Nageshwarnath temple (Ayodhya): A large number of devotees congregated at the Nageshwarnath temple in Ayodhya to celebrate the ongoing monsoon festival. Besides the onset of the monsoon festival, the second Monday of the festival is considered sacred among the devotees of Lord Shiva. Devotees queued up at the temple since the break of dawn to pray to Lord Shiva and offer holy water and other offerings like flowers, sweets and incense. "I am feeling very nice after offering prayers here. The security arrangements are also good," said Rajesh Tiwari, a devotee. Chanting "Har Har Mahadev", devotees offered holy water to the Shivling (phallic representation of Lord Shiva). "Lakhs of devotees have offered holy water in the temple since morning at the Shivling in the temple. They offer prayers to Lord Shiva to get their wishes fulfilled," said Janardan, priest, Nageshwarnath Temple . It is believed that Lord Shiva drank poison on this day in order to save the world. Lord Shiva forms part of the trinity of gods in the Hindu mythology. It is also believed that the phallic representation of Shiva or Shivling have been installed by Lav-Kush (twin sons of Lord Ram) during Ramayana period. This annual religious festival takes place during the auspicious 'Shravan' month (monsoon season) of Hindu calendar. During the festival, the pilgrims, called 'Kanwarias' in local parlance, carry holy water from Ganga River and offer it to Lord Shiva.

     Indore/Amritsar: Devout across India have been observing the ongoing festival of monsoon, referred as the Shraavan month as per Hindu almanac with much enthusiasm. In particular, the Shraavan Somavaar (Monday in the month of Shraavan) has a great significance and dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the divine trinity entities in Hindu faith. Indore city witnessed a long procession of thousands of women pilgrims and other devotees, carrying water on their heads and which they offered to Lord Shiva. Women chanted prayers and transformed the city into an ocean of saffron as they passed through the thoroughfares. Earlier, at the famous Durgiana Temple in Amritsar, newly married couples, dressed in traditional attires and flower ornaments, gathered and prayed seeking divine blessings. The newly married couples queued up at this temple also called the Lakshminarayan Temple. Although the Durgiana Temple is of Goddess Durga, a major portion of the temple is dedicated to Hindu deities Lakshmi. "I am feeling really nice and beautiful after wearing jewelleries and the flowers in ornamental designs. I never thought I would wear something like this," said Sujata, a newly married lady devotee at the Durgiana Temple, Amritsar. Carrying water pots on triangular and semi-circular wooden sticks decorated with colourful plastic flowers and photographs of Lord Shiva, the Kawarias traverse hundreds of kilometres of the pilgrimage. Women chanted prayers and transformed the city into an ocean of saffron as they passed through the thoroughfares. Kawarias or the pilgrims take a dip in the river Ganges, collect water from the river and take it back to their native places to offer it to Lord Shiva. The pilgrimage continues through the whole of Shravan month of Hindu calendar for 30 days. It is considered the longest fair of the world, drawing a lot of devotees from abroad.
-July 21, 2009