Devotees stand in queue on the Lingaraj temple premises in Bhubaneswar on Monday to pour water on the temple deity in the auspicious month of Shravan. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, July 9: Nearly 5,000 “bolbam” devotees (kaudias) thronged the 11th century Lingaraj temple on the first Monday of the Shravan month. The devotees were seen standing in a serpentine queue holding water vessels to pour over Lord Shiv. They had fetched water from the various rivers of the state.

The Lingaraj temple administration officials said they had made special arrangements for the devotees who were going to offer water to the Lord on the four Mondays of Shravan, an auspicious month in the Odia calendar. The temple would open at 3am on these four days.

As a huge number of devotees throng to the Shiv shrine here during this time, the administration had set up barricades in front of the temple to control the crowd. The administration has arranged for drinking water and medical facilities for the devotees, most of whom walk long distances without rest to offer water to the Lord.

The administration collects Rs 5 from each devotee entering the shrine.

Temple sources said the number of devotes was typically less on the first Monday and gradually climbed over the three following weeks. “This year too, we expect nearly 15,000 devotees on the three remaining Mondays,” said a senior official of the temple administration.

Executive officer of the Lingaraj temple administration A.K. Patnaik said they had held a discussion with all the nijogs involved in the temple rituals so that all the rituals were conducted smoothly.

“We ensured that all rituals finished on time so that the devotees did not have to wait for hours. The priests made sure everything went smoothly on the first Monday,” said Patnaik.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has also taken special measures to maintain sanitation around the temple during this holy month.

Devotees from various coastal districts such as Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and other places come to the shrine, where Lord Shiv is the presiding deity, during this month. Sometimes, devotees cover a distance of more than 100km on foot, chanting “bol bam” all the way, to reach the Lingraj temple. Several other Shiv shrines also witnessed a large number of pilgrims on Monday.

Devotees mostly prefer Gadagadia ghat by the Mahanadi in Cuttack to collect water. During this time, the National Highway-5 is jammed with lakhs of pilgrims, most of them clad in purple outfits, walking on the road even in the monsoon rain.

“Bolbam is closely associated with Hindu culture. Legend has it that our wishes come true if we pour water on Shiv lingas on these four Mondays of Shravan. This is my third consecutive year,” said Jitendra Panigrahi, a devotee from Jajpur.

Several voluntary organisations build makeshift arrangements on the roadsides for these devotees, who walk barefoot without rest and food to get their wishes fulfilled.