Preparations are under way for a special pooja to be performed by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at Pashupatinath temple. 

President Mukherjee will be performing the pooja of Pashupatinath on the morning of November 3, according to Member Secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust Govinda Tandon. “President Mukherjee will be guided for the special pooja by the main priest Ganesh Bhatta while 22 Baidik Pandits will perform the Baidik Rudrabhishek,” he said. 

The Indian President will be welcomed by Dhime baja, Panche baja and other traditional music and sound following his entry to the Pashupati premises from Gaushala Chowk. Gargi Kanya Gurukul students will be lining up on the either side of the path to receive the President, who will be welcomed with Swasti Bachan by 108 Batuks of Nepal Bed Bidhyashram upon his entry from the western gate of the temple. 

The area is being cleaned up and adorned with welcome gates for the occasion. Security has been stepped up for the visit, the Metropolitan Police Circle, Gaushala said. 

After completing the special pooja, the President will be signing the visitor’s book and will also receive a memento from the PADT. This will be the first visit by an Indian President to the famous Hindu shrine in 18 years. 

Then President KR Narayanan had visited the temple in 1997. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had paid obeisance along with a special pooja at the temple in August 2014. The Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu is one of the most revered pilgrimage sites for Hindus around the world.