Businessman performs shringar of Shivlinga without fail every Monday

Meet 41-year-old businessman Manu Chawla who has been performing the ‘shringar’ (adorning) of Shivlinga at Prachin Shiv Temple, Gaushala Shamshan Ghat, here for the last 10 years. Manu has been following the ritual continuously every Monday irrespective of

business or family

commitments.

Manu, who has also named himself as ‘Shiva Ka Nandi’— sacred bull, vahana or mount of Lord Shiva — says every Sunday when he goes to sleep, he always prays to Lord Shiva to end the night soon so that he can go to the temple to adorn the Shivlinga

on Monday.

Recalling the time he started this ritual, Manu said that in 2013, he suffered losses in his hosiery business and went into depression. He had also not been a regular visitor to the temple. Then someone asked him to visit the Shiv Temple on Hazuri road and offer a pot of water. He visited the temple, offered a pot of water and a handful of flowers. He felt attached to Lord Shiva. Afterwards, he became a regular visitor to the temple and his depression also gradually withered away. “After a few weeks, I regularly started doing the shringar of Shivlinga at the same temple every Monday. From 2016 onward, I started adorning the Shivlinga at Prachin Shiv Temple. Now almost 10 years have passed, but I have never missed a single Monday (day dedicated to Lord Shiva) and have been regularly adorning the Shivlinga without giving it a miss. I believe Shiva has given me this service, so I will perform it till my last breath,” informed Manu.

Manu said since he has been performing this ritual for around a decade now, it has also given him a chance to do the shringar of Shivlinga at several other Shiv temples in Ludhiana region, including

Chehlan, Mandi Ahmedgarh, Payal etc.

Revealing about the practice of shingar, Manu said every Monday, he reaches the temple in the morning and stays there till evening. He starts the shringar of Shivlinga at around 2 pm and completes it by 3 pm. He almost takes three hours to prepare a face of Lord Shiva on the Shivlinga

by using pure Chandan (sandal wood).

“Whenever I begin to adorn the Shivlinga, I never decide in advance what kind of face of Lord Shiva I will make, rather my hands start moving naturally on the Shivlinga and a face is formed,” said Manu.

He also said that many devotees have been urging him to teach them the art of shringar and by the grace of Shiva, he has started guiding many of them.