After two years of muted celebrations due to Covid restrictions, devotees, in thousands, thronged temples across the country to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri on Saturday.
In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the celebrations as he performed 'Rudrabhishek' at the Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur.
He also performed 'havan' and 'aarti' and prayed for the wellbeing of the entire world, a statement said.
Guru Gorakhnath is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva in the Nath sect, which considers Mahashivratri as a very important occasion.
The chief minister visited various temples in the district from 7.00 am to 2.45 pm, offering prayers. After completing the rituals at Gorakhnath Temple, Adityanath visited the ancient Mansarovar Shiva Temple at Andhiyari Bagh, Mukteshwarnath Temple at Rajghat and Jharkhandi Mahadev Temple at Jharkhandi.
In Kashi -- the city of Lord Vishwanath -- devotees queued at various temples to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva.
At the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, devotees queued up since Friday night to have a "darshan".
Kashi Vishwanath Temple CEO Sunil Verma said the shrine witnessed more than five lakh devotees till noon.
The traditional Shiva Baraat -- the procession of Lord Vishwanath -- started at 7.30 am will conclude with the Jaimala ceremony at midnight, said Dilip Kumar Singh, the baraat's chief organiser.
In Kerala, the festival was celebrated with traditional zeal and as a large number of devotees thronged temples dedicated to Lord Shiva to take part in special rituals from early morning.
With no Covid-19 restrictions, unlike in previous years, the rush of devotees was comparatively high in many shrines.
Long queues of devotees could be seen in front of many famed temples across the state.
In Hindu families, people observe 'orikkal' (fasting), dedicate the leaves of 'Koovalam' plant, considered holy as per tradition, to Lord Shiva and forgo their sleep chanting 'Om Namah Shivaya' mantras to mark the day.
In Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann offered prayers at Shakti peeth Sri Devi Talab Mandir and Sri Maha Lakshmi Mandir.
Mahashivratri inspires people to strive towards the pursuit of truth that leads to the ultimate consciousness epitomised by Lord Shiva, Mann said according to an official release.
The festival lays stress on the values of piety, devotion, mutual love and harmony, known as the cornerstones of the great Indian civilisation, he said.
Mahashivratri was also celebrated with traditional fervour at Maharashtra's renowned Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik, one of the 12 'jyotirlingas', as well as other temples.
Huge crowds were also noticed at temples dedicated to Kapaleshwar, Someshwar, Teelbhandeshwar, Neelkantheshwar, Muktidham, Baneshwar and Naroshankar, officials said.
In Uttarakhand, thousands of devotees thronged the Shiva temples to take a dip in the Ganga and make an offering of its holy waters to the deity.
Devotees queued outside the Daksheshwar Mahadev in Kankhal area.
Long queues were also seen at Bilkeshwar Mahadev, Tilbhandeshwar Mahadev, Gauri Shankar, Nileshwar Mahadev and Daridra Bhanjan temples from the early hours where they were waiting to perform 'jalabhishek'.
Kanwariyas also took a holy dip in the Ganga at 'Har ki Pairi'.
A Muslim couple from Rajasthan were among the dozens of devotees who offered water to Lord Shiva at Martand Sun Temple in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Mahashivratri.
"It's an auspicious occasion for both Hindus (Mahashivratri) and Muslims (Shab-e-Me'raj) and it is not as if we Mohammedans (Muslims) cannot visit a temple," Zoya Khan, who hails from Kurukshetra in Haryana, told PTI here.
"It is a day of prayers for us and today is Shivratri. We thought we will see how they celebrate it here," Zoya, who is married to Faizan Khan from Rajasthan, said.
"I have offered water to Shivji. It is considered good for couples. My mother has also told me about it. We are Muslims but we like this tradition. So we follow it," she added.
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