Maha Shivratri – When Power descends on Earth
Come the month of February and March and you are sure to see all the Hindus celebrating the power of Lord Shiva. Falling in the Hindu month of Phalgun, this is the festival when the people on earth pray to the Lord and worship his lingam. They please Lord Shiva and mark the day with a lot of religious significance.
Maha Shivratri is believed to be the day Lord Shiva got wedded to Goddess Parvati. It is said that Lord Shiva was so happy that he performed a tandav nritya on this day. This is the dance of creation and also preserves the power in the world and destruction of evil. This is a very auspicious night for all the devotees. Legend has it that the lord turned himself in the Linga form on this day the first time. Maha shivratri means the grand night of Lord Shiva.
Devotees observe a fast on this day. There are many people who have only milk and fruits and some even do not consume water. Worshippers and devotes follow all the customs and traditions concerned with the festival and they believe that this is the only way they coul
d worship the lord. It is held that fasting on this day would relieve a person of all sins and frees him from the cycle of death and birth. Shiva is the perfect husband, and all females pray to him and they pray they should have a husband like him. Married women pray for the welfare of their husbands on this day.
Devotees wake up early and if possible bathe in the River Ganges. They wear fresh clothes, visit the temple of Shiva nearby and give the lingam a bath with water, honey, milk etc. There is a nightlong prayer and vigil and many devotees spend it singing hymns and other devotional songs.
Maha Shivratri is on the 14th night of the new moon and falls on the dark half of the month of Phalgun.
It is also believed that God in his full manifestation as Lord Vishnu made his presence as Krishna at Gokul which is 180 days after Shivratri. So these two days are very important in the Hindu calendar and the one year in a Hindu calendar is divided into two in this manner.
Lord Shiva without Goddess Parvati is regarded as Nirgun Brahman. With the combination the person becomes a Sagun Brahman. Shiva is also believed to have turned blue on this day. It is said that he drank the poison that came out of the churning of the ocean or the Kshir Sagar. became a Neelakanthan or blue necked on this day.
Another legend has it that a hunger pulled leaves from a tree and threw them down. He thought he could trap some deer. However on deer came and said that his family would worry for him. The hunter let the deer go and kept putting leaves. There was a Shiva linga there and unknowingly the hunter pleased Lord Shiva. The next morning the Lord appeared before him and blessed him with wisdom. The hunter gave up meat. Thus on this day people don’t eat meat.
