Sages smeared in hues throng for Mahahivaratri

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 29

They emerge in all hues, appearances and semblance around Pashupatinath. Their rugged appearances, matted hair, and smeared body with ash resemble the perfect disciple of Lord Shiva. There will be droves of them at Pashupati during Mahashivaratri, the night of Lord Shiva on February 12, exhibiting strange and bizarre conduct and behaviour.

These people have renounced all the worldly pleasures and comforts and want to find solace by praying Lord Shiva and experience sartori in hemp and marijuana, and making wild merriment replicating the Dynossiac culture of medieval Greece. Drug addicts also throng the shrine to have intoxicated in on the very occasion.

Sushil Nahata, member-secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), said the sages have started arriving, earlier than a week than previous years. “This year will be different from past years in every thing. Mysterious great sadhus like Chandra Swami will also be here”
They are treated as guests and housed and fed for free. Elaborate preparations are being made to cater to thousands of their tribe who will be visiting the Pashupatinath Temple for the festival, making the pilgrims feel homely and facilitate them whatever they need.

“Accommodations for the yogis and the beggars will be separately arranged,” said Bhola Prasad Sitaula, director of PADT.

Sadhus are welcome lots. But there will be beggars as uninvited guests. Hundreds of beggars have already arrived - some of them in unimaginably wretched state. They are found all over the Pashupati area with hopes for generosity from the devotees who come there.

Nahata said that the beggars always outnumber the Sadhus. “Still by treating them as pilgrims we will do whatever we can,” he said.

The sages and the beggars will be settled separately, and that will be managed by the PADT and other organisations from the private sectors. All the necessary security facilities will be provided to the visitors. For that, security posts and camps will be set up mobilising the police and the army to control possible mobs in the adjoining areas of Pashupatinath Temple.

Number of devotees is increasing every year. At least half a million pilgrims and other visitors are expected for Shivaratri this year – 25 per cent more than last year. It is estimated that the number of sages alone will exceed 5,000 this year coinciding with Kumbha Mela in Kavre, Hridwar and Kuruchhetra, said Raj Babu Pandey, chief of the Pashupati Guthi. More than 150 sages and yogis have already arrived from India. The Naga Babas (naked sages), one of the attractions of Shivaratri, will come soon.

The accommodation facilities will be provided free to all the sages and beggars during the celebration. When they leave, they are bid farewell with rudrakshya, clothes, sweet and cash ranging from Rs 350 to Rs. 1,100.

The Sadhus are provided with logs for bonfire during the cold February nights and marijuana as a 'prasad' of Lord Shiva while they remain here. “However, we are facing difficulty in getting logs. While we need some 60,000 logs, we have only 15,000 pieces,” Pandey said.

Twelve different subcommittees have been formed aiming to make the festival successful and different than the previous years.