Wave of devotion sweeps Malwa as lakhs celebrate Mahashivratri

Indore: An unbroken stream of pilgrims visiting temples marked Mahashivratri across Malwa on Sunday, with Ujjain at the centre of the surge. By Sunday evening, over 3.3 lakh devotees had offered prayers at Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga.With the festival coinciding with a weekend, authorities expected the number to approach 10lakh before the shrine closed after the shayan aarti on Monday. Accommodation across the city was fully booked.The temple doors opened at 2.30 am on Sunday with the sounding of the first bell. Priests performed jalabhishek and panchamrit puja amid Vedic chants. The deity was adorned with sandalwood, tripund and floral garlands before the sacred ash ritual. The scale of the turnout was evident in the long, winding queues that stretched through the temple premises from the early hours.Many devotees waited patiently for several hours for a glimpse of the deity. "We joined the line before sunrise and moved slowly, but there was no restlessness," said Vivek Trivedi from Indore.The temple committee officials said that darshan was being facilitated within an average of 40 minutes, and the shrine would remain open for nearly 44 continuous hours.In Indore, temples echoed with chants and devotional music. At Shri Gendeshwar Dwadash Jyotirlinga Temple, bhasma aarti was held at dawn, followed by special abhishek with a golden kalash. An 8-day Shiv Vivah Mahotsav was underway, featuring daily shringar, bhajan recitals and ritual worship.Thousands also gathered at Gutkeshwar Mahadev Temple at Devguradia, where a 3-day fair accompanied the celebrations. Temple priest Mahendra Sharma said that the site held historical importance and was believed to be the one where Lord Garud installed a sacred Shivling.In Mandsaur, steady crowds were reported at Pashupatinath Temple. Priest Rakesh Bhatt said that devotees began arriving soon after the temple opened at 4 am. "Around 25,000 to 30,000 had darshan by afternoon," he said. Special religious programmes and bhajan recitals were scheduled through the day as the region remained immersed in prayer.