New Delhi, 15 February (HS): Devotees across the country thronged temples and riverbanks on Mahashivratri as chants of “Har Har Gange” and “Om Namah Shivaya” resonated from early morning hours.

From Varanasi and Ujjain to Ayodhya, Shiva temples witnessed large gatherings of worshippers offering prayers and performing jalabhishek. Long queues were seen at the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain, Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi and Baba Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple in Deoghar.

In the national capital, heavy crowds gathered at Gauri Shankar Temple in Chandni Chowk and Shri Adya Katyayani Shaktipeeth in Chhatarpur for worship. Similar scenes were reported at Babulnath Temple in Mumbai.

In Odisha, sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a Shivalinga sculpture made of 17,000 rudraksha beads on Puri beach to mark the occasion.

In Ayodhya, a grand Shiva procession will be taken out from the ancient Nageshwar Nath Temple at Ram Ki Paidi. Thousands of devotees are expected to participate with bands, chariots and religious tableaux. The procession will be received at Kshireshwar Nath Temple and the ceremonial wedding of Lord Shiva will be performed at night.

According to the administration, more than five lakh devotees are likely to arrive and special security and traffic arrangements have been made to ensure smooth darshan for pilgrims.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar