24 February 2017 02:30 am
For Hindus world over, Maha Shivarathri is a purely religious ceremony of daytime fast and vigilance throughout the night. They observe these special rites on the fourteenth night of Phalguna (February/March) which is the longest night in the year according to the Hindu calendar. This year it falls on the 24th of February.
These observances are started in the morning on this day and continued throughout the night in a bid
Maha Shivarathri is a solemn occasion to worship Lord Shiva who is regarded as the ocean of love, ocean of knowledge, ocean of peace and ocean of happiness. God Shiva is formless (Arupa). However, out of compassion for devotees he appears in the form of luminous column arising out of Shiva Lingam. He takes form in this way for the sake of devotees who will otherwise be left in perpetual darkness.
The Lingam has thus become the object of veneration of Hindus. Lingam worship signifies that Lord Shiva is prevalent in Shivan temples from ancient times. It is believed that Lord Shiva is in Shivan temples wearing a leopard skin and seated on another leopard skin in meditation –profound contemplation. Trident- the three pointed spear is his weapon. Udukkai, the drum which is narrow at the middle is his musical instrument. His vehicle is an ox. It is also believed that god Shiva normally in meditation is on mount Kailasa. He is emerald in complexion and his neck is blue. His ornaments are snakes. He has an additional eye which is powerful enough to destroy anything with a glance. Lord Shiva is also known as god Iswara. He is one of the Triumvirate of Hindu gods.
Brahma created the world. God Vishnu who is mild, kind and gentle protects the virtuous people and builds the world, which was created by Brahma. During the period of God Shiva, which is called Iswara Vinnsathiya, unrighteous and unjust people are punished and just and righteous people are protected by god Shiva. It is god Shiva who destroys the world at the end. As such god Shiva is responsible for the prosperity and well being of the universe. He is also responsible for destruction.
In Hinduism he is the supreme God. It is said that he has three wives. Uma or Umangana is the most beautiful goddess. Parvathi excelled in dancing and music. His third wife Ganga is only a symbol. She is symbolised as a stream of water flowing from god Shiva’s head.
Skanda Kumara or Karthikeya – the god of war and Ganesha –god of wisdom are god Shiva’s sons- well known sons.
Origin of Shivarathri is explained in Puranic legends. In the war between Devas (Or suras/gods) and Asuras (Demons or Titans gods were likely to be defeated at one stage. So, gods begged him to find a way to defeat Asuras who were unrighteous and unlawful. While lord Shiva was contemplating on a plan to defeat Asuras the exact way to win over the Asuras came to his mind. He felt that if they could find “Amirtham”, the medicine of immortality ambrosia the Asuras could be defeated because in that case gods could remain immortal.
God Shiva informed god Vishnu about the plan and it was put into action. Ambrosia or Nectar of gods was deposited in the bed of the Milk Sea. Milk Sea had to be churned to bring the elixir of immortality to the surface. God Vishnu pulled off Mandara rock and entwined with Naga King Vasuki and started churning it by pulling from the head and tail of the Naga king with the assistance of the other gods.
A number of rare and valuable things came to the surface. Lakshmi the goddess of fortune and prosperity was one of them.
The Kamadenu- the fabulous cow said to grant every wish, Karpaka –celestial tree –magical tree in the divine world were some other precious items that came to the surface.
The ambrosia or the medicine of immortality, which the gods needed most also came to the surface but with these items a virulent poison called Alahala was produced. God Shiva knew that this poison could be used by Asuras to destroy the universe if it were to go to their hands.
Hence god Shiva gulped it down before Asuras could have access to it. Instantly god Shiva was unconscious and was swooned. Goddesses Uma and Parvathi started lamenting and all the gods were deeply concerned. However, within a spell of time the poison disappeared but god Shiva’s neck turned blue because the poison remained in his throat for some time. Hence “Neela Greeva” is an appellation for god Shiva. All the gods assembled around Kailasakuta to sing eulogistic songs because he had saved the universe from demons.
There is legendary evidence to the effect that ancestors of Sri Lanka had believed in and trusted in lord Shiva and worshipped Him from the time of Ravana. According to rock inscriptions belonging to the period from the first century to the third century BC, devoted Buddhists had the prefix Shiva before their names. In these rock inscriptions mention is made about names such as “Shiva Bhuthi”, “Shiva Guna” and “Shiva Rakina”. Such names had been used presumably because of their faith in god Shiva.
There is another story in Purana to explain the auspiciousness of Shivarathri.A hunter named Shiva who had killed many birds was being chased by a lion in the forest. In order to get rid of the lion he climbed a Vilva tree. To keep himself awake without falling into sleep and falling down from the tree Shiva went on plucking the leaves of the tree one by one and dropping them from the tree. This has pleased Lord Shiva and he has saved the hunter despite his sins of killing birds. Then the people started worshipping Shiva Lingam.