10/03/2013
an Rajhans
Maha Shivratri , the night of the worship
of Shiva , occurs on the 14th night of the
new moon during the dark half of the
month of Phalguna (Feb / March) when
Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of
destruction.
Here're three reasons to celebrate
Shivratri:
1. The absolute formless God, Sadashiv
appeared in the form of "Lingodbhav
Moorti" exactly at midnight on Maha
Shivratri. That is why all Shiva devotees
keep vigil during the night of Shivratri and
do "Shivlingam abhishekham" (coronation
of the ph***ic idol) at midnight.
Did You Know?
God in his manifestation as Vishnu made
his appearance as Krishna at Gokul at
midnight, 180 days after Shivratri,
commonly known as Janmashtami. Thus,
the circle of one year is divided into two
by these two auspicious days of the Hindu
Calendar.
2. Lord Shiva was married to Devi Parvati
on Shivratri. Remember Shiva minus
Parvati is pure 'Nirgun Brahman'. With his
illusive power, (Maya, Parvati) He
becomes the "Sagun Brahman" for the
purpose of the pious devotion of his
devotees.
3. It is also believed that on Shivratri,
Lord Shiva became 'Neelkantham' or the
blue-throated by swallowing the deadly
poison that came up during the churning
of "Kshir Sagar" or the milky ocean. The
poison was so deadly that even a drop in
His stomach, which represents the
universe, would have annihilated the
entire world. Hence, He held it in His
neck, which turned blue due to the effect
of poison. Shivratri is therefore also a day
of thanksgiving to the Lord for protecting
us from annihilation.
The 14th shloka of Shivmahimna Stotra
says: "O three eyed Lord, when the
poison came up through the churning of
the ocean by the gods and demons, they
were all aghast with fear as if the
untimely end of all creation was
imminent. In your kindness, you drank all
the poison that still makes your throat
blue. O Lord, even this blue mark does
but increase your glory. What is
apparently a blemish becomes an
ornament in one intent on ridding the
world of fear."
