Lakhs of devotees offer prayers at Pashupatinath Temple on Mahashivratri

On the occasion of Mahashivratri, all four doors of Pashupatinath Temple are opened from 3:00 am on Saturday and lakhs of devotees have offered their prayers on the auspicious occasion. AIR Kathmandu reports that devotees were already in lines before opening of the doors and 5 km long queue of devotees kept on thronging as the time passed to enter Pashupatinath temple.

As per Pashupati Area Development Trust official record, over 450,000 devotees worshipped at Pashupatinath Temple till 11 am on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri today and the number is increasing as the time passes. Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati of Jagannathpuri-based Govardhan Math, who arrived here at the invitation of PADT on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri, performed a special worship and inaugurated the Adya Shankaracharya Temple located in front of the Pashupatinath Temple and delivered a sermon.

Health camps have also been set up in the Pashupatinath temple premises. Free water, drink and food is being served in the temple premises for devotees. Pashupatinath Temple area has been decorated with flowers on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. As many as 5,000 security personnel and 4,000 volunteers have been deployed to manage crowd ensuring smooth darshan to every devotee who have come to Pashupatinath temple for darshan and puja. On the occassion of Mahashivratri, chariot rally by civil society Brahmakumari and other organisations were carried out in Kathmandu.