'Harom Hara' rents the air

Devotees thronged the siva temples throughout the State as part of the Maha Sivaratri celebrations on Sunday. Various parts of the State witnessed heavy rush at all Siva temples and Maha Sivaratri was observed with religious fervour. 3-day fete at Vemulawada Karimnagar: Thousands of devotees thronged Sri Rajarajeswara Swamy temple in Vemulawada of Karimnagar district on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri on Sunday. The three-day festivities commenced on Saturday and would conclude on Monday.

TSR's 'Kumbhabhishekam' Visakhapatnam: The Ramakrishna Beach road wore a festive look with thousands of devotees thronging the area where the Rajya Sabha member Dr T Subbarami Reddy performed 28th 'Maha Kumbhabhishekam' on Maha Sivaratri on Sunday. Pilgrims disappointed Srikakulam: Pilgrims had come from far off places to see the first rays of the sun touching the deity's feet at Aruna Sila. But they were disappointed, as the rays first fell on the flag-post (dhwaja sthambam).However, authorities said the pilgrims could not view the rare occurrence as they crowded round the area.

Special puja at Bugga Rajarajeswara temple Adilabad: Hundreds of devotees worshipped at the ancient Sri Bugga Rajarajeswara Swamy temple at Kannala village of Bellampalli mandal in the district on the occasion. Priest Venugopala Sastry and others performed pujas to the deities. Devotees in large numbers visited ancient Kadili Papahareswara temple in the midst of forests in Dilavatpur mandal about 20 kms from Nirmal town.

Huge crowds at Someswara temple Bhimavaram (West Godavari): A large number of Lord Shiva devotees thronged Someswara Janardhana Swamy temple, one of the five Pancharama Kshetras in the State, at Gunupudi here on Sunday. Self-revealing of Lord Siva Palakol (West Godavari): Devotees who thronged Sri Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy temple here believe that Lord Siva reveals Himself in real form coming out of the Lingam on the auspicious night.

Freedom from sins Amaravati (Guntur): Sri Bala Chamundi Sameta Amareswara Swamy temple here packed to capacity with unusual rush to mark the festival. Devotees came here to get rid of their sins. They believe that Abhishekam on the holy day would appease the `Reliever of Sins.' Siva 'naama' reverberates Vijayawada: Old Sivalayam in One-Town, Parvati Sameta Ramalingeswara Swamy temple at Mutyalampadu, Sivalayams at Durga temple and other localities reverberated with recital of Shiva `namam.'

Pigs sacrified at Balive Balive (Krishna): A large number of devotees visited the Ramalingeswara Swamy temple at Balive in Musunuru mandal of Krishna district on Sunday. Hundreds of pigs were slaughtered on the occasion. The devotees, however, claimed that it was a part of the tradition which was in vogue since ancient times. Pancharama Kshetras Devotees thronged the Pancharama Kshetras, the five pilgrimage centres of Shiva in the State. According to a legend, a group of gods pleads with Lord Kumara Swamy to punish a cruel demon by name of Tarakasura who attains immortality because of Aatmalinga sported by him. To ensure safety of gods, Lord Kumara Swamy executes the demon with the help of Aagneya Astram. The Upasa Lingam of the demon breaks into five pieces and scatters at different places (in the present Andhra Pradesh) popularly known as Pancharama Kshetras�Somaramam (Gunupudi), Ksheeraramam (Palkol), Amararamam (Amaravati), Daksharamam (Daksharam) and Kumararamam (Samalkot).

minor stampede at Srikalahasti The Srikalahasti temple was flooded with thousands of devotees soon after it opened at 4 am on Sunday on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri. Over 1.5 lakh devotees had the darshan of Lord Srikalahastheeswara Swamy and Jnana Prasoonambika Devi. Five women and a few senior citizens sustained injuries in 'free queue line' near Saneeswara Swamy temple due to a minor stampede. The rescue team shifted them to the health camp immediately and after providing first aid, they were shifted to the government hospital. Devotees thronged Shivaite temples in Srikalahasti, Talakona, Mogili, Kailasakona, Jharikona, Kotilingalakona, Sadasivakona, Mallaiahkonda, Sidheswarakonda and Kapilateertham temples in Tirupati to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva. Due to heavy rush, all Rahu-Kethu pujas were cancelled on Sunday. On Sunday morning, the 'utsava deity' of Srikalahasteeswara was taken out on Indra Vimana Vahanam through the four 'Mada Streets' and Jnana Prasoonambika on 'Chapparam' Vahanam. Women observe fast and offer prayers to Lord Shiva and Parvati for a blissful married life.

Devotees attack MRO office at Pattiseema Thousands of devotees came to Pattiseema, a small island in the Godavari River, in Polavaram mandal of West Godavari district to have darshan of Veereswara Swamy on the auspicious occasion of Maha Sivaratri on Sunday. Two women were injured when there was minor stampede as devotees jostled to get in to the launches. The police intervened to bring the situation under control. Several devotees expressed their anguish over poor arrangements made by the authorities to ferry devotees from the main land to Pattiseema. They said that last year eight punts and 20 launches were pressed into service. This year the number was reduced to five punts and six launches resulting in inconvenience to devotees, they remarked. Several people attacked MRO camp office and ransacked furniture when the launch service was suspended for some time after a devotee got drowned in the river. The police intervened and restored order resorting to a mild lathi charge. The Superintendent of Police, Ramesh and Collector Vani Mohan came to Pattiseema and reviewed the arrangements.