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Massive turnout at Shiva temples across capital on first Somwari

Massive turnout at Shiva temples across capital on first Somwari

Time of Indiaa day ago
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Patna: Temples across the city resonated with the chants of 'Bam Bam Bhole', 'Om Namah Shivaye' and 'Har Har Mahadev' on the occasion of the first 'Somwari' (Monday) of the auspicious Shrawan month.
A large number of devotees gathered at Shiva temples across the city since early morning. They offered prayers and sought blessings for good health, prosperity and spiritual growth, and also performed 'jal abhishek'.
Men and women of all ages were seen walking barefoot to temples, which wore a festive look and were decorated with flowers and festoons. Some unmarried girls claimed that they observed fasting so that they could get employment and a good husband.
"I have been observing fast on 'Somwari' since my school days, for peace and happiness in my family," Archana Kumari, a resident of Fatuha, said, adding that she also thanked Bholenath for everything in her life.
A serpentine queue was witnessed outside the Baikunth Dham Gauri Shankar temple in Khusrupur, where devotees gathered from far-flung areas of Patna and the neighbouring districts like Nalanda, Vaishali and Saran.
The doors of the temple were open for devotees after 2am.
The head priest of the temple, Vijay Shankar Tiwari, said over 2 lakh devotees offered prayers. "Separate queues were made for men and women devotees. The local police also helped in managing the crowd. SDPO-II Pankaj Kumar was seen monitoring the security arrangements near the temple premises," he said.
Devotees reached with water, milk, flowers and 'belpatra' and other puja materials to offer on the Shivling.
Vidyapati Sah, a devotee from Sultanganj, said it is believed that performing Jalabhishek with milk can help wipe out past sins, bring emotional balance, and purify the mind and body.
A collective 'Rudrabhishek' was performed with rituals at the Narmadeshwar Mahadev temple in Ashiana Nagar Phase-2. The temple management committee's president, Shivshankar Acharya, said the main sanctum and its outer area were adorned with marigold flowers.
"The prayer service started from 5am and continued till late evening," he said.
A rush of devotees was also witnessed at Mahavir Mandir near Patna Junction. Temple superintendent, K Sudhakaran, said a total of 700 people offered 'jal abhishek' at four Shivlings on the temple premises between 5am and 11am, while 62 families performed 'rudra abhishek'. "Around 2,500 devotees visited the temple and sought the blessings of God," he added, while the management made elaborate arrangements with additional facilities for them.
A 54 feet-long 'kanwar yatra', a decorated pole with pots of holy water, was carried by hundreds of devotees in Kaimashikoh locality of Patna City. The yatra started on the beats of drums, march of horses and decorated elephants, in which kanwariyas and devotees wearing saffron clothes participated, shouting "Bol Bam".
An ebullient devotee Kundan Sinha showed high enthusiasm and said Baba would make us completely pure and give wisdom to all the devotees. Another devotee, Pritam Kumar, said he prayed after taking a bath in the Ganga river.
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