Amid preparations across India to celebrate the 80th Independence Day on August 15, two famous temples in Madhya Pradesh, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Ganesh, marked the national festival four days early on August 11.
The Pashupatinath Temple in Mandsaur and Bade Ganesh Temple in Ujjain follow a unique tradition of celebrating Independence Day on Chaturdashi of the Krishna Paksha of Shravan, according to the Hindu calendar, instead of August 15. Priests said August 15, 1947, when India gained independence from British rule, corresponded to Shravan Krishna Chaturdashi in the Hindu calendar. This year, the Hindu calendar date for Independence Day fell on August 11.
At the ancient Pashupatinath Temple on the banks of the Shivna river in Mandsaur, about 250 km from Indore, special religious rituals were held on Tuesday to mark Independence Day. Umesh Joshi, president of the Jyotish and Karmakand Parishad, an organisation of temple priests and devotees, told PTI that the eight-faced Shivling at the Mandsaur temple was specially decorated and worshipped during the celebrations. About 250 devotees attended the programme, and prasad was distributed.
Joshi informed that the tradition of celebrating Independence Day on Shravan Krishna Chaturdashi at the ancient temple has been continuing since 1985. The famous Bade Ganesh Temple in Ujjain also celebrated Independence Day on Tuesday with traditional devotion and enthusiasm. Priest Akshat Vyas, associated with the temple management, said the shrine had followed a decades-old tradition of observing national festivals according to dates in the Hindu calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar.
Lord Ganesh is also worshipped at the temple as the God of the republic, he maintained. A Tiranga Yatra was taken out to the temple on August 11 amid drumbeats and patriotic slogans. After offering the national flag to Lord Ganesh on Independence Day, a special maha aarti was performed. The tricolour was then hoisted on the temple’s main spire.
Madhya Pradesh: Pashupatinath and Bade Ganesh temples celebrate Independence Day on August 11, following the Hindu calendar date of 1947; the tradition dates to 1985.
When faith meets freedom, even the calendar bows to the moment history was made.
