They turned up in droves at the famous Somnath temple

50 lakh take holy dip in Ganga on Maha Kumbh Mahashivaratri celebrated — PHOTO: AP Naga Sadhus prepare for the first ‘shahi snan’ in the Ganga during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar on Friday. Haridwar: Over 50 lakh devotees, along with sages and ash-smeared Naga sadhus, took a holy dip in the Ganga here on Friday on the first ‘shahi snan’ (royal bath) of the Maha Kumbh on Mahashivaratri. The day was marked by a grand procession of the ‘akharas’ or religious orders. The city was in a festive mood as the akharas marched, chanting slogans, and bands played loud music. The procession, which witnessed thousands of Naga sadhus displaying their acrobatic and martial skills, added colour to the Kumbh Mela which started on January 14. Mahashivaratri marks the day when Lord Shiva married Parvati. Across the country, the faithful thronged temples to offer prayers and observed dawn-to-dusk fast as Mahashivaratri was celebrated. Devotees waited in long, serpentine queues to offer milk and ‘Gangajal’ to the Shivlingams at the temples. They turned up in droves at the famous Somnath temple in Gujarat’s Junagadh district. In Delhi, Shiva temples were beautifully decorated. In several areas, devotees took out traditional marriage procession of Shiva. The festival was also observed in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh with traditional fervour. Devotees had brought ‘Gangajal’ from Haridwar and Gaumukh to offer at the temples. In Jammu city, people thronged the Ranbeshwar temple, the Pir Kho temple, the Panj Bakhtar temple and the Aap Shamboo temple to offer prayers. Mahashivaratri was also celebrated in the districts of Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. In Reasi district, thousands of people visited the historic Shiv Khori shrine at Ransoo, where the three-day ‘Shiv Khori Mela’ began from Thursday. Temples in Rishikesh, Uttarkashi and Gopeshwar in Uttarakahand also saw large number of devotees visiting to offer prayers. — PTI