Bhubaneswar: Huge crowds thronged the Shiva shrines across Odisha since midnight to mark Maha Shivaratri.
The Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, the Dhabaleswar temple in Cuttack, the Kapilas temple in Dhenkanal and the Akhandalamani temple in Bhadrak, in particular, witnessed a massive turnout of devotees on the occasion.
Going by legend, Lord Shiva had consumed poison to save the world. And to save Mahadev’s life, the whole world was awake and lit lamps. On this day, the devotees keep fast, visit the Shiva shrines and light diyas. They break their fast when the Mahadeep is raised atop the temple.
Devotees started queuing up at the Lingaraj Temple for darshan of the Lord from 4 am. As many as 30 platoons of police have been deployed in and around the Ekamra Kshetra to maintain law and order. The Singhadwara and the main temple have been decked up with varieties of flowers. The Mahadeep will be raised atop the temple at 10 pm.
In Cuttack, Dhabaleswar temple witnessed a footfall of devotees from 4 am. The servitors prepared a special bhog called ‘Mandua’ on this occasion and distributed it among the devotees. The Mahadeep here will be raised at 1 am.
Adequate police forces have been deployed on the premises of the shrine where devotees converge in large numbers.
In Dhenkanal, Kapilas temple saw a heavy rush of devotees for the darshan of Lord Chandrasekhar since morning. The Mahadeep will be raised at 4 am.
The Bhadrak district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth darshan of Lord Baba Akhandalamani at Aradi. Police personnel have been deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the festival. The Mahadeep will be lifted here at 5 am.
The Loknath temple is one of the prominent Shiva shrines where the influx of devotees has been witnessed since midnight.
It is learnt that the temple administration has completed all the preparations for the ‘Hari-Hara Bheta’ ritual to be held at the shrine tonight. The Mahadeep will be lifted atop the shrine at 4 am.
Scores of pilgrims were seen standing in the queues stretching to a distance of more than 4 km from the Gupteswar shrine in Koraput district today.
Devotees had to endure waits for hours in long queue lines to offer prayers to Lord Gupteswar, the presiding deity of the temple.
Police and district administration have kept a vigil to maintain law and order situation in and around the temple.
