Thousands of devotees thronged the temples of Lord Shiva across the country, to offer prayers and seek blessings on the occasion of the first Monday of Hindu sacred month of 'Shravan' today.
The devotees gather in large numbers offering milk, curd, ghee, honey and holy water to Lord Shiva in wee hours of morning. Long queues of people wait with assortment of religious offerings such as incense sticks, red vermilion and flowers.
Saffron-clad devotees of Lord Shiva, known as Kanwarias, undertake their journey on foot to pilgrimage spots like Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand state to fetch the holy waters of the Ganges River.
Pathak Sharma, a priest of the temple in Haridwar, said that during the auspicious Shravan month, pilgrims have to offer different forms of liquids to Lord Shiva for fulfillment of their wishes.
"Shravan, is the month of water, so the devotees in this month offer liquid like milk, curd, holy water, ghee and honey praying for their prosperity, happiness and fulfilment of their wishes," said Pathak.
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Shiela Kumari, a devotee from Gorakhpur, said, " Today is the first Monday of the holy Shravan month. And today we offered water and milk to Lord Shiva and also worshipped Jharkhandi Baba. To offer our prayers, we visit the temples every morning and evening for five consecutive Monday of this month."
Saffron-clad devotees chanted religious hymns outside the temples in a bid to appease Lord Shiva.
"I come to this temple every year on the first Monday of the holy month. Lord Shiva has showered immense blessings on us and fulfilled our wishes," said a devotee, Rashmi Prakash from Delhi.
