All about Shivaratri

Wishing you all a very Happy MahaShivaratri!!!

Shiva, the name itself sounds very vibrant and powerful. People who have worshipped him, would have definitely experienced the power of this Supreme force. His vibrant blue face and throat, the fierce looking third eye, the most powerful snake hissing around his neck, and the mighty Ganges at his head…OMG!!! What can represent the word power than this…You can forget this world, at merely looking at a sight of his beautiful painting.

Who is Shiva?

Shiva is an aspect of God, who is formless, attribute less, who has neither a beginning nor an end. Shiva is what you call a doctrine, a philosophy, an idea but not a form.

All incarnations have a physical frame, body and personality. But Shivam is a supreme important concept spread all over the universe.

MahaShivaratri

What is so special about this day? Shivaratri Festival is celebrated on a moonless night. This festival is associated both with the planetary position and the waxing of moon. Let us discuss these two in detail.

Planetary Position(The reason to stay awake whole night)

On Shivaratri day, the northern hemisphere of the planet, is positioned in such a way that there is natural upsurge of energy in a human being. This is the day when nature is pushing one towards one’s spiritual peak.To allow this natural upsurge of energies to find their way, we have to just do a fundamental thing. It’s very simple. Sit upright with your spine vertical throughout the night and just meditate.

Moon position

The Auspicious festival of MahaSivaratri falls on the 4th night of the new moon during Krishna Paksha in the Hindu month of Phalgun. The Sanskrit term, Krishna Paksha means the period of waning moon or the dark fortnight and Phalguna corresponds to the month of February – March in English Calendar. It’s confusing right!!!

Before we get into the position of moon on this day, let us know about the moon cycle.

Moon cycle can be described as changes in appearance of the moon, created by changing angles or positions of the moon in relation to the Earth and Sun. Every month the moon has two phases. It is the dark half and the bright half.

Dark half- The moon is waning or becoming less bright. The waning ends in the completely dark, no moon night.

Bright half- The moon is becoming bright. Waxing or it is becoming full. The waing ends in a full moon night.

These eight phases in the month repeats two times. So it takes place for 30 days. Moon takes 29.5 days to complete one rotation of the Earth. The months in a year and moon are linked. Both have 30 days.

Next, the full moon starts loosing one phase after the other. One phase is left on the holy night of Shivarathri before it becomes entirely dark(New moon). Why should we know all this? Because the moon is the symbol of the mind.

On a full moon day(when it shines brightly) our mind is full of desires, emotions and worldly involvement. As we come closer to Shivarathri, where the moon looses every phase, the burning passionate, emotional, sentimental mind slowly becomes less active as it approaches the Shivarathri day. Mind slowly withdraws from everything. When your mind is naturally withdrawn, you will notice God. Mind is something that constantly keeps thinking and does not help you connect with yourself to realise the God within you. The dark night is like a curtain, beneath it there is a mirror. Remove the curtain, you will see the beautiful personality revealed, mirroring the God within you. So this is the best time to meditate and connect with yourself. If you are more interested to learn what to do on every phase of moon, check the many moon rituals video on YouTube. Among the 12 Shivarathris in a calendar year, the one that ocur in Februrary-March is of the most spirtiual significance because both the planet and the moon support your spiritual journey. Now we know the scientific reason. Let us learn why do we fast on Shivarathri.

Why do we fast on MahaShivarathri?

The food we eat, has a direct connection with our mind.

Just like Nestle Ad says”Good food, Good Life”

When we eat good food, we feel happy. But the food also influences our thoughts. Every food item we eat in a day sets our mood accordingly.When we are planning to meditate on a Shivarathri day to reap its amazing benefits, we should abstain from food influencing our thoughts and go on a fast. When body does not have to work on digestion, it gets more energy to devote to God and fasting also detoxifies our physical body. Praying to God detoxifies our spirit. So it is a total DETOX DAY!!! for you. Even if you are not planning to meditate, if you observe fast, it will detox you and next day you will feel lighter. If you feel very hungry, you can take fruits and milk that are served to God on that day.

Shivarathri Spiritual Story

The great sage, Durvasa Muni, once offered a precious garland to Lord Indra. He did not know the value of the garland, and he had put it on the tusk of the Airawat elephant. The elephant trampled the garland. Seeing Indra’s disregard, the revered sage turned furious. He cursed Indra saying that he and the other Gods will lose all their powers. In due course, Indra and other Gods lost all their battles against the wicked demons. Helpless Indra, rushed to Lord Vishnu for help. He said to get back the powers of Gods they have to churn the ocean to bring out the magical nectar. Only after consuming this nectar they can regain their powers and become immortal.

This great churning is known as Samudra Manthan. Since churning of the ocean was not an easy task, the devas sought the help of asuras. The huge ocean Mandara was selected to stir the ocean. But unexpectedly, Mandara was sliding into the ocean. So Lord Vishnu quickly transformed into a tortoise(Kurma avatar) and placed the mountain on his back. Then they were looking for a rope and finally decided to use Vasuki the gigantic snake as a rope to stir the huge ocean. The churning began, with devas holding the snake at one end and the asuras holding the other end. The massive waves whirled and suddenly an extremely poisonous drink called ” Halal” came out. Everyone was shocked with fear,to see this blue drink as it could poison the nectar too. They prayed to Lord Shiva with utmost devotion. Lord Shiva appeared and gulped the poison. What a compassion!!! No one can do this for the welfare for others. Hearing about his mercy and kindness will definitely give you goosebumps. When this news reached Parvathi, she was so afraid as it would affect Shiva. She immediately, held Shiva’s neck and pressed tightly to prevent the posion from reaching his whole body. Hence Shiva got the name”NeelaKanthan”.(Neelam means blue and Kandam means neck).

The story of Lingothbhavar

Once while travelling around the Universe, Lord Brahma reached the abode of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu was resting on Shesh Nag and did not get up to receive Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma became furious. It started as a verbal argument and soon erupted into a battle of determining who is superior.

Shocked to hear about this battle, all deities went to seek the help of Lord Shiva to resolve this dispute. Lord SHiva sent his Ganas to pacify them, but it was of no use. So, Lord Shiva decided to go in person and when he entered,he saw Lord Brahma was so furious and was about to use his deadly weapon called Brahma Astra and Lord Vishnu was ready to combat with Narayanaastra respectively. Fearing the destruction caused by this deadly weapons, Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of “LingothBhavar“( a form of fire which has neither a beginning nor an ending). The fire was so enormous in size that it reached the sky and penetrated down the Earth.

Lord Shiva told them that whoever is able to see his crown as well as his feet would be termed the greatest. Lord Vishnu took the avatar of wild boar and dug deep into the Earth to find Shiva’s feet. Lord Brahma took the form of swan and flew to see the crown of Shiva. Unable to see the crown, Brahma saw a thazhambu flower which had decked Shiva’s crown falling down. He asked the flower as to the distance of Shiva’s crown whereby the flower replied that he had been falling for forty thousand years. Brahma realised he could not reach the crown and convinced the flower to act as a false witness. The Thazhambu told Shiva that Brahma had seen the crown. Lord Vishnu accepted his defeat. Shiva turned furious at the deception and cursed Lord Brahma that he should not have any temple on Earth and Thazhambu should not be used while praying to him. The place where Lord Shiva stood as a column of fire to eliminate ego is Thiruvannamalai.

Bilva leaves and Lord Shiva

One night Lord Shiva’s devotee, a hunter, lost his way in the forest. While wandering at night, he heard a tiger growl. Frightened he scurried up the nearest tree that was a Bilva tree. He spent the night up there, out of the reach of tigers.

To keep himself awake, he kept plucking and dropping Bilva leaves while chanting the name of Lord Shiva.The next morning, when he climbed down, he had unknowingly dropped thousands of leaves on a Shiva linga. The night-long worship pleased Lord Shiva who saved him from the tiger. Lord Shiva is so fond of Bilva leaves. The trifoliate shape signifies Shiva’s three eyes as well as the three spokes of the lords Trishul .Since they have a cooling effect, they are offered to the Shivalinga to soothe him as he is a hot-tempered deity. Those who perform the puja of Shiva and Parvati devoutly on Shivarathri using the leaves, may be endowed with spiritual powers.

Shiva and Parvathi’s wedding on Shivarathri

When Shiva’s first wife Goddess Sati, left his body, Shiva missed her sorely and went into deep mourning and isolation. But he did not know that she had come back as Parvati. In the meantime, Parvati, the reincarnation of Sati, was born to Himavan, the god of the Himalayas and his wife the apsara Mena. Shiva so deep in meditation and mourning, that he wouldn’t even look at Parvati.

Shiva was besought by the other gods to marry, he finally agreed but decided to test Parvati’s devotion first. The Saptarishi (the seven sages) approached Parvati and mocked Shiva to dissuade her; however, Parvati remained resolute. Then Shiva himself, disguised as an old ascetic, visited Parvati and vilified himself in her presence. As an angry Parvati was about to leave, Shiva revealed his true form to her and promised to marry her, pleased with her love and devotion. Shiva and Parvathi got married in Triyuginarayanan Temple in UttarKhand on Shivarathri.

Cosmic Dance

Once Sati’s father was performing yajna but he did not invited Sati and her husband Lord Shiva. When Sati visited there without invitation, her father insulted her and Shiva. Sati felt humiliated and burnt herself by self-immolation.

Lord Shiva was shocked and angry hearing about the death his beloved wife, he pulled his hair and created Maha-Kali (name of the first incarnation of Adya-Shakti) .

He placed the dead body of Sati over his shoulder and started his dance. He carried her body & began to perform the Rudra Tandava creating wild thunder storms all around the universe, even shattering the Sun. The more Shiva danced, the more destruction arose. It was Shivarathri this tandavam was performed.

There is also another story which states Ravana, an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva came to meet him. He sang in praise of Lord Shiva in Kailash. But Lord Shiva was in deep meditation and he failed to notice his devotee Ravana. Furious Ravana, lifted the Mount Kailash to gain the Lord’s attention. Disturbed, Lord Shiva opened his eyes to see what has happened. He immediately pressed the Mt Kailash with his toe and it landed on Ravana’s hands.In terrible pain, Ravana realised the mistake in his actions and started singing the Shiva Tandava Stotram.Shiva was moved by Ravana’s gesture and released the mountain from under his toe. Shiva Tandav or Tandava is an unbridled dance of the Lord. It is believed that the world sprang forth from the cosmic dance of Shiva and the creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe depends on it.

What to do on the day of Shivaratri?

It is suggested to have only a single meal before the day of fasting.

1.Get up early in the morning and take bath with Ganga water. If you do not have Ganga water add some sesame seeds to warm water. This is equal to Ganga Snanam. The sesame seeds absorb all the negative vibration and his holy bath purifies your body and soul. Apply Vibhuthi post the holy bath.Take Sankalp to observe fasting the whole day.

2. Next in the morning,pray to Lord Shiva and perform Abhishekam with milk, honey, ghee,water, curd, vibhuthi,bilva leaves etc..It is very special to do Rudraksha Abhishekam on this day.It is said that Lord Shiva loves Abhishekam.

3. You can offer all flowers except Thazahambu. You can meditate with Rudraksham by just saying Om Nama Shivaya!!! It is simple yet very powerful. Connect with your inner self and do the pooja in a silent place.

Post pooja if you feel hungry you can have the fruits and milk offered to Lord Shiva during the Pooja.

4.Keep meditating the whole day with Rudraksha and abstain from hearing or watching anything that’s not related to Shiva.

5.Take a holy bath in the evening and go to temple. You can offer things for Abhishekam in the temple. Abstain from doing Angapradaksham and Adhipradakshanam on this day.

6.Please avoid watching movies or playing games in the night to stay awake. Keep your spine erect to absorb the upsurge of energy and meditate to Lord Shiva. It is better to attend the Abhishekam at temple the whole night.Remember

It is not just a night of awaking, it is a night of awakening.

7. Next day morning, take a holy bath and complete the vratham with pooja. Post pooja take very light food. Do not take heavy food as it might upset the digestive system post a whole day fast.

8. You can have good lunch on that day and then pray to Lord Shiva in the evening and you can go to sleep by 7pm. This is the complete rules of the Vratham. If you follow everything I have mentioned, you reap the benefits of doing 100 Ashavameda Yagam.

It might sound very tough, but it makes you super powerful and purifies your soul

How to perform the pooja done at the night of MahaShivarathri in temple at home?

You can attend this pooja at the temple or do at home. The pooja is called Naalu Kaala pooja at temple. In every Kaala you perform an Abhishekam, adorn God with flowers and offer food.

First Kaala-6.00-9.00pm

Do Abhishekam with PanchaKaviyam. Panchagaviyam is cow’s milk, ghee,curd, cow dung and cow’s urine. Mix it together and perform Abhishekam. Post this, apply Vibhuthi to Lord Shiva and offer Bilva leaves and flowers.

Neivedhyam:Pongal

Second Kaala-9.00-12.00pm

Perform Abhishekam with Panchamrudham. Panchamrudham is a mixture of Sugar, honey, ghee,milk and banana.Post Abhishekam, use Lotus flowers to decorate God. Offer Tulsi to God.

Neivedhyam:Paal Payasam

Third Kaala-12.00-3.00AM- Perform Abhishekam with honey. You can apply Vibhuthi and Pachai Karpooram to God. Decorate God with Winter Jasmine. Offer Bilva Leaves to God.

Neivedhyam: Sesame seeds rice.

Fourth Kaala-3.00AM-6.00AM

Perform Abhishekam with Sugarcane Juice. Apply Vibhuthi and saffron powder paste to Lord Shiva. Decorate with Nandiyavattai(Chandni) flowers and the blue color flowers(I don’t know its name).

Neivedhyam: White rice mixed with Ghee.

Do not forget to chant “Om Nama Shivaya” with Rudraksham for all the four Kaalas. It is also said, it is very good to read all the four vedas(Rig, Yajur,Sama, Atharvana Veda) during this pooja.

Next day we can offer food to poor and then break the fast with a light meal.

Conclusion

Hope you got all the information about Shivarathri. Let us utilize this opportunity to connect with God. Ending this post with my prayer for this day.

Happy Shivarathri!!!

• Ayurvedic weight loss remedy
• “This is that”-Deivathin Kural
• Home Decor Ideas
• That one spot in your body to cure all the diseases
• All about Shivaratri