Paralakhemundi,(Tarini Prasad Panda): A rare and unique Shivaratra is celebrated every year in Mahendragiri of Gajapati, . Today, Sunday, Shivaratri is being celebrated all over India. However,yesterday Saturday night lakhs of devotees celebrated Jagar along with Shivaratra in Mahendragiri, Saturday night, devotees celebrated Jagar total night long at the Gokarneshwar . Bhim.kunti temple in Mahendragiri .The legend described in the Puranas says that Mahendra in Mahendragiri is the Mahadev Shiva himself. The sun is the incarnation of Vishnu. The combination of the two leads to the celebration of the Shivaratri jagar and the sunrise in the morning. Which dissolves all the sins of the people and brings blessings. The sun rises from the Mahendra peak and dissolves all the sins of the devotees. Therefore, every year, huge gathering of devotees takes place at Mahendragiri. Seeing the sunrise . Therefore, this year also there was a huge of devotees from different parts of Odisha and neighboring states like Andhra, West Bengal etc. In total, lakhs of devotees celebrated the Mahashivaratri along with the jagar at Mahendragiri on Saturday night. The Gajapati administration made arrangements for the devotees like food, water, toilets and lighting. To maintain peace and order, 5 platoons of police force, 100 home guards, 6 DSPs, 11 inspectors and 35 sub-inspectors were deployed under the direct leadership of Gajapati SP Yatrindra Nath Panda. On behalf of the district administration, Gajapati ADM Munindra Henga, Sub
– Collector Anup Panda and many other officials were6 present at Mahendragiri Sikhar and this year’s Mahashivaratra and Jagar celebrations were celebrated with great success and discipline.
