'Sawan'- Holiest month of the year begins

New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): The holiest month of the year 'Sawan' begins today, with devotees across the nation offering prayers to 'Lord Shiva' on the month's first Monday. Sawan begins from the first day of the 'full moon' and ends in the third week of August. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UP: Devotees offer prayers on the first Monday of the holy month of &#39;Saawan&#39;, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/visuals?src=hash">#visuals</a> from Varanasi and Allahabad. <a href="https://t.co/eQJe04QbQQ">pic.twitter.com/eQJe04QbQQ</a></p>&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/884232212312346624">July 10, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Allahabad: Kanwariyas thronged Triveni Sangam in Allahabad ahead of holy month of Saawan which begins tomorrow <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UttarPradesh?src=hash">#UttarPradesh</a> <a href="https://t.co/sqpG3yuaSE">pic.twitter.com/sqpG3yuaSE</a></p>&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/884079891632734208">July 9, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Devotees fast on the Mondays of the month to impress the Lord. According to the Hindu Mythology, Lord Shiva is called 'Mahadev' because he saved the universe by drinking poison that arised from the 'Samudra Manthan' in Sawan. 'Samudra Manthan' is an occasion when Gods and Demons churned the ocean of milk for 'Amrit'. A gem was produced from the churning was poison, which could have destroyed the entire universe; therefore, Shiva drank the poison to save the living beings. (ANI)