Fervour marks Maha Sivaratri

Devotees throng temples across nation Amid chiming of bells and chanting of mantras, enthusiastic Lord Shiva devotees formed serpentine queues outside temples to offer prayers on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri, which was marred by a temple stampede in Uttar Pradesh that killed two persons and injured 12.Fervour gripped the devotees across the country, who undertook a day-long fast and offered Jalabhisheks to Lord Shiva on the occasion.The incident occurred in the wee hours at Lodeshwar Mahadev Temple when the barricades collapsed due to the heavy rush of devotees. In Varanasi, the city believed to be founded by Lord Shiva according to legends, devotees undertook fast and took bath in Ganga as they offered prayers at the historic Kashi Vishwanath and other temples of the city.The Maha Kumbh came to an end in Allahabad, where lakh took a dip at the Sangam, the holy confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati on Maha Shivratri.On this occasion, chief priest of the famous Kedarnath temple in Garhwal Himalayas, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, announced reopening of temple's sacred portals on May 14. Thousands of devotees today took a holy dip in river Godavari and visited the Trimbakeshwar, Someshwar and other temples in Nashik district of Maharashtra.According to the Hindu calendar, Maha Shivratri is celebrated a day or two before the new moon in the month of Phalgun (February-March).Lord Shiva is considered one of the deities of Hindu Trinity, the other two being Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu.

2 killed in UPA stampede At least two persons were killed and 12 injured in a stampede on Sunday at a Shiva temple where thousands of devotees had lined up to pay obeisance on the occasion of Shivratri.The incident occurred in the wee hours at Lodeshwar Mahadev Temple in Uttar Pradesh when the barricades collapsed due to the heavy rush of devotees, including 'kanwarias', who had gathered to offer holy water at 'shivling'. Two men -- Rampal Singh (25) and Haribhan Singh (22) -- from Kanpur were killed in the incident, police said. Twelve people were injured and admitted to hospital, sources said, adding four of them were stated to be critical. DIG Faizabad Piyush Mordia after inspecting the site said that the incident took place due to breach in barricading. He said that a probe has been ordered into the incident.Exactly a month ago, 38 people had lost their lives in a stampede in the Allahabad railway station in the state on Mauni Amavasya during the Mahakumbh.