Every month in
the Hindu calendar has listed the thirteenth day of the darker half of the
month as Shivaratri i.e. 'Shiva's great night'. The word "ratri"
means night in Hindi. The Shivaratri (moonless night) that falls in the krishna paksha, in the month of Magha
(lunar month) is celebrated all over the
country as 'Mahashivaratri'.
As
the name indicates this festival is celebrated in honor of Lord Shiva, the
third God of the Hindu Trinity. On this auspicious day, devotees observe
an all day fast and keep vigil all night.
What does this night signify?
It is believed that on this day Lord Shiva was married to
the godess Parvati. It is also believed that Lord Shiva performed ‘Tandava’, the dance of the primal creation, preservation and destruction on this auspicious night of
Shivaratri. Another popular legend from the scriptures of the "Linga
Purana" says that this was the night that Lord Shiva manifested
himself as the "Linga" for the very first time. Did you know
that many consider Lord Shiva as the ideal husband and bachelorettes pray
to him to get the perfect husband.
Celebrations
: Devotees of Shiva
fast during the day and maintain an all night vigil during the night. In temples
all across the country, bells ring, sacred texts are chanted and
traditional offerings of leaves and milk are made to the Shiv lingam,
the phallic symbol of the god.
Devotees recite "Om Namah
Shivay". Here is another short prayer for Shiva.
Om Sarva Mangal Manglaye Shivay Sarvaarth Sadhike
Sharanye Trayambake Gauri Narayaani Namostu Te
Oh the divine couple Shiva Parvati !
O ! Thee, the protectors of this universe,
Along with Lords Brahma and Vishnu
We pray to You for our well-being, prosperity and the enlightenment of our souls.
On the day of Shivratri, the lingam is bathed with the five sacred offerings of a
cow, called the panchagavya - milk, sour milk, urine, butter and
dung. Thereafter the five foods of immortality - milk, clarified butter,
curd, honey and sugar - are placed before the lingam. Dhatura
and jati, though
poisonous fruits, are believed to be sacred to Shiva and thus offered at
his temple. Aarthi and bhajans in praise of Lord Shiva are also sung to invoke his blessings.
Special
celebrations are held at important Shiva temples at Chidambaram, Kalahasi,
Khajuraho and Varanasi. In Kashmir, the festival is held for 15 days; the
thirteenth day is observed as Herath,
a day of fast followed by a family feast.
Recipes for
Mahashivratri
Although many fast
through out the day without eating any thing at all, many others eat
fruits, nuts and milk. Yet others allow themselves to eat special
"fasting food" like sago and potatoes. Spices like green chilies
and cumin are allowed when fasting. Ghee not oil is used especially during
a fast.
According to Hindu
mythology, observance of the Mahashivratri Vrat or fast with discipline helps a
devotee control the two great natural forces that afflict a man, rajas
guna (the quality of passionate activity - lust, anger and jealousy) and tamas guna (the quality
of inertia).
Devotees of Lord Shiva believe consider the Mahashivratri fast to be extremely
auspicious and rate it equal or more than performing an Ashwamedha Yagna. Some
believe that a devotee who observes a Shivaratri fast with sincerity and utters
- Om Namah Shivay - in praise of the Lord Shiva with perfect devotion is absolved from all sins.
Shiva the “Great God”
Shiva is one of the three gods of the
Hindu Holy Trinity. The other two are Lord Brahma (creator) and Lord Vishnu (the
preserver). Lord Shiva is worshiped in his "linga" (phallus) form. His
name means "the auspicious one".
Shiva’s family is composed of his
wives Uma (Sakti) and Parvati (Gauri, Durga, Kali) and their two sons Ganesh and Kartikeya (Subrahmanya). Their respective mounts are
the bull, the lion, the mouse and the peacock.
He creates and destroys, he sustains the world, he at
times obscures by his power of illusion (maya), or offers grace to the suffering
world. These are the fivefold activities of Siva, symbolized by the five faces
of the god (Pancanana). He sees the past, the present and the future by means of
his three eyes (Trilocana).
Why is Shiva blue? According
to mythology, Lord Shiva once drank poison to save the earth. The poison made
him and his throat dark-blue (Nilakantha).
Shiva's Form : A moon’s crescent sits around or above his
central eye (Candrasekhara), clad in a tiger-skin, he holds a
trident (Pinaka) in his hand; he rides the bull Nandi. Some of his images
represent him as a four-armed person-age, two of the hands holding a battle-axe
(khadga) and a deer, the two other hands in poses signifying assurance of safety
and liberality; in some other representations, he carries a bow, a thunderbolt,
an axe, a skull-capped staff, a drum.”
Male and Female
In the full figure of Siva the male and female principles
are united, and he himself is said to be half man and half woman. The emblem
under which he particularly delights to be worshipped is the lingam or phallus,
which is always erect. Lingam and yoni (the female organ) represent the totality
of his nature and the totality of all created existence.
Shiva Linga
The emblem
under which he particularly delights to be worshipped is the lingam or phallus,
which is always erect.
Twelve Jyotirlingas
The Shiva Linga is the most common object of worship all over India. But twelve
such stones are considered more important and are known as Jyotirlinga. They are
situated in the following places:
Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh
Rameshwar in Tamil Nadu
Bhimashankar in Daminyal near Pune in
Maharashtra
Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh
Somanath in Saurashtra
Nageshwar in Dwarka
Mallika1 in Uttar Pradesh,
Kedarnath in the Himalayas,
Dhushmeshwar in Ellora near Aurangabad
Trimbakeshwar near Nashik
Vishvanath in Benares and
Vaidyanath in Parli in Marathvada.
