Mahashivratri was celebrated in Shiva temples, big or small, across India on Sunday.
Mahashivratri is a festival dedicated to the powerful Lord, ascribed the role of destroyer among the holy trinity in Hindu mythology. Thousands of devotees fasted, and offered milk and prayers to Lord Shiva on the eve of the festival. The devout lkeep awake the entire night, chanting prayers in worship.
Mahashivratri is celebrated on the 14th day of the Hindu month of Magha. It is celebrated during the night and day just before the new moon.
Some of India's most famous Shiva temples are the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai; Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi; Somnath Temple in Veraval, Gujarat; Omkareshwar Temple in the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh; Bhimashankar Temple near Pune; Kedarnath Temple in Kedarnath, Uttaranchal; Grishneshwar Temple near Aurangabad, Maharashtra; Trimbakeshwar Temple near Nashik; Rameswaram temple in Tamil Nadu; Nageswar Temple in Dwarka in Gujarat; Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain; Vaidyanath temple in Deogarh in Bihar, Lakshmi Narayan Temple in New Delhi and Babulnath Temple in Mumbai.
Above: Devotees line up to pray at the Shiva Temple in Amritsar on the occasion of Mahashivratri
Photo: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images
