Monalisa Patsani
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: Thousands of devotees visited Lingaraj Temple here Tuesday to offer special prayers on the occasion of Maha Shivratri.
Tight security was deployed in and around the temple in view of intelligence threats that the city was on the radar of terrorists. The day, however, passed off without incident, police said. Devotees started trickling in since wee hours of Tuesday, with the crowd beginning to swell towards early morning.
According to Hindu mythology, Maha Shivratri is celebrated on the 13th night/14th day of the Hindu month of Phalguna or Magh every year. It is believed that the day marks the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. Adorned in beautiful sarees, married women offered special prayers to the Lord seeking a long, healthy life for their loved ones.
Members of the NSS unit and scouts and guides unit of Ekamra College who volunteered to help the temple management on the day distributed water sachets and sprayed water with sprinklers on the devotees waiting in the open to help them fight the heat.
Shyamakant Sahu, NSS leader of the college, said, “Every year we volunteer during festivals to help the devotees and the management. We clean the temple premises, distribute water and spray water on devotees standing in long queues. If someone happens to faint, we immediately provide first aid.”
Jyotimayee Sahoo, a student of management, said “I have been standing in the queue for almost four hours now. I’m here to have the Lord’s darshan and I don’t mind the heat. The security management is very good. They are giving us water to drink and are quite helpful,” Sahoo said. Some devotees however voiced their protest at the behaviour of some priests inside the temple, who were demanding money from the devotees in the guise of offerings.
“It gave me great satisfaction to be here on Maha Shivratri, but the priests’ behaviour was very disappointing. If a devotee is giving Rs 10 as offering to the Lord, they are saying it is not enough and are demanding Rs 100,” said Ramesh Kumar Sahoo, a devotee.
The Ekamra Sanskrutika Prakashani organised bhajans and Bhagavata Gita Paath near the temple in which eminent Bollywood singer Sadhana Sargam and other singers performed bhajans.
Large crowds were also witnessed at other Shiv temples in the city, such as Chintamanishwar, Kharakhia Baidyanath, Brahmeswar, Bhaskareswar, Kedargouri and Mukteshwar.
