Devotees throng Bageshwari in Banke, Galeshwar in Myagdi to mark Shivaratri

BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS,Nepalgunj/Myagdi, Feb. 27: People have gathered at Shiva temples across the country to celebrate Maha Shivaratri festival since early Wednesday morning. 

A large number of devotees from Banke and Bardiya and various parts of India have gathered at the famous religious site, Bageshwari Temple, located in Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City-2. 

According to the chief priest of Bageshwari Temple, Chandranath Yogi, a large number of Indian devotees visit the temple not only during Maha Shivaratri but also during other religious festivals, leading to heavy crowds. 

Krishna Prasad Shrestha, a local leader from Nepalgunj, stated that while many Indian and Nepali devotees visit the temple to worship Junge Mahadev, the world's only moustached Mahadev idol, located within the temple premises, this year, they have been left disappointed as the idol has not yet been reinstalled after being removed for renovation. He added that preparations were underway for its reinstallation soon.

Meanwhile, the District Police Office, Banke, has arranged special security measures to manage the crowd. Superintendent of Police Tul Bahadur Karki, the chief of the District Police Office, Banke, stated that due to the large number of visitors, both plainclothes and uniformed security personnel were deployed to maintain order and prevent incidents such as pickpocketing.

Similarly, a large number of devotees have gathered at the famous religious site, Galeshwar Shivalaya, located in Beni Municipality-9 of Myagdi district.

According to Madhav Prasad Regmi, the chairman of the temple's trust, devotees have arrived not only from Myagdi but also from Baglung, Parbat and Pokhara to offer prayers. 

Galeshwar Dham, which spans over nine ropanis of land along the banks of the sacred Kaligandaki River, is uniquely spread over a single circular rock. A large number of devotees from Myagdi, Parbat, Baglung, Kaski, Tanahun, Chitwan and other districts have come to Galeshwar Dham to worship the self-manifested Jyotilinga of Lord Shiva, said Ram Bahadur Baniya, the secretary of the Galeshwar Shivalaya Area Development Trust. 

According to him, around 10,000 devotees visited Galeshwar Dham on Wednesday.

The trust has arranged for devotees to worship Lord Shiva throughout the day, stay awake at night with illuminated lamps and participate in hymn singing. To ensure a grand and well-organised celebration of Maha Shivaratri, various sub-committees were formed to manage worship activities.

Likewise, the Beni Shivalaya Temple, located in Beni Bazaar, the headquarters of Myagdi district, has also seen an influx of devotees since early morning. 

The Beni Shivalaya Temple Preservation Committee has ensured proper arrangements to facilitate smooth worship on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.