Devotees gear up to celebrate Mahashivaratri

Bhubaneswar: Shiva devotees across the state are getting ready to celebrate the festival of Mahashivaratri with traditional religious fervour on Wednesday.

Sources said more than a lakh devotees are expected to throng the 11th century Lingaraj temple here on Wednesday to observe the festival. Devotees across Odisha will keep a fast and queue up to pray at temples dedicated to Hindu god Shiva.

Similarly devotees, will visit the Akhandalamani temple at Aradi in Bhadrak district. A large number of devotees will also throng the Kapilas Temple in Dhenkanal, Dhabaleswar Temple in Cuttack, Loknath temple in Puri, the Huma temple in Sambalpur and Vedvyas temple in Sundergarh district.

According to the Hindu calendar, Shivaratri is celebrated a day or two before the new moon in the month of Phalgun (February-March).

In Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva, one of the holy trinity along with Vishnu and Brahma, is known to have married Parvati on this day.

On this occasion, devotees keep a daylong fast and offer prayers at Shiva temples. Hymns in praise of Shiva are chanted.