Shivaratri celebrated with religious fervour

Devotees from different parts of the State, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh visited the cave shrine of Gupteswar to celebrate Shivaratri on Monday. Gupteswar temple houses an eight-foot-long Linga enshrined within a cave in Ramgiri forest under Boipariguda block.

After taking a holy dip in river Saveri also known as Pataliganga, devotees offered prayers in the cave temple, situated at a height of 1,000 metres.

Flow of devotees began early in the morning and continued till late in the night. People waited for the Mahadeepa to be raised atop the shrine to break their fast.The festival was also a special occasion for tribals of the district who gathered in large numbers at Gupteswar. Wearing traditional costumes, Darua, Kondh, Bonda, Paraja, Bhumiya, Gond and Saura tribals took part in the Shivaratri Mela that was organised below the shrine. Elaborate security arrangements were made with the Ramgiri being a Maoist-affected area.

In Malkangiri, long queues were seen outside all Shiva shrines in the district while Mallikeswar temple situated atop a hill on the outskirts of the town was a major crowd puller.People thronged various Shiva temples in and around Rayagada including Devagiri hill, Paikapada Pataleswar temple under Kolnara block, Chatikona under Bissamcuttack block and Meenajhola Shiva temple located on the border of Gudari and Chandrapur blocks.

In Meenajhola, Lord Shiva is worshipped in a cave as Lord Menaketaneswar. The place is a confluence of three rivers - Vansadhara, Phalaphalia and Chauladhua. The deity, worshipped in the shape of a fish, can only be seen on the Shivaratri day.

At Devagiri, the Pancha Mukhi Astasambhu form of Lord Shiva is worshipped inside a cave and one has to climb 553 steps to reach the place.

The Shiva temple at Chatikona under Bissamcuttack block also attracted a large number of tourists. Similarly, devotees offered prayers at Paikapada Pataleswar temple where one less than one crore Shiva lingams can be found.

Heavy security arrangements were made in all these places as tourists from Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand arrived for the festival.

The Shiva temple in Kapilash under Dhenkanal district also saw a large gathering of people on the day. The rituals started at 7 am and continued till late in the night. However, devotees alleged that there were amenities inclding medical help for them atop the hill.

Vedvyas fair begins in rourkela
Rourkela: The Vedvyas temple complex along the Brahmani river - formed by the confluence of Sankh and Koel rivers - on the outskirts of Rourkela city drew the maximum number of devotees on the day. As a part of the ‘jagara’ ritual, devotees lit up the complex with clay lamps and broke their fast after raising of ‘mahadeep’ atop the temple. On the occasion, the fortnight-long Mahashivaratri fair was kicked off at Vedvyas. The fair is being organised for the last 113 years. Adequate police personnel were deployed near the temple complex and all basic facilities including drinking water, toilet, lighting and healthcare were provided to the devotees. Bathing ghats along Brahmani were manned by Odisha Disaster Response Force and fire brigade personnel. An exhibition showcasing the various welfare and development schemes of the State Government was also inaugurated at the venue by Collector Rashmita Panda.