Visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed a special puja at Pashupatinath Temple on the second and final day of his two-day official visit on Monday morning.Modi reached the temple at 9:25 am amid unprecedented security and remained at the temple for about an hour. Devotees were barred from offering prayers inside the temple from 7:30 onwards this morning.
Modi also offered 2,500 kg of white sandalwood to the Pashupatinath Temple during the puja.”Another major significance of my Nepal visit is that I will have the opportunity of paying obeisance at Pashupatinath Temple on the sepcial occassion of ‘sawan ki somwar’ (Monday of Shrawan),” the Indian PM had tweeted earlier.Mondays of Shravan, which is revered as the month of Lord Shiva, are considred highly auspicious according to Hindu mythology and millions of Hindu devotees visit Lord Shiva shrines on the day. Modi is among the high-profile pilgrims at Pashupatinath Temple . In the past, the shrine has received Indian dignitaries like R Venkataraman, IK Gujral, PB Narsingha Rao and Jaswant Singh. As part of the preparations to welcome Modi, the temple premises had undergone a makeover such as decorations within the temple and its surroundings and painting of the major route leading to the shrine. Making the first bilateral visit by an Indian PM in 17 years, Modi had pledged not to interfere in Nepal’s internal affairs. He announced US$ 1 billion soft loan and said his government was determined to forge a new relationship with the Himalayan nation in a first address by a foreign head of state/government to Nepal’s Parliament after 1990.
Source : ekantipur.com
