All Shiva temples in the in the silk city were overcrowded on Monday with lakhs of devotees not only from the city but also from the adjoining areas flocking the temples to offer prayer on the occasion of the Maha Shivaratri.
The devotees holding Prasad made a bee line queue outside the temples, including Mukteswar temple, Neelakantheswar temple, Pataleswar temple, Gosaninuagaon temple, Kamapalli-Courtpeta temple and Dhabaleswar temple.
Police had made elaborate security arrangements in and around the temples. Besides, vehicular movement was restricted in certain routes to control the crowd and ensure safety of the devotees.
Unlike the previous years, a few rituals like Mangala Arati, Rudraveeseka and Aastaprahar Namasankeertan were performed in the early morning. Besides, Maha Rudraveeseka was performed at 10pm followed by Mahadeepa at 12.04am, Bedha Pareekrama at 12.35am and Harihara Veta at 2.30 am at the Mukteswar temple.
The devotees broke their day-long fast after raising of the Mahadip at the temples.
