Indore: Mahashivratri preparations and planning; Indore to hold grand celebrations of festival

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): On this Mahashivratri, Indore will hold grand celebrations of the festival marked by processions of thousands of people in the city. This year, Mahashivratri will be celebrated on Tuesday (March 1, 2022). The Hindu community of Indore will celebrate Mahashivratri, marking the union of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati. It is celebrated on the 14^th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Phalguna.

This is, perhaps, the first festival after all the Covid-19 restrictions on festival celebrations were lifted.

Celebrations of ‘Shiva Vivah Mahotsav’ will be organised for five days at the Gendeshwar temple in the Pardeshipura area. The five-day event began on Wednesday when Lord Ganesha was worshipped.

Bhajans were performed by women of the Shivdham Bhakta Mandal. Lord Shiva was anointed with turmeric milk from a gold vessel during the celebrations on Thursday.

Celebrating Mahashivratri, there will be a Bhasma Aarti and Golden Kalash Abhishek on March 1 in the temples of the city. Various other rituals will be performed on the occasion of Mahashivratri, including havan-pujan at the Shiva temples in the city. There will be a Mahabhishek with 16 fruit juices at the Kesarbagh Road Bholeshwar Mahadev Temple by the Shraddha Suman Seva Samiti. A four-day Nahashivratri festival is also being celebrated at the Naulakha Mankameshwar Kantaphod Shiva temple.

On Mahashivratri, Lord Shiva will be decorated in the form of Pashupatinath and will be enthroned in the Sheesh Mahal (Crystal Palace).

Meditation and celebrations

On Mahashivratri, The Art of Living organisation will arrange various events in Indore. The special guest at the event will be Bhajan singer Praveen Mehta, who will be coming for the major celebration from Udaipur.

The events will begin at 6.30 am at the Punjab Arorvansh Dharamshala, Nath Mandir Road. Followers of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will attend the first event and participate in a two-hour meditation, ‘Mahasudarshan Kriya’.

Later in the evening, Rudra Puja, Satsang and Bhajans will be organised at the same venue. The evening’s celebrations will begin at 6 pm and continue till late in the night.

On the second day of the celebrations, Rudra Homa will be organised at 4 am at the same venue.

Joint Family Day

Some volunteer organisations in Indore will celebrate Mahashivratri under the theme of ‘Joint Family Day’. “Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati’s union teaches us the importance of keeping families intact. So, we want to remember the essential lessons from their life, such as forgiveness, acceptance, togetherness, commitment and so forth,” Krishna Mishra, leading the celebrations, said.