On the night of Maha Sivaratri and into early Monday, over 50,000 devotees gathered at the historic Srimukhalingam temple. The temple was bustling with activity as chief priest Naidugari Rajasekhar led special rituals. Usually, the main rush happens on Mondays, but this year pilgrims arrived on Sunday night itself, eager to offer their prayers immediately after the festival. Other important temples such as Endala Mallikarjuna Swamy temple in Ravivalasa and Umarudra Koteswara Alayam in Srikakulam also saw large crowds on Monday. At Umarudra Koteswara Alayam, devotees took a holy dip in the Nagavali river before entering the temple to pray. The festival brought a vibrant spiritual energy to these sacred sites in the region.