Over 1,500 attend celebrations on the first day of Maha Shivrati

The 13-marla temple is not enough to accommodate all the pilgrims.

MANSEHRA: The three-day day celebrations of Maha Shivratri began here late on Sunday night.

Celebrated annually between mid-February and early March, over 1,500 Hindus from across the country throng the Shiva temple in Chiti Gati Gandiyan village.

Local authorities have beefed up the security in anticipation of possible skirmishes.

Temple priest Darshan Lal Pujari also expressed his satisfaction over the security arrangements and praised the local community for extending every possible support during the festivities.

Recurring problems

Temple congestion, unavailability of space for lavatories and food preparation mar the Shivrati celebrations every year. “How can we accommodate 1,200 to 1,500 devotees in a temple measuring 13 marlas?” he said, adding that devotees have faced problems while performing puja and other mandatory festival rites.

According to Pujari, a case is still pending with a local court over the ownership of a 4-kanal land that was once part of the temple but was illegally sold by the Evacuee Board 30 years ago. He asked for the government to help Hazara’s Hindu community by providing them enough space to accommodate the hundreds gathered there.

The festival, which transliterates to “the night of Shiva”, sees devotees observing fasts and night-long vigils in memoriam of Lord Shiva who, according to Hindu legend, was married to Devi Parvati on this day.

Another legend states that Lord Shiva became the blue-throated one by swallowing a deadly poison during the churning of “Ksheer Sagar” (the milky ocean). The poison was so deadly that had he consumed it, his stomach which represents the universe, would have been annihilated. Consequently, besides being the day women pray for the health of their husbands, Shivratri is also a day of giving thanks to Shiva for protecting the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2012.