Vijayawada: Shiva temples across the state on Monday reverberated with chants of ‘Om Namah Shiva’ as devotees in large numbers thronged to take part in the special pujas and abhishekam on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.
Bathing ghats, especially the Durga Ghat, Bhavani Ghat and Punnami Ghat on the Krishna river were teeming with thousands of devotees who had come for holy dip in the early hours of Monday.
Celebrations were also held in Visakhapatnam.
Jamgama Devaras blessed the devotees at the ghats.
After their holy dip in River Krishna, devotees made their way to the nearest Shiva temples carrying the river water for abhishekam. The devotees also performed special puja to cows at the various Gaushalas. Lakh of devotees had darshan of Malleswara Swami at Kanakadurga temple atop Indrakeeladri.
The Sri Malleswara Swamy temple in the Kanakadurga temple premises, the old Shivalayam in I-Town, Sri Ramalingeswara Swami temple at Yanamalakuduru, Shiva temple at Christurajupuram, Shiva temple at Mutyalampadu were among the temples in the city that teemed with devotees.
Shiva-Parvati Kalyanam was organised by Sri Durga Mallesewara Swami temple authorities, along with mass Abhishekam for Lord Shiva at the Mahamandapam, according to executive officer V. Koteswaramma. She said that Markandeya Society, Mangalagiri presented new clothes for the Shiva-Parvati Kalyanam at the Magabahula Ekadasi Tidhi.
Lakhs of devotees waited patiently in queues for darshan at the Sri Ramalingeswara Swami temple in Yanamalakuduru, from the early hours and traffic was also diverted by the police for the convenience of the devotees.
It was a visual feast for the devotees as they took in the Prabha Mahotsavam at the Yanamalakuduru Shiva temple. This is considered a special attraction of the celebrations since years.
As many as 10 processions from nearby villages reached the temple to mark Lingodbhava in the temple.
