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Shiva devotees throng temples in Sangam city
Although a heavy rush of devotees was seen at all the temples of Lord Shiva in the city, the maximum crowd gathered at the Mankameshwar temple on the banks of the Yamuna.
PRAYAGRAJ: On the first ‘Somwar’ of the holy month of Shravan, devotees thronged various Lord Shiva temples in Sangam city on Monday. Temples echoed with the chants of ‘bam bam bhole’ and ‘har har mahadev’ as long queues of devotees formed in front of all the major Shiva temples in the city.
Despite facing sultry conditions, the devotion of the enthusiastic devotees remained undeterred. From early morning, devotees formed beelines at various temples in the city. Similarly, a large number of devotees visited the Sangam to take a holy dip and fetch ‘Gangajal’ to offer at nearby Shiva temples. A large number of ‘Kanwariyas’ also gathered at shiva temples to offer holy water.
Although a heavy rush of devotees was seen at all the temples of Lord Shiva in the city, the maximum crowd gathered at the Mankameshwar temple on the banks of the Yamuna. Likewise, a significant number of devotees thronged the Padila Mahadeo temple in Phaphamau, where people queued up since early morning. Bearing thalis with offerings for the Shivalingas, including milk, honey, sandalwood paste, and wood apple leaves, women and girls formed a large part of the patiently waiting devotees.
The temple priest of Padila Mahadeo temple, Sachidanand Vyas, said that after the ‘Maha Aarti’ and ‘Shringar’, the temple doors were opened for devotees at 4 am for darshan, worship, and ‘Jalabhishek’. Akhilesh Giri, the temple committee administrator, said that over a dozen ‘Rudrabhisheks’ were performed by the afternoon.
Throwing light on the importance of shravan somwar, noted priest Pt Naresh Tripathi said that it is believed that the worship of Shiva during Shravan month is 108 times more impactful than worshipping during normal days. “Millions of devout Hindus observe the Shravan Somwar Vrat (fasting) and perform pujas after the morning bath and other purification rituals. Devotees offer their prayers to Lord Ganesha and then Lord Shiva by chanting Om Namah Shivaya,” he added.
