Ujjain : The second Shravan month procession of the Lord Mahakal was taken out amid traditional fanfare and gaiety, here on Monday. Barring couple of minor incidents, the procession remained smooth and peaceful.
Before start of the procession at 4 pm, senior BJP leader Makhan Singh Chauhan, IG V Madhu Kumar and his wife worshipped the Lord Mahakal’s replica. Priest Ghanshyam Sharma guided during the rituals. Ram Katha preacher Dr Mandakini Didi and social worker Vibhash Upadhyay were also present. As soon as the kadabeans notified the arrival of the Lord’s palanquin at the main entry gate of the Mahakaleshwar Temple, people who gathered in large numbers on both sides of the roads started chanting ‘aa rahi hai palki, jai Mahakal ki’, ‘Ujjain mein anand bhayo, jai Mahakal ki’. Here, the Special Armed Force jawans gave customary salute to the Lord.
Police horses were escorting the procession and they were followed by Police Force, Home Guards, SAF jawans, police band, kirtan and bhajan mandlis, bahurupiyas, social workers and others. Thousands of devotees were anxiously waiting on the roads to take a glimpse of the replica, which was adorned as Chandramoleshwar, and also to worship enroute. Another replica of the Lord which was adorned as Manmaesh, was put on elephant and which was behind the palanquin, drew everybody’s attention. Women and children were seen witnessing the proceedings from balconies of their houses, also.
From Mahakaleshwar Temple, the procession traversed through Mahakal Road, Gudri Square, Bakshi Bazaar, Kaharwadi, Ramanujkot and reached Ram Ghat where customary worship of the Lord’s replica was performed with the waters of river Kshipra for about 30 minutes and amid huge jubilance. Children of Vedic Shodh Sansthan recited hymns under the guidance of Pt Mahendra Shastri. The procession then traversed through Modh Ki Dharmshala, Kartik Chowk, Khati Ka Mandir, Satyanarayan Mandir, Dhaba Road, Tanki Chowk, Chhatri Chowk, Gopal Mandir, Patni Bazaar, Gudri Square and concluded at the temple at about 7 pm.
Collector BM Sharma, SP Anurag Kumar and sub-ordinate officers accompanied the procession throughout the route. They were continuously monitoring the happenings. Rajgarh Collector Anand Sharma was also present. Though, second procession remained peaceful in contravention to the first procession, a kid Gopal Thakur, resident of Bapu Nagar, sustained injuries on his head and nose during mis-arrangements at Ramghat. Likewise, a priest Krishna Pujari received minor injury in his head as some Kavadias tried to shell flowers on the palanquin near Sirvi Dhamshala. Both of them were provided primary treatment at the Ranoji Ki Chhatri.
