Banking News – Thousands of devotees gathered at Pashupatinath Temple and Shiva shrines across Nepal early Monday morning to mark the first Monday of the holy month of Shrawan, one of the most significant days for Hindu worshippers of Lord Shiva.

The four main gates of Pashupatinath Temple opened at 3:00 a.m., allowing devotees to begin offering prayers despite persistent monsoon rainfall, according to Pashupati Area Development Trust Member Secretary Tirtha Shrestha.

Special arrangements have been made to ensure safe, orderly and convenient worship, with personnel from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Nepal Army, Traffic Police, Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, and various religious and social organizations deployed to manage the large crowds.

Although Shrestha acknowledged that delays in appointing officials and limited manpower have affected operations, he said the Trust has taken all necessary measures to facilitate devotees. The temple will remain open for visitors until 8:00 p.m. after the evening Aarati, while special worship will be conducted from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

Four separate queues have been arranged for devotees, and medical assistance along with other essential services has been made available within the temple premises.

Besides Pashupatinath, large numbers of worshippers also visited Gokarneshwar, Nageshwor, Doleshwor, Makkhan Mahadev and other Shiva temples across Kathmandu Valley, while Shiva shrines throughout the country witnessed a heavy turnout of devotees on the first Monday of Shrawan.