Hyderabad: Temples across the country have been decked up as Maha Shivatratri festival kickstarted on Saturday. Scores of devotees have begun thronging Lord Shiva temples, including the twelve Jyotirlingas, to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva in the wee hours. Kedarnath Dham is an exception because the portal remains closed for devotees during the winter season.
Although the sanctum-sanctorum of Kedarnath shrine will be out of bounds for devotees due to snowfall and inclement weather in the higher reaches of Himalayas. But on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri festival, the opening date of the Kedarnath shrine for devotees will be announced.
The tradition of fixing the auspicious date to open the door of the santum-sanctorum of Kedarnath Dham on Mahashivaratri, is followed since ancient times. Priests after going through the Panchang (religious calendar) will mark the auspicious date for bringing Lord from Ukhimath to Kailash. The ritual of bringing back the Lord from Ukhimath to Kailash is called Panchamukhi Chal Vigrah festival. Ukhimath in Uttarakhand is the winter abode of Lord Shiva.
Devotees have begun arriving at the Jyotirlingas in hordes, including Somnath and Nageshwar temples in Gujarat, Bhimashankar in Pune (Maharashtra), Trimbakeshwar in Nashik (Maharashtra), Grishneshwar in Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Baidyanath in Deoghar (Jharkhand), Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), Omkareshwar in Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh), Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Kedarnath in Uttarakhand will be out of bound for devotees, Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.
The footfall of devotees at Srisailam, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh has gone up this year too. People don't want to miss this auspicious occasion when the marriage ritual of Lord Shiva with goddess Parvati will be performed. The temple is situated atop the hill amid the natural pristine beauty.
