Significance Of Maha Shivrathri

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Significance Of Shivrathri

 

Maha Shivrathri, 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/Mar) when

Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of

destruction.

 

Here're three reasons to celebrate Shivrathri:-

 

1. The absolute formless God, Sadashiv appeared

in the form of " Lingodbhav Moorti " exactly at midnight

on Maha Shivrathri. That is why all Shiv devotees keep

vigil during the night of Shivrathri

and do " Shivlingam abhishekham " (coronation of the

Phallic idol) at midnight.

 

2. Lord Shiva was married to Devi Parvati on

Shivrathri. Remember Shiva minus Parvathi 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 by swallowing the deadly

poison that came up from the ocean during the churning

of " Kshir Sagar " . 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

increase your glory. What is apparently a

blemish becomes an ornament in one intent on ridding

the world of fear "

 

Many are the stories narrated in the Puranas about

the efficacy of the observance of this festival. The

story of the king Chitrabhanu of Ikshvaku dynasty is

one. It is stated that during his previous birth

the king was a hunter by name Suswara and was eking

out his livelihood by hunting birds and animals and

selling them. On a Shiva Ratri day, he was roaming

about in the forest and then shot a deer, but couldn't

take his spoil home as he was overtaken by the

darkness of the night. He got upon a Bilva tree and

kept awake the whole night stricken with hunger and

thirst. He had starved for the day and so

couldn't sleep in the night due to hunger. While

keeping himself awake for the whole night, he plucked

leaves from the Bilva tree and dropped them one by one

to the ground. He never knew that there was a

Shiva Linga beneath the tree and the leaves he dropped

fell on the Linga. When the day dawned he went home,

sold the deer and purchased food for the family. He

fed a stranger who begged him for food,

because of this virtuous deed that he performed, even

if unknowingly, two messengers of Shiva came to him at

the hour of his death and conducted his soul to the

abode of Shiva. After enjoying divine bliss

for long, he was again reborn as king Chitrabhanu of

Jambudwipa i.e. India

 

According to another legend that finds mention in the

Puranas, Brahma and Vishnu, the two supreme Gods had a

difference as regards their supremacy. The matter was

referred to Shiva for a verdict. Shiva,

then asked both the Gods to gauge the depth and

measure the height of his Linga. Vishu took the form

of a boar and dived below to ascertain

the depth and Brahma on his swan vehicle scaled high

to ascertain the height. High above in the void Brahma

came across a petal of Ketaki flower drifting

downwards. As it was falling from the top of the

Linga, He asked the petal about the further distance

upward. The petal couldn't answer since how many ages

that it was drifting downwards. Brahma refrained from

going up and went to the nether world to meet Vishnu.

Showing the petal He claimed to have ascertained the

height of the Linga. At this false pretext, the petal

objected. As Brahma was exposed because of the

disclosure of the petal, He, in wrath, cursed – " From

this day you would be unworthy for the worship of

Shiv " . Vishnu, being pleased with her truthfulness

blessed saying, `On Shiva chaturdaphi you will be

worthy for Shiva's worship. Therefore only on this

day Ketaki flower has the right to be offered to the

deity. On no other occasion the flower is ever used

for worship. Almost all the important shrines for

Shiva bear festive look during the festival- : "

 

Bhagawan Shri Sathya Sai Baba in one of his Shivrathri

Discourse says " You will be immensely benefited if

you keep awake and sing the glory of god at least on

this night. The moon is the presiding

deity of the mind. The moon has 16 Kaalas (Phases).

On this Shivrathri, 15 Kaalas have already merged in

God and only one remains. By constant remembrance of

god, even the 16th Phase merges in god. So sanctify

this precious night by participating in Bhajans.

The bliss that you get from bhajans, the sweetness in

the divine name, the happiness derived from

visualizing the divine form cannot be obtained

elsewhere. Everything is possible only through love,

so cultivate love and sanctify your life……. "