Religious Tourism

Do you know Shivaratri falls once every month in every luni-solar calendar month of the Hindu calendar on either the 14th or 15th day? .

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Good that you know this but there are many people who don’t.

An Indian Hindu devotee holds a human skull during a procession for Maha Shivaratri, dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva, in Allahabad. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. (Sanjay Kanojia/Getty Images)

Shivaratri is not observed only once in a year, rather it falls on every month of the year on different dates and it is called Masik Shivaratri. But there is only one Maha Shivaratri, which falls in late winter just before the arrival of spring, which marks the Maha Shivaratri or “the Great Night of Shiva” in the moth of February or March.

The Yogis and Tantriks revere God in His two main manifestations: Shiva is the Father of Peace, and as Shakti is the Mother of the World. In essence, Shiva and the Shakti are the only beginning. These are not two gods – it is the only Lord, it is God and His Power.

Why is Maha Shivaratri Celebrated?

Shivratri means ‘night of Shiva’ and Maha means great in Sanskrit. The Maha Shivratri is the grand and great night of Shiva. It is primarily a Hindu religious festival which is celbrated by Hindus across India, Nepal, Indonesia and Hindus across the world.

Unlike other Hindu festivals which are celebrated during the day, the Maha Shivaratri is celebrated at night. While Hindu festivals which include expression of cultural revelry, the Maha Shivaratri is a solemn event notable for its inward focus, fasting, meditation on Shiva, self reflection, social harmony and an all night vigil at Shiva temples.

In the past, the holiday often lasted until Ashtami (on the 8th day of the month). The last day also marks the end of the winter and is celebrated by the burning of Kangri. There was great joy and fun around. People dressed the new and the best clothes, and the families were sitting together and enjoying the game with sea shells.

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, blows a conch at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple during the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal February 24, 2017. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

There are many legends and no single legend can conclusively establish the exact reason of this tradition of celebration of Maha Shivaratri. Some of the most important legends are listed below

1. After the Earth was faced with an imminent destruction, Goddess Parvati pledged with Lord Shiva to save the world. She started praying till Lord Shiva was please with her devotion agreed to save the world with a condition that the people of the Earth would have to worship him with dedication and passion. It is from that day onward, the night came to be known as Maha Shivratri and people began worshipping Shiva with a full devotion.

A sadhu, or holy man, wraps his hair around his head at the Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, 24 February 2017, during celebrations marking the Hindu festival of Maha Shivaratri. More than 100,000 Hindu devotees, including Sadhus from across the country and neighboring India, are worshipping at the Pashupati temple to celebrate the birthday of Lord Shiva, the god of creation and destruction. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

2. Ascetics believe it is the day he became one with ‘Mount Kailash’ a mountain frozen in time for eternity. In the yogic tradition, Shiva is not worshipped as a God, but considered as the Adi Guru, the first Guru from whom the knowledge itself originated. After many millennia in meditation, one day he became absolutely still. That day is celebrated as Maha Shivratri. Ascetics see Maha Shivratri as the night of stillness.

3. During the ‘Samudra Manthan'(churning of the ocean) an event according to Indian ancient text Puranas, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. This terrified the Gods and demons as the poison was capable of destroying the entire world, and they ran to Shiva for help. To protect the world from its evil effects, Shiva drank the deathly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. This made his throat turn blue, and he was given the name Neelakantha, the blue-throated one. Shivaratri is the celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world.

A man dressed as Hindu Lord Shiva performs during a religious procession ahead of the Hindu festival of Maha Shivaratri, in Jammu February 23, 2017. (Photo by Mukesh Gupta/Reuters)

4. According to another legend in the Shiva Purana, once the other two of the triads of Hindu Gods, 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.

Photo tagnepal.com

But 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.

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, applies tika on his forehead at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple during the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal February 24, 2017. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

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 Mahashivaratri. Worshipping Shiva on this day is believed to bestow one with happiness and prosperity.

Photo Indianhilbilly/Wikimedia Commons

A legend explains the all-night worship of Shiva on Shivratri. There was once a poor tribal man who was great devotee of Shiva. One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva.

There is another possible reason for the origin of the all-night worship. Being a moonless night, people worshipped 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.

Light illuminates a Hindu holy man, or sadhu, as he sits at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple during the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal February 24, 2017. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Immediately after Mahashivaratri, almost like a miracle, the trees are full of flowers as if to announce that after winter, the fertility of the earth has been rejuvenated. And this perhaps is the reason why the Linga is worshipped throughout India as a symbol of fertility. The festivities differ in various parts of India. In southern Karnataka, for example, children are allowed to get into all kinds of mischief and asking for punishment is the rule of the day, probably originating from the mythological incident of Shiva punishing Brahma for lying. TheVishvanatha Temple at Kashi inVaranasi celebrates the Linga (symbolic of the pillar of light) and the manifestation of Shiva as the light of supreme wisdom.

Photo Tim Graham/The Image Bank/Getty Images

Mahashivaratri 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.

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Photo saver: A Hindu holy man smokes marijuana at the courtyard of the Pashupatinath temple during Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, February 24, 2017. Shivaratri, or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)