Jodhpur Celebrates Lord Shiva's Wedding

With the arrival of ceaseless showers of rains, the highly auspicious month of Sawan begins for Hindu people in India. It is a month famed for incessant rains that changes the entire dry and rough ambiance into a pleasant one.

This beautiful season enables each and every creature of “Mother Nature” to rejuvenate themselves once again after a long period of scorching summer season. Apart from this, Sawan season (July-August) encloses much more charm in its kitty.

This is the fifth month of Hindu calender and known for various colorful festivals of Hindu religion such as Teej festival, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, Rakhi, a festival to celebrate the sweet relationship of brother and sister, and Lord Shiva's wedding etc.

Apart from these festivals, millions of devotees of Lord Shiva popularly known as Kanwarias, visit Haridwar and bring holy water in Kanwars, made up of bamboo stick with two small pots hanging on both ends, on their shoulders. They offer this pious water to their native Shiva temples after returning from Haridwar, as “Jalabishekh” to please Lord Shiva.

These festivals of Sawan month are celebrated throughout the country with utmost joy and gaiety. Jodhpur, one of the alluring city of Rajasthan is renowned across the globe for the an unique kind of wedding during Sawan month. This is the special attraction of Sawan in Jodhpur.

It is the wedding of Lord Shiva with his companion Goddess Parvati. The ritual of organizing Lord Shiva's wedding is not new for people of Jodhpur. This religious occasion has now turned into an annual affair. Ardent devotees of Lord Shiva used to gather at some major Shiva temples of the city and takes out colorful religious processions on this occasion.

Every year thousand of devotees visit the Dudheswar Mahadev temple, near Swasti Gate of Jodhpur to pay their homage and seek happiness and prosperity for their near and dear ones. They danced and chanted praises of Lord Shiva during the procession on the beats of band and traditional drums.

Some of the devotees who participates in this procession, dressed themselves as Hindu deities and demons. They enacted the marriage of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati during these processions. The procession starts its journey from Dudeshwar temple and returned to the temple after passing through various streets and lanes of the city. People standing at both the sides of the road showered colorful petals on the procession.