KATHMANDU, Sept 18: On the occasion of the Teej festival, female Hindu devotees thronged the Pashupatinath temple on Monday. 

Dr Ghanshyam Khatiwada, executive director of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), informed Republica that the devotees can return soon after worshiping as this year the arrangements are more organized than previous years.

All four gates are open from 3AM today for the worship of Lord Pashupatinath. On the occasion of this year's Haritalika Teej festival, preparations have been made to arrange queues from four places for the convenience of the devotees who come to visit Pashupatinath.

The PADT is working on queue management, volunteer mobilization, health camps and free water distribution. On the occasion of Teej, arrangements have been made for all the four security agencies to provide security in the Pashupati area.

For the devotees coming from the Koteshwor-Tinkune-Sinamangal area, the first queue has been arranged to enter the Pashupatinath temple through the eastern door through the Tilganga tourist ticket counter area. Those holding passes can enter the temple through the Ram Mandir-Aryaghat area. Arrangements have been made to keep the shoes and slippers of the devotees entering through this route in the central area after crossing the two bridges over the Bagmati River going to Aryaghat.

The second queue has been arranged to enter the temple from the Mitrapark area. Gourishankar Parajuli, head of the cultural preservation division of the PADT, informed Republica that the shoes and slippers of the devotees entering from this point can be kept in the area in front of Shankaracharya Math.

Arrangements have been made for the third queue to proceed from the Gaushala-Pingalsthan-Panchdeval area. The shoes and slippers of the devotees entering from here will be kept in the front of the Bajraghar.

The fourth queue will enter the Pashupatinath temple via the Guhyeshwari-Umakunda-Kailash Dakshina area. The shoes and slippers of the devotees entering the temple through this route will be kept in the open area in front of the Guru Mandir.

Here are some photos of the devotees in Pashupatinath taken by Republica’s Photo Journalist Rajib Khatri today:

 
• Teej
 
• Pashupatinath_temple