Devotees throng Mahakaal temple on first Monday of Shravan

Scores of devotees thronged the Mahakaleshwar temple to offer prayers to the Lord. Priests amid chanting of Vedic hymns performed Panchamitra abhishek and offered Bhasma aarti on the occasion.

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh):Scores of devotees thronged the Mahakaleshwar temple on the first Monday of holy Shravan month. The door of the sanctum sanctorum of Mahakaal temple was thrown open at around 2.30 am so that devotees could have a glimpse of the Lord. Priests amid chanting of Vedic hymns performed Panchamitra abhishek and offered Bhasma aarti to the Lord on the occasion.

The Lord was also offered fruits, honey, ghee, flowers, Belapatra, cashews, almonds, Rudraksha, Abir, kumkum and others while performing the rituals by the priests of the temple. Sweets were also offered to Lord Shiva. The sanctum sanctorum of the Mahakaal temple was reverberating with the chants of Vedic hymns. The Lord was wearing a silver moon on His head. Lord Mahakaal was dressed up as a King with colourful clothes. Apart from this, a silver umbrella, a rosary of Rudraksha, a garland of flowers and colourful clothes were offered to the Lord.

Read:Mahakaal temple: Priests offer prayers, Bhasma aarti to Lord on the first day of Shravan

A priest of the Ujjain Mahakaal temple said, "On any given day, the door of the sanctum sanctorum will be opened at 3 am. But, on Monday, it was thrown open for devotees 30 minutes before the scheduled time. The rituals of Panchamitra and Bhasma aarti were performed for an hour. Devotees were jostling for space to have a glimpse of the Lord." Mahesh Pujari, the priest of the temple, said, "Today is the first Monday of holy Shravan month and people were eagerly waiting for this auspicious day to have a glimpse of the Lord. Scores of devotees thronged the temple premises to offer prayers to the Lord."