On Mahashivratri, lakhs of devotees flocked to Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli district to seek darshan of Lord Nagnath Prabhu. The entire place resounded with chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and ‘Bam Bam Bhole’.
Anticipating the influx of devotees from across the country, the administration made comprehensive arrangements to accommodate their needs.
Aundha Nagnath is revered as the eighth jyotirlinga in the country.
Devotees arrived at the temple early in the morning to offer prayers to Lord Shiva. The echoes of chants praising Lord Shiva resonated from afar. Devotees continued to visit the temple late into the night.
On Friday around 1am, temple advisor and MLA Santosh Bangar, along with his wife Godawari, tehsildar Harish Gade, and others, performed 'abhishek' to the idol and conducted a mahapuja. Subsequently, the temple was opened for devotees arriving from distant areas. Long queues formed since the night to pay respects to Lord Shiva.
CEO Arvind Mundhe, council president Sapna Kankute, deputy president Dilip Rathod, corporator Sheetal Pawar, and others were present.
Under the guidance of SP PG Shridhar and Additional SP Archana Patil, a stringent police arrangement was deployed by Dy SP Suresh Dalve, PI GS Rahire, API Balaji Mahajan, PSI Mithun Sawant, Kishor Pote, and others. Local police officers, constables, home guards, and other security personnel were stationed at various locations near the temple.
Temple trust chairman Vaijnath Pawar, manager Surendra Dafal, chief priests Tuljadas Bhopi, Harihar Bhopi, Rameshwar Gurav, Baban Sonune, Subhash Jaytade, Vishwanth Dhone, Ramprasad Udgire, Krishna Patil, and others made efforts to facilitate devotees.
