On the occasion of Maha Shivaratri, around 60,000 devotees visited and worshiped at Doleshwar Mahadev Temple, known as the head of Kedarnath, on Wednesday. According to Harisharan Basnet, General Secretary of the Doleshwar Mahadev Temple Conservation and Development Committee in Sipadol, Suryabinayak Municipality-8, all four doors of the temple were opened from 4 AM, allowing devotees to enter and worship directly at the Shiva Shila (sacred stone).
On Maha Shivaratri, devotees were offered a special Panchasnan ritual (five-element purification bath) along with worship materials for a fee of NPR 1,100. More than 60,000 Nepalese and Indian pilgrims participated in worship and prayers at Doleshwar.
Throughout the night, devotees lit Dhuni (sacred fire), performed special midnight prayers, and arranged morning worship for saints and sages at 4 AM today (Thursday). Three sages who visited the temple for the festival were categorized into groups ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ and were honored with donations, dhotis, and blankets. A farewell program, including a meal, was scheduled for 11 AM today.
Additionally, over 25,000 devotees visited the famous Ashapuri Temple on Wednesday, while approximately 14,000 worshiped at Kailashnath Mahadev Temple in Sanga. Other Shiva temples, including Gupteshwor Mahadev, Somalingeshwara Mahadev, Jharkhandeshwar Mahadev, Ananta Lingeshwar Mahadev, sarneshwar Mahadev, latarambeshwor Mahadev, Dattatreya temple, Yatu Mahadev Temple, Nandikeshwor Mahadev in Nankhela, Machhe Narayan Mahadev in Changunarayan, and Sangameshwar Mahadev in Madhyapur Thimi, were also crowded with devotees throughout the day and evening.
