Overview

• Devotees observed dawn-to-dusk fasts and performed prescribed abhishekam and aarti during Brahma, Abhijit and Vijay muhurats, chanting ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ 108 times.
• Pilgrimages peaked at key Shiva sites, with the Bhasma Aarti at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar and Jalabhishek rituals at Kashi Vishwanath drawing massive crowds.
• Kanwar Yatra pilgrims collected Ganga water at dawn and carried it for Jalabhishek ceremonies, reinforcing the month’s traditional spiritual journey.
• District magistrates in Varanasi, Budaun and Nuh ordered Monday school closures to ease pilgrimage traffic and ensure public safety.
• Local police in Varanasi, Ujjain and Mumbai deployed drones, Quick Response Teams and mounted units to streamline darshan queues and enforce crowd controls.