Nashik (Maharashtra) [India], February 26 (ANI): Due to heavy crowds in Prayagraj, many devotees chose to visit Nashik, where they took a holy dip in the Godavari River (Nashik Gange) and offered prayers at the Shri Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple on Mahashivratri.

The atmosphere was vibrant, filled with the sounds of chanting and ringing bells. Devotees dressed in traditional attire and brought offerings of milk, flowers, and fruits.

One devotee, standing in the temple queue, said, 'I have been waiting in the line for almost 5 hours... I am very happy to be here...'

Juna Akhada Mahamandaleshwar Savidhanand Saraswati said, 'My greeting to everyone on Maha Shivratri... A lot of devotees have come here for Darshan... I pray for the welfare of the world and harmony among the people...'

'Today we came to take a bath because there are a lot of crowds going to Prayagraj. Therefore, we have come to Nashik Gange, and we will visit Kapaleshwar and then we will go,' said Rekha Sandeep Suryavanshi, a woman devotee.

Another devotee shared, 'There is a lot of crowd in Prayagraj, so we could not go. So we came to visit the Nashik Ganges, we did snan properly.'

'Due to the heavy rush in Prayagraj, we decided to come to Nashik Gange. The experience here has been equally fulfilling,' said woman devotee Rupali.

Mahashivratri, dedicated to Lord Shiva, falls on Wednesday this year. An estimated one million pilgrims are expected to visit the temple.

Mahashivaratri, known as the night of Lord Shiva, is observed with great fervour in Nepal as well as in India and other Hindu populous countries. Generally, the Day of Mahashivaratri falls on every 13th night or 14th day of lunar-solar month according to the Lunar Calendar. Every temple of Lord Shiva is flocked with pilgrims on the day of Shivaratri. (ANI)