Sanskardhani experienced a deeply devotional atmosphere on the occasion of Mahashivratri, with temples echoed with prayers, chants and hymns from the early morning till late night. From dawn, devotees gathered at Shiva temples across the city to offer prayers and perform abhishek. Temples were decorated with lights and flowers, while the sound of Shiva bhajans filled the air from Saturday night onwards. At Bharatipur Shiva Temple, special rituals related to the divine marriage of Lord Shiva were performed. Matrika pujan was conducted ahead of the ceremonial wedding, following which a grand procession with tableaux and the traditional wedding ceremony of Shiva and Parvati took place in the evening, drawing a large gathering of devotees. At Samanvay Seva Kendra near Adi Shankaracharya Chowk, worship and abhishek of Amriteshwar Mahadev began at 9 am. Mahamandaleshwar Akhileshwaranand Giri led the rituals as the chief host. Along with pujan, Rudra Swahakar Yagya was also performed. A massive crowd was seen at Kachnar City in Vijay Nagar, where devotees queued up from early morning to seek blessings at the 76-foot-tall statue of Lord Shiva.

 

On Mahashivratri, four Prahar Rudrabhishek and special rituals are traditionally performed here. Abhishek of the twelve Jyotirlingas inside the cave temple was carried out using sacred water of river Ganga brought from three pilgrimage centres. A two day fair was organised at Kailashdham Matamar, where devotees thronged the ancient Shiva temple from early morning till late night for darshan and abhishek. Across the city, Shiva devotees organised bhandara, with sabudana khichdi, halwa-puri, puri-sabzi, fruits and other offerings distributed to devotees in the afternoon and evening. Heavy crowd was seen at several other temples including Patbaba Temple, Pashupatinath Temple at Lamhetaghat, Devtal Shiva Temple, Bada Fuhara, Jilharighat, Narmadeshwar Mahadev at Tilwaraghat, Shankaracharya Math and Kanch Mandir. At Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple, a fair was organised. Special rituals included Mangala Aarti in the morning, Rajbhog in the afternoon and Shringar and Mahaarti late at night. Meanwhile, a Kanwar Yatra was taken out from the Gondwana era Gaibinath Temple. Devotees collected holy water of river Narmada from Tilwaraghat and performed jalabhishek, followed by Akhand Manas Path, Maha Aarti and Rudrabhishek, marking the festival with deep spiritual devotion.