Re:Origins of Mahashivratri

[Guest guest]

On the 14th day of the dark half of Magh the great night of Shiva is celebrated. On this day the devotees of Shiva observe fast.

How it all began :-Once a hunter set out for a hunt. He came near a pond, and for the purpose of hunting he climbed a "bel" tree (sacred to Shiva). Sitting on a branch he waited for game. But since the leaves obstructed his vision, he began to pluck a few leaves, which by chance fell on a Shiva Linga ("pindi"), which happened to be under that tree. Then a herd of deer came to drink water. The hunter took aim at a female deer. But as she noticed the movement of the hunter, she cried out, "Please, wait a moment, before you shoot let me go home and meet my young ones for the last time. Afterwards you may take my life at your pleasure."

The hunter gave the female deer permission to go home, and re-mained sitting on the tree waiting for her to return. Waiting the whole night he was forced to observe fast. On the Shiva Linga he had inadvertently offered the "bel" leaves. With his mouth he uttered the name of Shiva, thus he fulfilled the conditions needed for the observance of the Maha Shiva Ratra vow. So without knowing how, his heart was changed and he was filled with sentiments of mercy.

Before dawn the female mother deer came back with the entire herd. "Now you may take my life at your pleasure," she said. Seeing the female deer's honesty the hunter's heart was further softened, and he completely gave up his thought of killing the hind. Shankar was so pleased that immediately making all of them sit in a plane he took them to heaven. Both the female deer and the hunter can be seen at night in the sky among the stars in the constellation of Orion ("Mrugshirsh nakshatra").

Long before the arrival of the Aryans, the `great god' (`Mahadeva' or `Maheshvara') was wor-shipped in India." Mount Kailas in the Himalayas is the abode of Shiva. "The Ganges came down from the heavens because Shiva bore on the matted locks of his head the forceful impact of her falling torrents."

"He creates and destroys, he sustains the world, he at times obscures by his power of illusion (maya), or offers grace to the suffering world. These are the fivefold activities of Siva, symbolised by the five faces of the god (Pancanana). He sees the past, the present and the future by means of his three eyes (Trilocana). To save the earth, he drank the poison and his throat became dark-blue (Nilakantha). A moon's crescent round or above his central eye (Candrasekhara), clad like an ascetic with a tiger-skin, he holds a trident (Pinaka) in his hand; he rides the bull Nandi. Some of his images represent him as a four-armed person-age, two of the hands holding a battle-axe (khadga) and a deer, the two other hands in poses signifying assurance of safety and liberality; in some other representations, he carries a bow, a thunderbolt, an axe, a skull-capped staff, a drum."

Shiva's family is composed of his wife Uma (Sakti) and their two sons Ganesh and Kartikeya, the commander in chief of the Army of Devas(known in the SOuth as Lord Subrahmanya). Their respective mounts are the bull(Lord Siva), the lion (Uma Devi), the mouse (Lord Ganesa) and the peacock (Lord Kartikeya).

In the final "big picture" as described by Lord krishna in the Gita itself, Lord Krishna, The Supreme personality of Godhead says :-

aham atma gudakesa sarva-bhutasaya-sthitah aham adis ca madhyam ca bhutanam anta eva ca

I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.

rudranam sankaras casmi vitteso yaksa-raksasam vasunam pavakas casmi meruh sikharinam aham

Of all the Rudras I am Lord Siva; of the Yaksas and Raksasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kuvera]; of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of mountains I am Meru.

purodhasam ca mukhyam mam viddhi partha brhaspatim senaninam aham skandah sarasam asmi sagarah

 

Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Brhaspati, the lord of devotion. Of generals I am Skanda, the lord of war; and of bodies of water I am the ocean.

Skanda, or Lord Kartikeya as he is popularly known, is the son of Parvati and Lord Siva, is the chief of all military commanders.

Thus if we understand the correct order of things from the Gita, we can understand how Lord Siva is the embodiment of the Rudrashakti (destructive powers). Devotees must not be entangled in arguments that mislead them away from truth. They must unflinchingly devote themselves to the chosen process of worship they have taken up, and remain truthful to their chosen Guru.