Prayers, holy dips mark Mahashivratri celebrations

New Delhi, Feb 16 (UNI) Lakhs of devotees today took a holy dip in Sangam and other rivers including Krishna, Pataliganga and Swarnamuki on the occasion of Mahashivratri, which marks the marriage of Lord Shiva to his consort Parvati.

Hundreds of thousands of people from Allahabad and neighbouring districts took a holy dip at Sangam -- the revered confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers -- and other bathing ghats here on the occasion of Mahashivratri. The festival also marks the last bathing day of the month-long Ardh Kumbh Mela taking place on the sandy bed of Ganga.

After bathing, the devotees visited temples of Lord Shiva and performed 'puja' by offering milk and flowers to the God. Huge rush of devotees was seen at Mankameshswar and Pandila Mahadev temples.

'Shiva baraats' were also taken out from different places and 'Rudrabhishekh' was performed.

The festival doubled the consumption of 'bhang' -- considered to be the treasured 'prasad' of Lord Shiv.

About 1.5 lakh pilgrims also took a holy dip in River Krishna in the coastal city of Andhra Pradesh, on the occasion of 'Mahashiva Ratri'. Later they worshiped Goddess Kanakadurga and Malleswara Swamy atop Indrakiladri hills.

Devouts, chanting ''Om Namah Shivaya'', also thronged Shiva shrines in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad to offer special prayers on the occasion. Many also observed fasts and offered special poojas and 'abhishekams' to Shivalingams. Prayers were performed all over the state including the Sri Mallikarjunaswamy temple in Srisailam, Sri Kalahastheswara Swamy temple in Srikalahasthi and Rajarajeswara Swamy temple in Vemulavada.

Lakhs of devotees from Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh converged at thePataliganga river, took holy dip and visited the Gupteswar temple to have darshan of the eight feet long lingam situated over 1000 meter above the sea level.

Devotees were also seen lined up for hours early before Loknath temple in Puri, Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, Chandrasekhar temple in Kapilas and Gupteswar temple in Koraput to offer special prayers on the occasion of Mahashivratri.

The devotees will congregate in large number in the evening at Jagannath Temple in Puri and the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar to witness the ''Maha deep'' ritual in the night.

Thousands of devotees from surrounding villages and the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka offered prayers at the famous Sri Kalahasteeswara Temple near Tirupati after a holy dip in Swarnamuki river near the temple.

Late in the night, after 'Nandi Seva' Lord Shiva would be taken in procession on 'Nandi Vahanam' around the four mada streets.

'Lingodbhava abhiskam' would later be performed to Lord Shiva.

In the Kashmir valley, special prayers were offered at all temples, including the Shankarachariya, overlooking the Dal Lake and Hanuman Mandir. Devotees, particuarly Kashmiri pandits who had not migrated, were seen standing in long queues since early this morning in the temple premises.

This is the most important festival for the Kashmiri pandits.

Muslims were also seen greeting their Kashmiri brethren on the occasion.

Fasting and prayers by devotees at Shiva temples across Delhi marked the celebration of the Mahashivratri in the capital.

In the ancient town of Ujjain, the spirit of Shiva, the three-eyed destroyer god of the Hindu pantheon, seemed to pervade on the occasion of Mahashivratri where devotees thronged the Mahakaleshwar shrine, one of the 12 jyotirlingas, since early morning.

People from Mumbai and adjoining districts made a bee line from 2300 hours last night to get the first darshan and perform pooja as soon as the famous and over 100-year old Lord Shiva temple at Ambernath opened at 0000 hours.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan performed pooja at the famous Babulnath Temple in south Mumbai this morning.

Reports of celebrations also came in from Jharkhand, Rishikesh, Tripura, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh Union Territory, Jammu and Gujarat.

In Himachal Pradesh, an anti-bomb squad was deployed by the administration while elaborate security arrangements were made in Delhi, Mumbai, Tripura, Jharkhand, Srinagar, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to tackle any eventuality.

UNI