First Monday of Shrawan begins, devotees throng Pashupatinath temple (photos)

KATHMANDU: Today, on the day of Holy Monday, there is a throng of worshipers in Shivalayams all over the country.

From 3 a.m., the four doors of the Pashupatinath temple are opened to worshipers.

According to the Pashupati Area Development Fund, pilgrim security, volunteer mobilization, pilgrimage administration, health camp, drinking water, and so forth. The first Monday of Shrawan is Shrawan 1 (July 17).

According to Gaurishankar Parajuli, the Fund’s Head of Culture Preservation Division, lakhs of worshippers visit the Pashupati location on Monday in Shrawan.

He also stated that preparations had been made for pilgrims to escape through the same entrance that they entered.

The district and armed police will provide security in the Pashupati region under the direction of police circle Gaushala.

The management, including security, is comparable to that of Mahashivaratri and Teej, according to the fund.

Parajuli, the division’s chief, also stated that no special puja for fewer than 7,500 persons will be performed on Monday.

Similarly, special worships of less than 3 thousand 100 would not be done at Vasukinath’s temple.

There have been plans made for 181 to 251 persons to do special worship. More than that, according to the fund, cannot be presented for worship on Monday.

Scouts and local groups have also prepared to mobilize volunteers on Saturday. On Mondays in Shrawan, people go to temples around the country, including the Pashupatinath shrine. As Shrawan and Monday are Lord Shiva’s month and day, there would be a large number of worshippers on this occasion.

Mondays are more essential even in the month of Shrawan. Women visit the Shiva temple early in the morning in the hope that their desires would be granted when they worship Shiva on Monday in Shrawan. Women, in particular, wear green clothing, bangles, and mehendi as they worship and fast Lord Shiva.

Monday in the month of Shrawan is considered to be Shiva’s favorite day. That is why devotees worship Shiva every Monday in Shrawan by wearing red, green and yellow clothes and bangles.