Devotees Flock to Pashupatinath and Shiva Temples on Second Monday of Shrawan

Kathmandu. From the morning of the second Monday of Shrawan this year, there has been a crowd of devotees at Pashupatinath and Shiva temples across the country. The four doors of Pashupatinath temple have been opened from 3:00 AM, informed Meenakumari Shrestha, Treasurer of the Pashupati Area Development Trust. Devotees have been reaching the temple since early morning, undeterred by the Shrawan drizzle. For the devotees coming to Pashupatinath, arrangements have been made for easy, safe, and organized darshan and special puja. More arrangements have been made in the Pashupati area today compared to the first Monday which fell on Shrawan 4. The Trust stated that the work that was not completed last week has been completed this week. To make the darshan management effective, Trust officials and staff, along with the Temple Guard, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Nepali Army, Traffic Police, Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, and various religious and social organizations have been mobilized. Member Secretary of the Trust, Tirth Shrestha, said that preparations have been made to provide darshan easily to millions of devotees. The four doors of the temple will remain open until the Aarti at 8:00 PM, while special puja will be held only from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Four queues have been arranged for temple entry. Although devotees have been coming since early morning, there has been no long queue, and services such as first aid have been made available, the Trust informed. Along with Pashupatinath, there has been a rush of devotees performing puja and worship since early morning at Shiva temples of all sizes across the country, including Gokarneshwor, Nageshwor, Doleshwor, and Makhan Mahadev in Basantapur in the capital.