Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday extended his greetings to the nation on the occasion of Maha Shivratri which is being celebrated across the country.
Naidu took to Twitter and in a series of tweet said, "Dear Sisters and brothers across the world, I convey my greetings to devotees all over the world who are celebrating the Mahashivaratri Festival. This is an occasion to pray, to meditate and derive renewed energy to do good. #MahaShivaratri" (sic)
The annual festival marks the mythical wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and is considered one of the holiest festival by the Hindu community.
"Let us pray that our lives are continuously lit with good cheer, health, thoughts and actions. As the Vedic rishis have said - "Tanme Manah Shiva Sankalpamastu" (Let my mind be filled with beautiful and good thoughts). My Prayerful salutations to Lord Shiva''Om Namah Shivaya" (sic)
In his third tweet, Naidu said "Shiva is one of the Holy Trinity, three important Hindu Gods, the other two being Brahma and Vishnu. He is Adi Yogi, the first yoga guru. He is Dakshinamurthy, the great teacher. He is Rudra, the ferocious destroyer of evil. He is Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. #MahaShivaratri" (sic)
Meanwhile, U.S Ambassador to Nepal, Alaina B. Teplitz also took to Twitter and shared her wishes on the festival saying, "Happy Mahashivaratri #Nepal, a festival focused on overcoming darkness and ignorance! Love seeing the photos from this lively and colorful festival!" (sic)
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Earlier in the day, devotees throng Mumbai's Babulnath temple on the auspicious occasion. Many devotees also performed special prayers at Bhimashankar temple near Pune.
Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh devotees took a holy dip in Mahanadi river at 'Rajim Kumbh' in Rajim.
On this day devotees worship and offer sacrifices to Shivalingam as part of their prayers to the god.
Devotees on this special day observe fast and chant shlokas. They offer milk, water, bel leaves (three leaves stalked in one) and fruits to the Shivalingam.