Amid preparations across India to celebrate the 80th Independence Day on August 15, two famous temples in Madhya Pradesh, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Ganesh, marked the national festival four days early on August 11.
“We performed an ‘abhishek’ of the Shivling with water containing ‘durva’, a special type of grass used in worship, while chanting Vedic hymns. The Pashupatinath Temple in Mandsaur and Bade Ganesh Temple in Ujjain follow a unique tradition of celebrating Independence Day on Chaturdashi of the Krishna Paksha of Shravan, according to the Hindu calendar, instead of August 15. Priests said August 15, 1947, when India gained independence from British rule, corresponded to Shravan Krishna Chaturdashi in the Hindu calendar. About 250 devotees attended the programme, and ‘prasad’ (offering) was distributed. We prayed for India to become a developed nation by 2047,” Joshi said. A Tiranga Yatra was taken out to the temple on August 11 amid drumbeats and patriotic slogans, Vyas said.
Umesh Joshi, president of the Jyotish and Karmakand Parishad, an organisation of temple priests and devotees, told PTI that the eight-faced ‘Shivling’ at the Mandsaur temple was specially decorated and worshipped during the celebrations. He said Hindus traditionally believe that performing abhishek (sacred ritual bath) of Lord Shiva with water containing ‘durva’ helps devotees overcome difficulties. Priest Akshat Vyas, associated with the temple management, said the shrine had followed a decades-old tradition of observing national festivals according to dates in the Hindu calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar (standard solar system of dates used in most parts of the world).
