Sakshi Arora
On March 8, 2024 the Laxminarayan Mandir, located at 9292 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, CA 92505, celebrated Maha Shivratri. According to the mandir’s festival chair, Sakshi Arora, more than 3000 Shiv Bhaktas visited the temple and participated in various ways of the Shiv Pooja throughout the Maha Shivratri day.
The Mandir opened at 6:00 am and remained open until around 1:00 am for Shiv Bhaktas. Throughout the day, different pujas took place, including Pratham Prahara puja, 108 Kalash Sthapana, Maha Sankalp, Ganpati Puja, Rudra Abhishekam, noon puja, Dwitiya Prahara puja, Tritiya Prahara puja at 3:00 pm, Chaturth Prahara Puja at 6:00 pm, Samuhik Puja at 7:00 pm, Shiv Parvati Kalyanam, 108 Shiv Kalash Abhishekam at 8:00 pm, Mahaprasad at 8:30 pm, Dwadasa 12 Jyothi Linga Darshan and, Bhajans by Amit Anand from 9:00 pm to 12:30 am.
Shiv Bhaktas contributed their money, food, and time to make MahaShivratri a great event. They patiently waited in line for around 2-3 hours. The Mandir offered both fasting and non-fasting prasad for bhaktas, primarily sponsored by Masala House, Eastvale, Punjab Palace, Riverside, and Vaishno Seva Dal, which all bhaktas enjoyed. Additionally, Shiv Bhaktas brought significant amounts of prasad for Lord Shiv, which was distributed among the devotees to enjoy.
After MahaShivratri, the Mandir’s current president, Anil Kamboh, heartily thanked the Shiv bhaktas for their disciplined behavior while waiting in line for Lord Shiv’s Pooja. He prayed to Lord Shiva to bless all of them with their desires.
To acknowledge the success of MahaShivratri, the president extended his gratitude to all priests, board members, MMC members, volunteers, event sponsors, food sponsors, mandir managers and singer Amit Anand. He expressed, “Anyone who contributed to making MahaShivratri better is a true Shiv Bhakta and a volunteer. May Lord Shiva bless and fulfill all their wishes.
AUM NAMAH SHIVAYI
