~ Happy Mahashivratri ~

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poonam

@Angel_Luv

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Posted: 11 years ago

Maha Shivratri, the night of the worship of Lord Shiva, occurs on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna. It falls on a moonless February night, when Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of destruction. Shivratri (Sanskrit 'ratri' = night) is the night when he is said to have performed theTandava Nritya or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. The festival is observed for one day and one night only.

Origin of Shivratri:

According to the Puranas, during the great mythical churning of the ocean called Samudra Manthan, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. The gods and the demons were terrified as it could destroy the entire world. When they ran to Shiva for help, he in order to protect the world, drank the deadly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. This turned his throat blue, and since then he came to be known as 'Nilkantha', the blue-throated one. Shivratri celebrates this event by which Shiva saved the world.

A Festival Significant for Women :

Shivratri is considered especially auspicious for women. Married women pray for the well being of their husbands and sons, while unmarried women pray for an ideal husband like Shiva, who is the spouse of Kali, Parvati and Durga. But generally it is believed that anyone who utters the name of Shiva during Shivratri with pure devotion is freed from all sins. He or she reaches the abode of Shiva and is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

Shiva Rituals:

On the day of Shivratri, a three-tiered platform is built around a fire. The topmost plank represents 'swargaloka' (heaven), the middle one 'antarikshaloka' (space) and the bottom one 'bhuloka' (earth). Eleven 'kalash' or urns, are kept on the 'swargaloka' plank symbolizing the 11 manifestations of the 'Rudra' or destructive Shiva. These are decorated with the leaves of 'bilva' or 'bael' (Aegle marmelos) and mango atop a coconut representing the head of Shiva. The uncut shank of the coconut symbolizes his tangled hair and the three spots on the fruit Shiva's three eyes.

Bathing the Phallus:

The phallus symbol representing Shiva is called the lingam. It is usually made of granite, soapstone, quartz, marble or metal, and has a 'yoni' or vagina as its base representing the union of organs. Devotees circumambulate the lingam and worship it throughout the night. It is bathed every three hours with the 5 sacred offerings of a cow, called the 'panchagavya' - milk, sour milk, urine, butter and dung. Then the 5 foods of immortality - milk, clarified butter, curd, honey and sugar are placed before the lingam. Datura fruit and flower, though poisonous, are believed to be sacred to Shiva and thus offered to him.

"Om Namah Shivaya!":

All through the day the devotees keep severe fast, chant the sacred Panchakshara mantra "Om Namah Shivaya", make offerings of flowers and incense to the Lord amidst ringing of temple bells. They maintain long vigils during the night, keeping awake to listen to stories, hymns and songs. The fast is broken only the next morning, after the nightlong worship. In Kashmir, the festival is held for 15 days. The 13th day is observed as a day of fast followed by a family feast.

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 pallic 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 Hindi calander.

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."

This Year MahaShivaratri is on Thursday 27th.February-2014

May you all here get the blessing of shiv bholenaath on this auspicious day.

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poonam

@Angel_Luv

Stunner

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Posted: 11 years ago

Manifestation of Lord Shiva as a Jyotirlinga on this day:

On this day manifested the great & also the first ever effulgent (Jyotirmaya) form (Anala-skanda or a pillar of fire) of Lord Shiva in front of Lord Vishnu & Brahmaji.

The story goes that once both Vishnuji & Brahmaji, got infected by ego. The result was an clash between both these gods. In order to show their respective superiority they decided to fight it out. Lord Shiva decided to intervene so as to make them realise that there is something more to life than the powers of an embodied beings. He manifested in the form of a huge pillar of fire (Anala-skanda) whose beginning and end could not be seen. Vishnuji & Brahmaji decided to check what this strange thing was. While Vishnuji, in the form of varaha (boar) went down towards patal-loka to see the end of this pillar, Brahmaji sitting on his swan went up. Even after years of travel they could not see the beginning or the end of this manifestation. Brahmaji saw a leaf falling off, and thought it fell down from the top of pillar of fire, and returned satisfied that he had seen the starting point. They came back, while Lord Vishnu accepted that he could not see the end, Brahmaji said that he had seen, which was a lie. Lord Shiva cursed Brahmaji that no will ever worship him. Then he too surrendered. This manifestation of Lord Shiva in the form of the first effulgent linga was on this special day of Mahashivratri, and thus all devotees pray to the effulgent linga (jyotirlinga) of Lord Shiva.

There are twelve Jyotirlingas: 1) Somnath in Saurashtra, 2) Mallikarjuna in SriShail, 3) Mahakal in Ujjain, 4) Amareshwar in Omkar, 5) Kedar in the Himalaya, 6) Bheemashankar at the bank of Bheema river. 7) Vishwanath in Varanasi. 8) Trayambakeshwar ar the bank of Gautami river, 9) Baidyanath at Chitabhumi, 10) Nagesh which is situated between Darukvan dwarika and Bhet dwarika 11) Rameshwar at Betubandh and 12) Dhushmesh in Shivalaya.

All the above mentioned twelve Jyotirlingas are very sacred and give total accomplishment to the devotees.

Other types of Shivlingas are generally seen as 1) Chala, 2) Achala.

Chala linga is made for the puja, is immersed later. They are used at home too for worship, made of Black, stone, Crystal, Mercury etc.

Achala linga is immovable. It is very deep under the Earth. Such lingas are next to Jyotirlingas. They are created by Shivji's wish & a devotees gets to know about it, is worshipped after that it's discovery knowingly & unknowingly before that.

The reason for creation of Swayambhu Shivlinga:

1)For removing unseen obstacles in creation of this Srushti should be removed first & should be smooth running later on.
2)The place needs Shiv-bhakti.

3)To make unfavourabe period favourable for the devotees.

Some Shivlingas which are on the surface of the Earth, have less power compared to Swayambhu Shivlinga, they are made & worshipped by King, rishis or devotees.

They have comparitively less power, so the devotee can sit next to it & worship.

A Shivlinga has 3 parts. The lowest is Brhma's, is square in shape, Middle octagonal part is Vishnu's, both placed are under the Earth. The top Round part is of Rudra, is worshipped.

On the auspious occasion of MahaShivratri of Lord Shiva, everyone is invited to contribute in this thread .😊