Amritsar residents throng temples to celebrate Mahashivratri

Amritsar, March 8

A large number of devotees thronged Shivalayas to offer prayers on the occasion of Mahashivratri in the city on Tuesday. Serpentine queues of devotees were seen outside temples. Holding flowers and pots of water added with milk devotees waited with patience for their turn to enter the sanctum sanctorum. Stalls of langar offering foods of various kinds were all over the city.

Temples, especially the oldest Shivalaya Virbhan and Bhaiya Da Shivalaya, saw serpentine queues of devotees right since dawn. However, at many places, langar and overcrowding of people impeded the smooth flow of traffic. A large number of devotees thronging the stalls added to the road congestion. Traffic jams were seen outside several temples as devotees thronged the places to mark the festival.

Lavish langar stalls were hosted by volunteers of Amarnath Sewa Mandal at several places. Some even started serving langar from midnight, including dishes like poori-longi, chana bhatura, kulfa and phirni that went on throughout the day. The members of the organisation also cut an 800 pound cake to be distributed as langar to mark the occasion.