LUCKNOW: Cutting across age barriers, devotees of Lord Shiva queued up at temples since early morning to offer prayers on Mahashivratri on Tuesday.
While many devotees came in traditional attires to worship the divine pair of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, vendors around temples made brisk sales selling puja items and fruits.
Relaxation in Covid protocols led to huge crowds outside the temples.
At Mankameshwar temple, ‘jalabhishek’ was performed early on Tuesday morning with holy water of from 11 rivers including the Ganga, Yamuna, Alaknanda, Saraswati, Kalyani, Gomti, Brahmaputra, Sutlej, and Karnali. The temple also organised a community feast for devotees and appealed for peace amid Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Amid chiming of bells and chants of 'Om Namah Shivay', hundreds of enthusiastic Shiva devotees formed serpentine queues at the historic temple.
“We prayed for the safety of every Indian as well as families stuck in war-hit Ukraine,” said Mahant Divyagri, head priest of Mankameshwar Temple.
Fifty six devoted families offered 'mahabhishek' in the wee hours of the morning at the 200-year-old Shivalaya Dwadesh Jyotirling Dham in Sadar, where replicas of 12 jyotirlings are kept. “These families are associated with the temple for years,” said Alok Singhal, one of the temple community member.
Devotees also thronged other temples such as Hanuman Setu and Buddheshwar temple. Vasudev, an ardent follower of Shiva said, "The festival has many legends associated with it, but what I've heard is that it was on this day that 'Mahadev' performed 'tandava', a vigorous dance that is the source of preservation and destruction."
