Kathmandu, NEPAL– More than 1,3 million people from around the world were expected to visit the Pashupatinath Temple during the celebrations of Maha Shivaratri.
The Night of Shiva
This year’s “Night of the Shiva” was celebrated on the 4th of March.
It is without any doubt one of the holiest celebrations in the Hindu lunar calendar. A day where the stars are believed to offer the best support during a personal quest for spiritual energy. Also, a well-known anniversary, as local culture tells us it is the night when Lord Shiva performed “Tandav”, the cosmic dance, and merged with Shakti (the goddess of Power and Energy).
Believers and non-believers from all the horizons harbored by our planet earth, want to commemorate these traditional stories in a symbolic scenery linked to its main actor’s heritage: Shiva. This is why during this event, the Pashupatinath Temple is one of the top destinations for locals, Hindu adherents, pilgrims, and tourists.
A perfect place to be on this festive day, as the Pashupatinath Temple is a sacred and famous temple complex inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites’ list since 1979. It regroups 518 temples spread on 264 hectares of land protected by the army and inhabited by the devotees. But above all, it is the house of Shiva, one of the 275 Tamil Paadal Petra Sthalams that can be found in Asia. Without any surprise, a huge crowd was expected, and attended, on this day of celebration in her name.
A Huge Crowd
”For the successful celebration of the festival, the management unit in Pashupatinath have started cleaning the area. Also, this year more importance has been given for figuring out an easier way to manage crowd so that devotees can carry out their Puja and Darshan faster and more conveniently.” declared the national tourism board on its official website.
During the day, the police were already having a lot of trouble controlling the crowd. Only one of the two main bridge was open to force one-way traffic from the entrance to the exit. But it didn’t go as expected. People could be seen directly crossing the river, or being stuck in a massive human traffic jam on top of the bridge.
The chief of police confirmed in front of our cameras that 18 arrests were made, for carrying drugs (all were released the same day) and pickpocketing, 3 for a public offense that will lead to court. Compared to the huge crowd, this is a good result proving efficiency in the security system put in place.
Hopefully, the police were not the only one in charge of the organization. Helpers from many different associations such as the Nepali Scouts and tourism schools student groups participated in the logistics and offered their support to the officials.
“A huge crowd is expected and we are working to manage a fine parking facility and a good place for devotees to sit. Also, as many devotees show eagerness to distribute food to the people present there, we are trying to manage a proper place for the devotees to enjoy their meal.” Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) Chairman Mr. Govinda Tandan.
Lots of food stands and cleaning facilities were available for the public. But the road traffic had completely blocked both ways from the airport entrance to the temple entrance.
The Iconic Babas
Despite the fact that they were less Sadhu Babas (cover photo) among the crowd than in previous years, their colorful clothes and body paintings still made their presence noticed. The main reason for these absences is the proximity of dates with another festival in India, Kumbh Mela.
A lot of visitors make the most of their participation after their long journey from India, to take pictures with them, and try the local hashish some of them sell hidden in cigarets or openly smoked in wooden pipes. Police reprimanded visitors when caught consuming weed, but no arrests were made for consumption.
“It’s a festival where you can see all Nepali flying high!” said a city guide.
Only a few foreigners know that some of these people often are more performers than yogis. One of them confessed he had paid 3000 Rs (mostly traveling from India) the right to ask money in return of the body paint, predictions, and photos appearances they share.
“Not all of them have reached the spiritual level giving them access to the Nirvana.”
On the 7th of March Babas will be “peacefully” asked to leave according to a member of the Pashupatinath area office.
Now the festival is finished, it will take at least two days to clean up the premises. A few environmental associations and gathering events have offered their help to the official cleaning teams, as the safeguarding of national treasures, and especially touristic and sacred places is an issue in which every citizen can find himself concerned.
