Jaipur: The auspicious day of Mahashivaratri was celebrated with full fervor in the city, albeit the excitement remained tempered for many devotees because of the restrictions imposed on certain rituals and darshans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several devotees were left disappointed after the\u00a0\u00a0Ekalingeshwar temple administration cancelled darshans this year due to the resurgence of covid-19 cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The iconic medieval-era temple is intertwined with the history and devotion of Jaipur. It opens its gates for devotees only once a year on the occasion of Mahashivaratri, drawing crowds from across the city, and nearby towns of Alwar, Dausa, Bhilwara, Ajmer etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The celebrations at\u00a0\u00a0Ekalingeshwar temple on Mahashivratri have long been considered as the flagship event of the auspicious festival where people wait all night to get into the long queue for their turn to catch a glimpse of the lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small temples located in colonies and parks were full of festivities with devotees waiting for Jalabhishek. Anand Mahajan, a trader, said that for the past several years he had been visiting\u00a0\u00a0Ekalingeshwar temple but decided to do pooja at a nearby temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFestivals are an important part of our culture. Just because I couldn\u2019t visit\u00a0Ekalingeshwar temple doesn\u2019t mean I will allow it to dampen my spirit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, devotees at Jharkhand Mahadev temple will not be able to perform Jalabhishek this year due to covid-19 protocols. Darshans, however, will go on with strict social distancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost all temples this year have cancelled fairs and crowded bhajans in the evening to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mahashivaratri is one of the major festivals of Jaipur, a city also known as \u201cChhoti kashi,\u201d due to numerous small and big Shiva temples dotted across every nook and corner of the city\u2019s maps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ajay Kumar Sharma, a resident of Mansarover told PinkCity post that like every year, he visited Tadkeshwar Mahadev temple on Thursday.\u00a0 \u201cI kept my mask on all the time, maintained social distancing, and completed my darshan without any hassle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jaipur: The auspicious day of Mahashivaratri was celebrated with full fervor in the city, albeit the excitement remained tempered for many devotees because of the restrictions imposed on certain rituals and darshans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several devotees were left disappointed after the\u00a0\u00a0Ekalingeshwar temple administration cancelled darshans this year due to the resurgence of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n