Author: PTI
Publication: News.in.msn.com
Date: March 1, 2011
URL: http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4981329
Tens of thousands of devotees, including those
from India, have arrived at Nepal''s world famous Pashupatinath temple to
celebrate Mahashivratri, one the most popular Hindu festival in the country.
Some 5,000 Indian devotees have already arrived
and 100 Naga sadhus are scheduled to worship at Pashupatinath tomorrow, said
officials at Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), which manages the the
fifth century Hindu shrine.
The PADT officials said 4,000 security personnel
would be deployed on the occasion as they expect 5,00,000 people to visit
the most sacred temple of Shiva.
"The temple management committee has
arranged 4,000 security personnel and 5,000 volunteers are being mobilised
for security of the devotees," they said.
Located on the banks of the Bagmati river,
Pashupatinath is regarded as the most sacred temple of Shiva and the oldest
Hindu shrine in Nepal. It is also listed in UNESCO World Cultural Heritage
Site list.
Last month, Nepalese government had set up
a top panel to make the functioning of Pashupatinath Temple more transparent,
following a Supreme Court directive to streamline the management of the Hindu
shrine.
The temple had been at the centre of a row
when the Prachanda-led Maoist coalition government in 2008 sacked the chief
priest and other Brahmins from South India, and appointed Nepalese priests
to replace them.
It had triggered widespread protests across
the country as it was a break with centuries-old tradition where Brahmins
from South India have led the worship at one of the holiest Hindu shrine.
Later, Nepal''s Supreme Court had stayed the
government regulation aimed at ending the 300-year old monopoly of Indian
priests at the famed Pashupatinath.
