Special pujas mark Mahashivaratri celebrations across NK region

Devotees queuing up in front of the Shiva Temple in Malmaruti Extension during Mahashivaratri celebrations in Belagavi on Sunday.
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P.K. BADIGER

Mahashivaratri was celebrated across the North Karnataka region. Special pujas were held in various temples in various cities and villages.

A huge crowd of devotees flocked to the Shivaratri Jatra Mahotsav of Sadguru Sri Siddharoodha Swamy in Hubballi on Sunday.

Devotees from all over the country came on foot and in vehicles, raising slogans like Sri Siddharoodha Maharajki Jai, while members of many organisations served them by distributing water and fruit slices.

They paid obeisance to the Samadhis of past seers Sri Siddharoodha and Sri Gurunatharudha.

Sri Siddharoodha Swamy Rathotsava will be organised on Monday.

Mahashivaratri puja programmes were organised at various temples. Mahashivaratri vigil was carried out at the Sri Ramalingeshwara Temple in Unkal. Thousands of devotees participated.

KLE Society chairman Prabhakar Kore offering puja during his visit to Sri Mahabaleshwar Temple in Gokarna for Mahashivaratri celebrations on Sunday.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Devotees arrived at the historic Chandramouleshwara Temple in Unkal and stood in queues since morning to have darshan.

A large number of devotees came to the Ishwar Temple on the Railway Station Road in Hubballi.

They offered dates, Holige and Kadubu and fruits. Bhajans are being held throughout the day and night.

Rituals were also held in Budanagudda Basavanna Devara Temple.

In Dharwad, various rituals were held in the Someshwar Temple. Devotees, dressed in traditional attire, carried offerings of milk, water and bael leaves.

Many observed day-long fast and sang devotional songs in the evening. Some Mahila Mandals organised bhajan singing and dance programmes within the temple premises. Celebrations were also organised in the Mudi Maruti Temple in Mangalwarpeth.

In Belagavi, long queues of devotees were found outside temples. Police cordoned off the area surrounding the Sri Kapileshwar Temple.

Leaders visited temples. KLE Society chairman Prabhakar Kore visited the Sri Mahabaleshwar Temple in Gokarna. He said that he has been going to the temple since he was a child, along with his father and family members. His friends like Srikant Virgi, Anil Bagi, Bharat Banavane, Ajit Desai, Vijay Jadhav, Ashok Ghorpade, Suresh Patil and others were present.

Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, son Mrunal Hebbalkar and her brother and MLC Channaraj Hattiholi visited the Kapileshwar Temple. She said that she prayed for the welfare of the State.

Religious programs were conducted with great devotion and grandeur at the Shivalaya located within the KLE Society campus.

Special rituals, including the Maha Rudrabhishek, were performed in the morning according to traditional customs.

KLE Society directors Mahantesh Kavatagimath and Preeti Kore Dodawad, Vice-Chancellor S.S. Mahantashetti, Principal Rajesh Pawar and Temple Committee President Vishwanath Pattan Shetty and others were present on the occasion. Chief priest Vedamurthy Shankaraya Hiremath conducted the rituals.

MLA Shashikala Jolle and her husband and former MP Anna Saheb Jolle visited the Sri Mahadev Mandir in Nippani.