Devotees Throng Pashupatinath To Observe First Monday Of Shrawan

Kathmandu, July 20: Devotees thronged the Pashupatinath Temple from early this morning to observe the first Monday of the month of Shrawan, considered an auspicious day for worshipping Lord Shiva.

Besides Pashupatinath, other temples dedicated to Lord Shiva also saw a large congregation of devotees who arrived to offer prayers, perform rituals, and seek blessings on this occasion.

Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) member secretary Tirtha Shrestha told the RSS that four entrances to the Pashupatinath Temple have remained open since 3:00 am today.

He said that despite the rainfall, devotees continued to throng the temple to pay homage to Lord Shiva.

The PADT has made necessary arrangements to facilitate devotees in offering prayers and performing rituals conveniently. Likewise, the arrangements have been made for performing special puja for those who wish to do so.

He, however, acknowledged that limited human resources have affected the preparations to some extent.

PADT office-bearers and employees, along with personnel from the Temple Guard Battalion, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Nepal Army, Traffic Police, Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, and various religious and social organizations, have been providing special services and support to make the management of the pilgrimage more effective, safe, and systematic.

The schedule for special puja has been fixed from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon.

Four separate lines have been arranged for devotees arriving at the temple. Despite the steady flow of devotees since morning, the queues remain manageable.

Primary healthcare facilities have also been arranged for devotees requiring medical assistance.

Along with Pashupatinath, devotees are said to have thronged several Shiva temples in the capital, including Gokarneshwor, Nageshwor, Doleshwor, and the Makhan Mahadev, known as the 'Sano (small) Pashupatinath' based in the Basantapur Durbar area.