SAMBALPUR: Thousands of devotees made a beeline for the Shiva temples from daybreak to late into the night on Tuesday in temples across Western Odisha on Maha Shivaratri. With Shaivism flourishing in the region since the time of Chauhan rule, Shiva temples dot the entire landscape of the region.
In the undivided district of Sambalpur, a large number of Shiva temples were built during the reign of Chauhans. The most important among them are the Asta Sambhu pitha comprising Bimaleswar in Huma, Kedarnath in Ambabhona, Biswanath in Deogaon, Balunkeswar of Gaisama, Maneswar in Sambalpur, Swapneswar in Sorna, Bisveswar in Soronda and Nilakantheswar in Niljee.
While the Shiva temple at Huma and Maneswar fall in Sambalpur district, the rest are located in Bargarh district. Devotees also thronged the Shiva temples of Koshaleswar Baba at Budharaja, Somnath Baba at Balibandha and Siddheswar Baba temple at Fatak.
Long queues of devotees were also seen at Ranipur Jharial in Balangir district which is considered both Tantra and Shaiva pitha. Although regular puja at the Indralath temple, which is an architectural beauty made of bricks, has been stopped, lingas inside the temples installed since time immemorial attract hundreds of devotees.
In Sonepur district also, long line of devotees was seen at Shiva temples of Rameswar, Subarnameru, Paschim Somanath, Loknath, Balunkeswar, Chandrasekhar, Gokarneswar and Godhaneswar.