Many devotees were seen making queues to the 11th century famous Lord Lingaraj temple here. The footfall swelled with every passing hour.
On this special occasion, Lord Shiva at Akhandalmani temple wore a glittery look as the deity was decked with gold ornaments. The ritual known as ‘Suna Vesa’ was performed for which lakhs of devotees turned up at Aradi in Bhadrak to have a glimpse of the deity.
The famous Lord Chandrasekhar temple at Kapilas in Dhenkanal registered huge attendance on this occasion.
Similarly, devotees from far flung areas also visited the Lord Dhabaleswar temple near Athagarh in Cuttack district.
However, the enthusiasm among the devotees to have darshan of Lord Gupteshwar in Koraput was high as people from various parts of Orissa, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh visited the revered temple defying the hilly mountain terrain. The devotees made a beeline to the temple since last evening.
Maha Shivaratri was also observed at the famous Mahendragiri temple in Ganjam where devotees from Orissa and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh participated in the first day of the three-day festivity.
Reports of Maha Shivaratri celebrations at Lord Ladu Baba temple in Nayagarh, Lord Balunkeswar temple in Rourkela, Lord Mahavinayak in Chandikhol and other parts of the state also came in.
Keeping in view the rush, district administrations have made adequate security arrangements to maintain law and order and to avoid any untoward incident.