Devotees throng Kashi Vishwanath temple on first Shravan Somwar

New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) The month of Shravan marked its arrival on Monday, which was the first ‘Somwar (Monday)’ of ShravanThere was great enthusiasm visible among the devotees in Kashi.The Kashi Vishwanath Temple, which holds a significant place among the 12 Jyotirlingas, is important for ‘Jalabhishek’ on Shravan Mondays. Therefore, devotees from distant places come to Varanasi to do ‘Jalabhishek’ and seek blessings for the fulfillment of their wishes.The temple administration has made special arrangements for the devotees and red carpets have been laid out at the entrance of the temple.Due to the huge crowd assembled there, devotees are only being allowed entry through zigzag railings.Taking the extreme heat and humidity into consideration, the temple administration has provided water coolers and fans for the comfort of the devotees.Speaking to IANS, Saurabh, a devotee from Kashi said, “It’s the first Monday of Shravan, and I wish the blessings of Mahadev will be on everyone.”Another devotee, Sikha from Ayodhya, remarked, “I have been waiting in the queue since 2 A.M. for ‘darshan’. It’s by Lord Shiva’s blessings that I have found the energy to endure such a long wait this summer.””The management of Kashi temple is quite good. ‘Darshan’ and entry into the temple were well-managed,” said another devotee Anil.He said, “On this day, we first take a holy bath in the Ganga River before proceeding for ‘jalabhishek’”.Yash from Lucknow said that he had been waiting since 2 P.M. on Sunday and finally got ‘darshan’ at 4 A.M on Monday after being in the queue for a long time.“The police are working perfectly, and the situation in Kashi is well-managed,” he added.There is a complete ban on ‘Sparsh darshan (touching the Shivling)’ and VVIP ‘darshan’ to ensure that devotees do not face any difficulties while paying obeisance.–IANSrs/rad