India News | Shravan Festival Begins with Virtual ‘darshan' in Deoghar
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Deoghar (J' The famous Baidyanath temple in Deogarh was shut for devotees as the month-long Shravan festival began on Monday.
Deoghar (J'khand), Jul 6 (PTI) The famous Baidyanath temple in Deogarh was shut for devotees as the month-long Shravan festival began on Monday.
Though the temple remained closed for public in abidance to Jharkhand High Court's order due to the pandemic situation, lakhs of Lord Shiva disciples had virtual ‘darshan' of the rituals which were live-streamed.
The ritual performed by ‘sardar panda' (priest) Gulaba Nand Ojha inside the temple early morning (4.45 am to 5.30 am) was live-streamed by designated websites and news channels for the benefit of Shiva ‘bhakt' (devotees), official sources said.
Similarly, the rituals could be seen virtually from 4.45 pm to 5.30 pm, they said.
The Deogarh temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, considered one of the most sacred abodes of Lord Shiva.
The Shravan festival is a revered occasion for millions of believers from different states of India and also from Nepal and other countries who undertake "kanwar yatra" (sacred pilgrimage) from Sultanganj to the Deogarh temple.
The arrangements for live telecast of the puja were made following a direction from the High Court not to allow the entry of people into the temple due to the growing number of coornavirus cases in the state.
The court's order came on a plea of the state government in the backdrop of surging coronavirus cases.
Only the priests will perform puja and other rituals, the July 3 order said.
The court had turned down a plea of BJP MP Nishikant Dubey to open the temple's doors during Shravan as he referred to the Supreme Court allowing Rath Yatra at Puri.
The HC had prohibited gathering of devotees at the Baidyanath temple during July 6-August 3 Shravan festival in view of the coronavirus menace.
The month-long Kanwar Yatra which usually sees an influx of faithfuls in Deogarh has also been cancelled this time due to the outbreak of the virus.
Every year devotees fetch sacred water from the Ganga at Sultanganj in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, walk over 100 km to reach Deoghar and perform 'jalabhishak' on the 'Jyotirling' during Shravan month, especially on all Mondays falling during the month.
From there they would go to Basukinath temple, about 40 km away, to offer prayer to the deity.
Baidyanath and Basukinath temples are among the religious places closed following the lockdown under the Disaster Management Act.
The Jharkhand government has ordered closure of all religious institutions till July 31 due to the pandemic.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)