Keesara temple decks up for Maha Shivaratri; to draw sea of devotees

Hyderabad: Telangana is a land of beautiful temples that are not just places of worship, but also centres of art, culture and charity. These temples have not only emerged as centres for spirituality but have also become centres for economic development sustaining communities around.

Mahashivaratri is very significant for people who are on the spiritual path and those with worldly ambitions. As the mystical night where energies would be surging high is just a day away, all Shiva temples in State are being decked up with illumination and variety of flowers.

According to priests, among all the 12 Shivratris that occur in a calendar year, Mahashivratri, the one that occurs in February-March, is of the most spiritual significance. On this night, the northern hemisphere of the planet is positioned in such a way that there is a natural upsurge of energy in a human being.

One such 'Divine Destination' is the famous Sri Ramalingeswara Swamy temple, Keesaragutta, located on the outskirts of the city on a hillock. The shrine attracts huge crowds on Shivaratri.

Hence the temple authorities have put up barricades to ensure hassle-free darshan to all devotees. The temple executive Officer K Sudhakar told The Hans India that this year they were expecting three lakh devotees. All arrangements have been made for them, including water packets, lighting and parking.

The temple, which has great history, was recognised by UNESCO as heritage temple. Ever since the temple got recognition, the number of devotees had seen greater foot fall. The temple will reverberate with chanting's of Vedic mantras while priests perform Rudrabhishekam and Kalyana Mahotsavam. For the benefit of devotees, the temple authorities are also organising many cultural programmes on Saturday. They have earmarked one km radius of the temple as temple area in order to ensure no inconvenience is caused to visitors and smooth traffic.