The Pashupatinath temple is being prepared for the Maha Shivaratri festival, which falls on Monday.

On the day, thousands of Hindu devotees visit the temple to offer prayers and celebrate the life of Lord Shiva, one of the triumvirate of the Hindu pantheon.

According to the Hindu mythology, the Maha Shivaratri festival is celebrated to honour the day Lord Shiva drank poison to save humankind and gods from annihilation. The festival is observed every year on the 14th day of the waning moon in the Nepali month of Falgun.

To celebrate the festival, devotees observe overnight fast, meditate and offer ‘puja’ to Shiva in the morning. Milk, flowers and Belpatra are offered to Lord Shiva on the day of the festival.

Thousands of Hindu devotees visit the temple to offer prayers and celebrate the life of Lord Shiva, one of the triumvirate of the Hindu pantheon. Post photo: Elite Joshi

Making bonfires and smoking ‘chillum’ is also common among the devotees, particularly the  sadhus (holymen), who visit the Pashupatinath temple in large numbers, some of them from as far as India.

A worker paints the shrines inside the premises of Pashupatinath temple in the run-up to the upcoming Maha Shivaratri festival on Wednesday. Post photo: Elite Joshi

Scores of sadhus have already arrived for the festival. They are looked after by the Pashupati Area Development Trust throughout their stay.

According to the Hindu mythology, the Maha Shivaratri festival is celebrated to honour the day Lord Shiva drank poison to save humankind and gods from annihilation. Post photo: Elite Joshi