V I R T U A L B A N G A L O R E . C O M - Bangalore: Events & Festivals

Mahashivratri

Background
Every month in the Hindu calendar the thirteenth day of the darker half of the month is listed as Shivaratri i.e. Shiva's great night. It also falls in the Krishna paksha of the month of Magha and is celebrated all over the country as 'Mahashivaratri'. As described by the name this festival is celebrated to honour Lord Shiva, the third Hindu God of the Trinity, the first two being Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu.

This is a festival observed in honor of Lord Shiva. One legend says that Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati on this auspicious day. Another says, this is the night when he is said to have performed the Tandava or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. This year it will be celebrated on the 21st of February.

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.

In the full figure of Shiva 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.

Significance
Once a hunter set out for a hunt. He came near a pond, and for the purpose of hunting he climbed a "bael" tree (sacred to Shiva). Sitting on a branch he waited for game. But since the leaves obstructed his vision, he began to pluck a few leaves, which by chance fell on a Shiva Linga (pindi) which happened to be under that tree. Then a herd of deer came to drink water. The hunter took aim at a doe. But as she noticed the movement of the hunter she cried out, "Please, wait a moment, before you shoot let me go home and meet my young ones for the last time. Afterwards you may take my life at your pleasure."

The hunter gave the doe permission to go home, and remained sitting on the tree waiting for her to return. He was forced to observe a fast throughout the night. On the Shivalinga he had inadvertently offered the "bael" leaves. With his mouth he uttered the name of Shiva, thus he fulfilled the conditions needed for the observance of the Maha Shiva Ratra vow. So without knowing how, his heart was changed and he was filled with sentiments of mercy. Before dawn the mother came back with the entire herd. "Now you may take my life at your pleasure, she said.

Seeing the doe's honesty the hunter's heart was further softened and he completely gave up the thought of killing it. Lord Siva was so pleased that he immediately made them sit on a craft and took them to heaven. Both the doe and the hunter can be seen at night in the sky among the stars in the constellation of Orion (Mrugshirsh Nakshatra).

According to another legend in the Shiva Purana, once Brahma and Vishnu were fighting over who was the superior of the two. Horrified at the intensity of the battle, the other gods asked Shiva to intervene. To make them realize the futility of their fight, Shiva assumed the form of a huge column of fire in between Brahma and Vishnu. Awestruck by its magnitude, they decided to find one end each to establish supremacy over the other.

Brahma assumed the form of a swan and went upwards and Vishnu as Varaha went into the earth. Nevertheless, light has no limit and though they searched for thousands of miles, neither could find the end. On his journey upwards, Brahma came across a ketaki flower wafting down slowly. When asked where she had come from, the ketaki replied that she had been placed at the top of the fiery column as an offering. Unable to find the uppermost limit, Brahma decided to end his search and take the flower as a witness. At this, the angry Shiva revealed his true form. He punished Brahma for telling a lie, and cursed him that no one would ever pray to him. The ketaki flower too was banned from being used as an offering for any worship, as she had testified falsely. Since it was on the 14th day in the dark half of the month of Phalguna that Shiva first manifested himself in the form of a linga, the day is especially auspicious and is celebrated as Maha Shivratri. Worshipping Shiva on this day is baelieved to bestow one with happiness and prosperity.

There is another possible reason for the origin of the all-night worship. Maha Shivratri being a moonless night, people worship the god who wears the crescent moon as an adornment in his hair, Shiva. This was probably to ensure that the moon rose the next night.

According to one myth, Parvati performed tapas, prayed, and meditated on this day to ward off any evil that may befall her husband on the moonless night.

Celebrations
Devotees of Lord Shiva fast during the day and maintain a long vigil during the night. In temples all across the country, baells 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 bathe at sunrise, preferably in the Ganga, or any other holy water source (like the Shiva Sagar tank at Khajuraho). They offer prayers to the sun, Vishnu and Shiva. This is a purificatory rite, an important part of all Hindu festivals. Wearing a clean piece of clothing after the holy bath, worshippers carry pots of water to the temple to bathe the Shivalinga. The temple reverberates with the sound of baells and shouts of 'Shankarji ki Jai' or (Hail Shiva). Devotees circumambulate the linga, three or seven times,and then pour water over it. Some also pour milk.

All through the day, devotees abstain from eating food and break their fast only the next morning, after the nightlong worship. The day is considered especially auspicious for women. Married women pray for the well being of their husbands and sons, while unmarried women pray for a husband like Shiva, who is considered the ideal husband.

The Shiva Lingam is worshipped throughout the night by washing 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. Bael leaves are very sacred, for it is baelieved that Goddess Lakshmi resides in them.

On the day of Shivaratri, the lingam is bathed with the five sacred offerings of a cow, called the panchagavya - milk, curds, urine, butter and dung. Thereafter panchamruta (the five foods of immortality) - milk, ghee, curd, honey and sugar are placed before the lingam. Dhatura and jati, though poisonous fruits, are baelieved to be sacred to Shiva and thus offered at his temple. Offerings of "bhang" are also made and consumed thoughout the night as part of the celebrations.

In fact it is only when one is high on it and dancing in ecstasy that one is thought to have truly taken part in Mahashivaratri.

Special celebrations are held at important Shiva temples at Chidambaram, Kalahasi, Khajuraho and Varanasi. In Kashmir, the festival is held for 15 days, the thitrrenth day is observed as Herath, a day of fast followed by a family feast.

Spiritual Significance
According to the Shiva Purana, the Maha Shivratri worship must incorporate six items:
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

These six items, till today, form an indispensable part of Maha Shivratri, be it a simple ceremony at home or grand temple worship. By offering water, hugging the linga, lighting the diya and incense, and ringing the temple baells, devotees call into focus all their senses, making them acutely aware of themselves and the universe to which they baelong.

The Vishwanath Temple at Kashi in Varanasi celebrates the linga (symbolic of the pillar of light) and the manifestation of Shiva as the light of supreme wisdom. Maha Shivratri is thus not only a ritual but also a cosmic definition of the Hindu universe. It dispels ignorance, emanates the light of knowledge, makes one aware of the universe, ushers in the spring after the cold and dry winter, and invokes the supreme power to take cognizance of the beings that were created by him.

Shiva Linga
The stone in its spherical form untouched by the sculptor, is the form nearest to the formless. And the sexual union of male and female is the farthest the human mind can reach to express the creative action of God. This action, as God Himself, remains a mystery to man. All that man can do is to look at nature and see how a new being comes into existence. Since nature is the work of God, it is logical to conclude that both the male and the female principles must be found in God Himself, the sexes being only a manifestation of God's nature. At the level of symbolism, the Shiva Linga or the stone with the semi-spherical top, makes a positive contribution in man's effort to express the Divine Mystery.

Twelve Jyotirlingas
The Shiva Linga is the most common object of worship all over India. But twelve suchstones are considered more important and are known as Jyotirlinga. They are situated inthe 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

Nilakantha
The demons and the celestials agreed to churn the ocean of milk. Mount Sumeru was the churning staff, the snake Vasuki the churning rope. They wanted to get ambrosia. But when they were about to get the desired nectar, poison came from the mouth of the snake. Frightened the gods and the demons ran away. They had recourse to Shiva, the Great God. Shiva out of compassion swal-lowed the deadly poison, which remained as a blue stain on his throat. Hence the name Nilakantha. Saved from the danger the Devas and Asuras resumed churning the ocean and shared the ambrosia that was obtained.