Mahashivaratri Service Camp at Pashupatinath temple, Kathmandu 

Mahashivaratri is one of the major festivals of Nepal and literally mean “Night of The Shiva”. It is celebrated on the 14th day of the dart fortnight of the Magh month, as per the Hindu lunar Calendar.

It is believed that on this day, the stars in the Northern Hemisphere are at most optimum positions to help raise a person’s spiritual energy. It is also believed that the Shiva principle is most active on this day of the year.

Maha Shivaratri is celebrated marking the convergence of Shiva and Shakti. Maha Shivaratri also celebrates the night when Lord Shiva performed the "Tandav", the cosmic dance.

Hundreds of thousands of devotees visit Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, one of the holiest shrines of the Hindus.  Pashupatinath is considered tDevotees chant “Om Namah Shivay” and “Mahamritunjaya” all night praying for light over darkness. Tourists are seen enjoying the ambiance with curiosity, as colorful and naked sadhus are seen meditating, posing for photographs and interacting with disciples. 

Special attendance camps are set in the courtyards of the temples. Children are seen collecting donations from passersby on this day preparing for holy meal and bonfire in celebration of the special night.

Lord Shiva considered as the Guardian and Protector of the Kathmandu Valley and Nepal.

Maha Shivaratri is known as one of the most celebrated religious festivals for Hindus. Every year Hindus from all over the world are seen thronging many Shiva temples during this festival. Pashupatinath Temple is the place with the biggest crowd on this day.

This year, on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri, the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) is expecting a crowd of 1.3 million people from across the world. For the successful celebration of the festival, the management unit in Pashupatinath has started cleaning the area. Also, this year more importance has been given for figuring out an easier way to manage crowd so that devotees can carry out their Puja and Darshan faster and more conveniently.

Responding to the flow of the pilgrims, Nepal Scout has planned to mobilize 700 Rover and Ranger for the management of the thronging devotees at Pashupatinath Temple. Under the chairmanship of National Coordinator Mr. Lok Bahadur Bhandari, a management committee is formed and mobilized Rover and Ranger exclusively from Kathmandu Lalitpur and Bhaktapur including some form nearby locations. The group of volunteer of about 300 stayed at the camp on 20th February 2020 located at Bedbidhyashram. The registration, line management group on three different entrance and exit sites and help to the old aged people, women and children were carried by more than 450 volunteer form different crews. Hundreds of other young scouter have joined their hand together to make the Mahashivaratri festival well managed and easy in accessing to worship the lord shiva.

Nepal Scout would like to thank all the scouter, volunteer and all supporter who come up with the supportive hands and make this service camp a huge success.