Shiva temple of RVM Foundation on Old Airport Road. The celebration kicked off at 6am on Sunday and continued till 4am on Monday.
Live bhajans and special midnight competitions like Shiv Anthakshri, Shiv Saregama and Shiv Dhwani Sangham kept devotees awake for almost 24 hours. A five-minute light-and sound-show based on the theme ‘Surrender! Let God take charge’ was the highlight.
Shivaratri came with double bonanza for residents of Malleswaram. The event, organized by Malleswaram Samskrutika Sangha in association with CN Ashwath Narayan Foundation, was also marked by the inauguration of the upgraded Malleswaram Grounds.
The Mahashivaratri utsav at Sri Gavi Gangadhareshwara Swamy Temple organized by Shree Gavi Gangadhareshwara Swamy Pallakki Utsav Samithi witnessed religious and cultural programmes, apart from mass distribution of ‘prasadam’ . It was attended by 40,000 devotees.