Devotees throng Pashupatinath on first Monday of Shrawan

Nepal's Pashupatinath Temple and numerous other Shiva temples across the country witnessed a massive influx of devotees on the first Monday of the Shrawan month. Devotees began arriving in large numbers from early morning to offer prayers and participate in rituals.

“

arrangements have been made for darshan by opening all four gates of the Pashupatinath Temple from 3 am.

To accommodate the surge of worshippers, all four gates of the Pashupatinath Temple were opened at 3 a.m. and were scheduled to remain open until 8 p.m., following the evening aarati. The Pashupati Area Development Trust reported that special pujas were conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon, with arrangements in place to ensure a smooth, safe, and well-managed experience for all attendees.

Despite the extensive arrangements, Tirtha Shrestha, Member Secretary of the Trust, noted that not all planned activities could be fully implemented due to delays in appointing officials and a general shortage of manpower. Nevertheless, to bolster darshan management, officials and staff from the Trust were mobilized, supported by personnel from the Temple Security Group, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Nepal Army, Traffic Police, Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, and various religious and social organizations.

“

due to delays in appointing officials and a shortage of manpower, not all the required work could be carried out as needed.

Similar scenes of devotion were observed at other prominent Shiva temples within the Kathmandu Valley, including Gokarneshwar, Nageshwar, Doleshwar, and Makhan Mahadev. Devotees also visited Shiva temples nationwide, adhering to the religious belief that observing fasts and performing pujas on Shrawan Mondays brings happiness, peace to the family, and aids in finding a suitable spouse.

“

To make the darshan management effective, the Trust’s officials and staff have been mobilised along with the Temple Security Group, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, the Nepal Army, Traffic Police, the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, and various religious and social organisations.