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Importance of doing Puja In
Pashupatinath Temple |
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Pashupatinath
temple (Oldest and Largest Shiva Temple
In World), the holiest pilgrimage site
for Hindus, a unique heritage site for
archaeology enthusiasts, and a charming
and lively site for protectors and
promoters of religion and culture. |
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Lord Shiva
represents the aspect of the Supreme
Being (Brahman of the Upanishads) that
continuously dissolves to recreate in
the cyclic process of creation,
preservation, dissolution and recreation
of the universe. Lord Shiva is the third
member of the Hindu Trinity, the other
two being Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. |
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Importance and
Significances: |
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Culturally,
Pashupati is the centre-point of faith
and respect of not just Hindu, but also
Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, etc. Pilgrims as
well as tourists come to Pashupati from
all over the world, averaging 4,850 of
them/day (2052 B.S.). Festivities like
Mahashivaratri, Teej, etc. are
celebrated with great enthusiasm. |
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The words
destroyer and destruction have been
erroneously associated with Lord Shiva.
This difficulty arises when people fail
to grasp the true significance of His
cosmic role. |
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The creation
sustains itself by a delicate balance
between the opposing forces of good and
evil. When this balance is disturbed and
sustenance of life becomes impossible,
Lord Shiva dissolves the universe for
creation of the next cycle so that the
bad souls will have another opportunity
to liberate themselves from bondage with
the physical world. Thus, Lord Shiva
protects the souls from pain and
suffering that would be caused by a
dysfunctional universe. In analogous
cyclic processes, winter is essential
for spring to appear and the night is
necessary for the morning to follow. |
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By worshipping
Pashupatinath, wealth, grandeur and
prosperity are achieved physically and
spiritually and it is said that if a
childless couple do puja and make vow to
Pashupatinath they will get child.
Likewise when did puja at this temple
worshipper will be bestowed with all his
/her desire come true. Devotees visiting
the shrine usually worship Pashupatinath
with flowers, garlands, fruits, incense,
akshata (whole rice grains) barley,
vermilion etc. Since Pashupatinath is
the form of Shiva-Shakti, red flowers is
considered pleasing to Him. And, leaves
and fruits of Bel and Dhatura (Dhatura
stramonium) are most dear to Lord Shiva.
Sweets are generally not offered,
although it is not a taboo, since Shiva
is an ascetic here. |
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Daily Puja at
Pashupatinath temple: |
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Every morning the
west door of the sanctum is opened by
the Bhandaris (store-keepers) at 4 AM,
from when worship begins. At half past
nine in the morning the other three
doors are also opened. After bathing the
lingum with holy waters, sacred worship
by Panchamrit Abhishek (consecration by
ghee, milk, honey, sugar and curd) is
done by the priests. During the time the
lingum is elegantly dressed up in
gorgeous costume, made of brocade and
set with tripunda (sandal paste mark)
Chattras (umbrellas) are also placed on
the four heads. On the top head, the
graphic Shri Yantra is drawn with sandal
paste.Arti is performed then. Later Bhog
is offered. After this Individual puja
has been done for the public who would
like to do special Puja at temple. |
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Drashan can be
done any time from 4 A.M to 12 noon.
From 12:00 noon to 5:00 PM, temple
closes. At 6 pm Rudravishekam is done as
mention above and from 6:30 to 7:00 P.M,
client special puja is performed. In the
evening Arti is performed exactly as
morning methods. |
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Special worships
are done on festivals i.e. full moon day
(Purnima) the Ekadasi (The eleventh day
of the new and full moon fortnights),
every Monday and other auspicious days
of the year like mahashivaratri, Teej,
etc. Mahashivaratri, Hindu devotees on
this night throng Shiva shrines
everywhere, but the grandest of all
activities revolve around Pashupatinath
temple located on the banks of the
sacred Bagmati River about three
kilometers east of downtown
Kathmandu. This all-night vigil and the
exciting crowded festival days before
and after attract thousands of people
from India and Nepal. On this day women
do fasting for prosperity, happy life,
etc. |
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