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Jaya
Jagannath,
Tonight the fourteenth count of darker half of Phalgun
month appoints to Maha Shiva Ratri Jagara. In Orissa the most
happening spots of the day are Sri. Lingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar,
Mahendragiri, Gupteswar, Kapilas, Puri, and Khiching. This day
devotees witness the raising of Maha Dipa at Shiva Temple and Hymns
in praise are sung with great fervor and devotion towards Lord
Shiva, one of the most sought-after deity amongst the hindu ascetic
gods. The main attraction of the day is Ekadasha Rudrabishekam
(pouring different ingredients on the sacred Lingam: milk, honey,
ghee, curds, coconut water, sugar, flowers and bay leaves).
Beautiful decoration of the Lingam with flowers, vibhuti,
sandalpaste, turmeric, kumkum, rudrakshas, butter etc. crown the
abishekas.
Happening Points :
Maha Shiva Ratri is being celebrated in Bangalore at Kemp Fort -
Airport Road, Ragigudda Temple - 9th Block Jayanagar, Mahashivaratri
at Kalyani Mahal on Bannerghatta Road - Opposite to IIM and many
other places across the city.
The Festivity :
People observe fasting on this day. Shiva Lingam is worshipped
throughout the night by cleansing it every three hours with milk,
curd, honey, rose water, etc., whilst the chanting of the Mantra "Om
Namah Shivaya" continues. Offerings of Bael leaves are made to the
Lingam as Bael leaves are considered very sacred and it is said that
Goddess Lakshmi resides in them. The ceremonial offer of cooling
bael leaves to the hot-blooded deity, representing purification of
the soul. The vermilion paste applied on the linga after bathing it,
representing virtue. Food offering which is conducive to longevity
and gratification of desires. Incense, yielding wealth. The lighting
of the lamp which is conducive to the attainment of knowledge. Betel
leaves marking satisfaction with worldly pleasures.
Lord Shiva :
Lord Shiva - the word meaning auspicious - is one of the Hindu
Trinity, comprising of Lord Brahma, the creator, Lord Vishnu, the
preserver and Lord Shiva or Mahesh, the Destroyer and Re-Producer of
life. Shiva is known by many names like "Shankar", "Mahesh", "Bholenath",
"Neelakanth", "Shambhu Kailasheshwar", "Umanath", "Nataraj" and
others. 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 five-fold activities of Shiva,
symbolized by the five faces of the god ( Pancanana). He sees the
past, the present and future with the aid of his three eyes (Trilocana).
To save the earth, he drank the poison and his throat became
dark-blue (Nilakantha). There is a moon's crescent above his central
eye (Chandrasekhara). Clad like an ascetic with a tiger skin, he
holds a trident (Pinaka) in his hand. He rides the powerful Nandi
bull. Some of his images represent him as four armed, two of the
hands holding a battle axe (Khadga) and a deer, the other two hands
in poses signifying assurances of safety and liberality. In another
representation he carries a bow, a thunderbolt, an axe, a
skull-capped staff and a drum. Lord Shiva's family is composed of
his wife Uma (Sakti or Parvati) and their two sons Ganesha and
Kartikeya (Subrahmanya). They respectively mount a bull, a lion, a
mouse and a peacock. The lord resides as Twelve Jyotirlingas at
• 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
Mythology : Many mythologies
have interpreted this day
1. This day Shiva manifested himself in the form of "Lingum".
2. Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati on this auspicious day.
3. This is the night when he is said to have performed the Tandava
or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction.
4. Samudra manthan (the Churning of the Ocean) : During the samudra
manthan (the churning of the ocean) by the Gods and demons,
haalaa-hala, a poison, came out of the ocean. It was so toxic, it
could have wiped out the entire creation. At this juncture, on the
advice of Vishnu, the gods approached Lord Shiva and prayed to him
to protect their lives by consuming this poison. Pleased with their
prayers, and out of compassion for living beings,Lord Mahadeva( aka
Shiva ) drank the poison with ease. But the potent poison had to
cooled in Shiva and numerous methods were tried to cool the effects
of the posion with the help of Chandra( Moon God ). Lord Vishnu
applied the Shankha to his throat which cooled the effect of the
poison and the throat became blue.Thus Lord Shiva is also known as
Neelakantha.
5. Pralaya (the Deluge) : In another version, it is believed that
the whole world was once facing destruction and the Goddess Parvati
worshiped her husband Shiva to save it. She prayed for the Jivas
(living souls) remaining in space – like particles of gold dust in a
lump of wax – during that long period of pralaya (deluge) night,
should, upon becoming active again, have his blessings, but only if
they worshiped him just as she did then. Her prayer was granted.
Parvati named the night for the worship of Ishwara by mortals
Maha-Sivaratri, or the great night of Shiva, since Pralaya is
brought about by him.
6. Lord Shiva's Favourite Day : After creation was complete, Parvati
asked Lord Shiva which rituals pleased him the most. The Lord
replied that the 13th night of the new moon, during the month of
Maagha, is his most favourite day. Parvati repeated these words to
her friends, from whom the word spread over all creation.
7. The Story Of King Chitrabhanu : In the Shanti Parva (chapter) of
the Mahabharata epic, Bhishma, whilst resting on the bed of arrows
and discoursing on Dharma (righteousness), refers to the observance
of Maha Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu.
The story goes as follows: Once upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the
Ikshvaku dynasty, who ruled over the whole of Jambudvipa (the
earth), was observing a fast with his wife, it being the day of Maha
Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit to the court of the
king. The lord asked the king the purpose of his observing the fast.
King Chitrabhanu explained that he had a gift of remembering the
incidents of his past birth, and in his previous life he had been a
hunter in Varanasi and his name was Suswara. His only livelihood was
to kill and sell birds and animals. The day before the new moon,
while roaming through forests in search of animals, he saw a deer,
but before his arrow flew he noticed the deer's family and their
sadness at its impending death. So he let it live. He had still not
caught anything when he was overtaken by nightfall and climbed a
tree for shelter. It happened to be a Bael tree. His canteen leaked
water, so he was both hungry and thirsty. These two torments kept
him awake throughout the night, thinking of his poor wife and
children who were starving and anxiously waiting for his return. To
pass away the time he engaged himself in plucking the Bael leaves
and dropping them down onto the ground. The next day he returned
home and bought some food for himself and his family. The moment he
was about to break his fast a stranger came to him, begging for
food. He served the food first to stranger and then had his own. At
the time of his death, he saw two messengers of Lord Shiva, sent to
conduct his soul to the abode of Lord Shiva. He learnt then for the
first time of the great merit he had earned by unconscious worship
of Lord Shiva during the night of Shivaratri. The messengers told
him that there had been a Lingam (a symbol for the worship of Shiva)
at the bottom of the tree. The leaves he dropped had fallen on the
Lingam, in imitation of its ritual worship. The water from his leaky
canteen had washed the Lingam (also a ritual action), and he had
fasted all day and all night. Thus, he unconsciously had worshipped
the Lord. As the conclusion of the tale the King said that he had
lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed divine bliss for long
ages and now he was reborn as Chitrabhanu. This story is also told
in the Garuda Purana.
Regards
Team Nilachakra |
