Mahasivaratri sees an outpouring of devotion at city temples

Scores of devotees thronged Lord Siva temples for Maha Sivarathri, witnessing religious fervour and special rituals in Vizag.

Devotion and religious fervour was witnessed as scores of devotees thronged the temples of Lord Siva right from the early hours, on the occasion of Maha Sivarathri, on Wednesday (February 26, 2025).

The temples at MVP Colony, Nakkavanipalem (Seethammadhara), Seethammapeta and in Old Town area reverberated with the chants of ‘Om Nama Sivaya’ and ‘Hara Hara Mahadeva, Shambo Shankara’. The devotees formed serpentine queues right from the early hours. The long queues went out of the temple on to the main roads. The priests performed ‘abhishekam’ to the deity. “We performed ‘pithru devatha’ puja as it is customary in our tradition,” said Raju, who had darshan at the temple of Lord Siva, near Seethammapeta.

Devotees were allowed to perform abhishekam on their own to the innumerable Siva Lingams at a temple in MVP Colony. The rush of devotees resulted in traffic jams on road. Some organisations distributed ‘prasadam’ free of cost on the Beach Road.

APSRTC operated special buses from various parts of the city to the temple of Lord Siva at Appikonda for the benefit of devotees. District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad visited the temple early in the morning and inspected the arrangements at the temple as a large number of devotees were expected to visit the temple.

The 40th Maha Kumbhabhishekam, organised by T. Subbarami Reddy Seva Peetham, at RK Beach commenced with special pujas by former Union Minister T. Subbarami Reddy at 9.30 a.m.

The Maha Kumbhabhishekam was performed to the 1.08 crore small Siva Lingams, arranged one on top of the other and tied, to make a huge Lingam. A large number of devotees participated in the Kumbhabhishekam by performing abhishekam ‘panchamrutham’, ‘fruit juices’ and other materials.

This year, holy water from the Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj was used for the ‘abhishekam’ of Lord Shiva. The devotees were given ‘rudraksha’ beads and ‘pasupu thallu’ (sacred thread). Later, in the afternoon, ‘Kalyanam’ and ‘Homam’ were performed to the deity. Mr. Subbarami Reddy said that he has been organising the Maha Kumbhabhishekam on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri at RK Beach every year.