Devotees on Saturday thronged temples across Telangana today to offer prayers on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri.
Maha Sivaratri is one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals and celebrated across India, and chants of Har Har Mahadev and Om Namah Sivaya were heard in all parts of the State.
Huge crowds were seen at the Vemulawada Rajanna temple, the Thousand Pillars temple, the Keesara Ramalingeswara temple, the Ramappa temple and the Edupayalu Vana Durgamata temple.
Rituals at almost all the temple started at as early as 4:30 am, with priests performing a series of special pujas.
Ministers were prominently visible. Endowments Minister Indrakaran Reddy presented silk clothes to Lord Shiva on the occasion of the Maha Sivaratri Jatara that began in the Sri Raja Rajeswara Swamy temple in Vemulawada. The minister along with Zilla Parishad Chairperson Nyalakonda Aruna, Vemulawada Municipal Chairperson Ramathirthapu Madhavi, Collector Anurag Jayanthi, SP Akhil Mahajan and others presented the clothes to the presiding deity on behalf of the State government.
Reddy also inaugurated a Sivarchana there. A cultural program was also organised to entertain the devotees visiting the temple to take part in the three-day jatara.
Earlier, TTD Deputy Executive Officer Harinath had also presented silk clothes to the presiding deity continuing an age-old tradition.
Minister for Finance T Harish Rao visited the Vana Durgamata temple at Edupayalu in Medak district and presented silk cloths to the goddess on behalf of the State government. A jatara is conducted at this temple too every year on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri.
Minister for Panchayat Raj Errabelli Dayakar Rao offered prayers at the Sri Palakurthi Someshwara Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Warangal district, while Minister for Tribal Welfare Satyavathi Rathod took part in the special pujas at the Veerabhadra Swamy temple at Kuravi mandal in Mahabubabad district.
Among other political VIPs, Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy performed special pujas at the Sri Mahadeva Markendaya temple at Tipparthi mandal in Nalgonda district, while MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, the CM's daughter, performed special pujas at the Bala Brahmeswara temple in Alampur.