All night queues, prayers mark Mahashivaratri in Tricity

Times News NetworkChandigarh: The Tricity was awash with devotion as residents celebrated Mahashivaratri with fervour. At temples, large crowds of devotees queued up to make offerings of milk, water, jaggery, honey etc. Prasad distribution, langar and bhajan programmes continued all day and late into the night.
One of the major gatherings was witnessed at the historic Saketri Temple, where thousands of devotees queued from the early hours to offer prayers to Lord Shiva. Long queues were seen outside the temple complex since midnight, with many devotees waiting patiently for their turn to perform "abhishek." The premises were beautifully decorated with flowers and lights.Several temporary shops were set up outside the temple, selling puja items, milk, prasad, and bhang. Inside the complex, arrangements were made for the distribution of milk, prasad, and langar for devotees.K D Sharma, president, Saketri Temple, told TOI, "Starting from 9pm, there will be four kinds of puja for pran prathistha at the temple. There is tremendous excitement among devotees. We have made special arrangements for langar and decorated the entire complex."He shared that around 250 quintals of milk were ordered and by evening, only about 40 quintals remained, which, they expected, would be consumed by night. According to him, devotees began queuing up at the temple around Saturday midnight, and the rush continued throughout the day. More than 600 volunteers, along with police personnel, were deployed to manage security and control the crowd.At the Shiv Shakti Mandir, elaborate arrangements were made to mark the auspicious occasion. Temple president Yadvinder Mehta said, "Jal abhishek and Rudra abhishek started at 4:30am. Milk and other prasad langar went on throughout the day. There will be a bhajan sandhya tonight by singer Lucky Nayar."There was heavy footfall in the Gauri Shankar temple and gaushala. Vinod Kumar, vice-president, Gauri Shankar Seva Dal, said special arrangements were made to provide cow milk from the gaushala for devotees to offer to Lord Shiva. Devotees started arriving at around 4am. Langar, comprising milk, fruits, gajar halwa, jalebi, and bread pakoras was organised.Other temples in Panchkula, Mohali, and Chandigarh also reported large gatherings and special religious programmes throughout the day. Chants of "Har Har Mahadev" echoed across temple premises, reflecting the deep faith and enthusiasm of devotees who came together to celebrate Maha Shivratri with reverence. MSID:: 128384193 413 |