Ujjain/ Varanasi, June 28 (ANI): Thousands of devout Hindus thronged Lord Shiva temples across India to offer special prayers in celebration of the auspicious third Monday of the month- long 'Sawan '(Monsoon) festival. Devotees gathered in large numbers on Monday to offer milk, curd, honey and holy water to Lord Shiva in the wee hours of the morning. Long queues of people waiting with an assortment of religious offerings like joss sticks, red vermilion and flowers were seen outside the temples. A priest in the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple of ancient Ujjain city in Madhya Pradesh, Anup Yadav, said that the third Monday of the month holds a special importance in the Hindu lunar calendar. Kanwarias (devotees of Lord Shiva) undertake a tedious foot journey to the Hindu pilgrim centres of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to fetch the holy waters of river Ganges for their village temples.
