LUCKNOW: Devotees thronged city temples on the occasion of first Monday of the holy month of Shrawan. In long serpentine queues they awaited to offer bale leaves, milk and water to Lord Shiva, to whom the month is dedicated. One could hardly find any space at Mankameshwar, Siddhanath among others. "Mondays have a special significance during Shrawan," said Pandit Sita Ram Shukla, priest of a city t
emple. The reason, Monday is dedicated to Shiva in general. But they believed to be extremely auspicious in this period. Another reason is that Lord Shiva needs cool and calm things during Shrawan. Citing the legend behind this, Shukla said, "According to Hindu mythology during Samudra Manthan (churning of oceans), 14 types of rubies came out. Thirteen of these were distributed among Gods and demons. The last thing was a poison called Halahal. The moment it came out, it started spreading very fast in the air, posing threat to all life forms on Earth. Lord Shiva came forward and consumed Halahal and stored it in his throat."
