Maha Shivratri the Hindu Festival Dedicated to Lord Shiva

Significance of Maha Shivratri

Maha Shivratri or Shivratri is the most significant Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the holy Hindu Trinity (Brahma, Lor of Generation; Vishnu Lord of Operation; and Shiva, Lord of Destruction). By Maha Shivaratri it is meant "The Night of Shiva".

Four Kinds of Shivratris

According Skandha Purana, there are four different Shivratris:

Every Hindu feels that every night is the Shivratri for him. It is known as 'Nithya Shivratri'. 

According to Hindu calendar the thirteenth lunar night / fourteenth; lunar day (Thithi or lunar day = Thriyodasi night / Chaturdasi Day) the waning phase of the moon (Krishna Paksha) is marked as 'Masa Shivratri' (monthly Shivratri).

Prathamadhi Shivratri is the third kind of Shivratri celebrated for thirteen days commencing the day after new moon or first lunar day to the thirteenth lunar day in the waning phase of the moon in the Tamil month Masi (Hindu calendar month Falguna) month.

Maha Shivratri or annual Shivratri falls on the thirteenth lunar night / fourteenth lunar day Krishna Paksha Triyodasi / Chaturdasi in the Tamil month Masi (Hindu Falguna) month.

Maha Shivratri

Maha Shivratri is universally observed in all Hindu temples. The temples devoted Lord Shiva celebrates this festival in a grand manner. This year Maha Shivrathri falls on 23rd February 2009.

Lord Shiva

In the Hindu pantheon Lord Shiva is considered as the god manifested by himself. His consort is considered as the manifestation of power or Shakti. He is the Lord who liberates your soul from the cycle of death and rebirth. Attainment of His feet will remove the fear of death.

Lord Shiva is worshipped in different names and forms - Shiva, Ishwar, Mahadev, Maheshwar, Sadhashiv, Pasupathi, Nataraja, Linga, Ishanan and so on.

Shiva Linga

Lord Shiva is worshipped in three different forms: One with iconic image (Roopa); second without an image (Aroopa); and third with and without image (Roopa Aroopa). Shiva Linga marks the third form and it is a different kind of image worship.

In the Shiva Puranas or Shiva epics the Shiva Linga form is considered as the manifestation of an 'infinite Cosmic Column of fire.' In spite of the good efforts Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu could not trace either the top or bottom of this cosmic column of fire.

The Shiva Linga icon has three components. A pedestal part or 'Peetam', a middle part with circular or quadrangular receptacle or 'Avudaiyar' and the top part with cylindrical  or elliptical structure or 'Linga' mounted on the middle part or Avudaiyar.  It is believed that Lord Brahma resides in the pedestal; Lord Vishnu in the mid-portion and Lord Shiva in top most portion. Shiva Linga is represented as the cosmic column of fire. Therefore the icon is always cooled with holy water ablution or abhishekam. During ablution or abhishekam, the Shiva Linga idol is bathed with the holy water and the water gets drained through the receptacle.

Shiva Linga and Ablution

The Siva Agamas (pooja rules) prescribe abhishekam as one part of the shodashopachara pooja. Abhishekam gets top priority in Shiva poojas. The Shiva Linga abhishekam is performed with the prescribed 11 ingredients:  1) Gingely oil  2) Pancha kavyam (mixture of five ingredients i.e. milk, curd or yoghurt, ghee and cow's urine)  3) Panchamrutham (mixture of five ingredients i.e. fruit, jaggery, ghee, honey and sugar candy)  4) Ghee  5) Milk  6) Curd or yoghurt  7) Honey  8) Sugar cane juice  9) Lime juice  10) Tender coconut water  11) Sandal paste  Lord Shiva is fond of ablution or abhishekam and the Lord will be pleased by ablution or the process of bathing Shiva Linga with the prescribed eleven ingredients like water, milk, curd, ghee, honey etc. A Shiva devotee will receive the blessings of the Lord by performing holy water ablution  water on the ‘Shiva Linga form.' The Lord will remove all his / her obstacles and the Lord will shower happiness and joy.

Prayer and Fasting

The Shiva devotees or Saivites will observe fast during the day as well as during the holy night. They keep drinking the oscimum mixed holy water alone. They visit the Shiva temple during evening time. Men and women keep singing the holy verses in chorus.

Four Kalams (Four Parts of the Holy Night)

The holy night commences at 6 p.m and continues till 6 a.m next day. On the holy night of Maha Shivratri there will be four ablutions or abhishekams for Shiva Linga. The entire twelve hours wil be divided in to four parts or Kalam and there will an ablution or abhishekam for Shiva Linga after every three hours. The priests will perform the ablution with the prescribed eleven ingredients.

Chanting Mantras

Devotees will chant  Panchakshara (Five Holy Letter) Mantra, 'Namah Shivaya' or 'Shivaya Namah.' They also chant 1008 Shiva Namahvali (1008 Holy Names of Lord Shiva) and offer holy Bilva Patras (Aegle marmelos - also known as Bael leaf) to the Lord.

During the holy night Vedic scholars recite Sri.Rudram. At the central part of the Krishna Yajur Veda there is Sri.Rudram. Sri.Rudram, the most powerful Vedic hymn, praises Lord Shiva with all his names and forms. Sri.Rudram also includes the MAHA MRUTYUNJAYA Mantra. The chanting of the MAHA MRUTYUNJAYA Mantra will remove the fear of death.

Harathi will be performed at the end of each kalam. Priests will distribute holy ash, holy water, milk and panchamirtham (jam mix made out of banana, jaggery, honey, dates and dry grapes, ghee, cardamom).

Famous Shiva Temples: Must be Visited on Maha Shivratri Night

Every Shiva temple is considered as holy abode of the Lord. However there are certain holy Shiva temples that are worth visiting on Maha Shivratri day. According to Shiva Agamas Lord Shiva appeared in the form of light or fire. The Lord is worshipped in the form of light or Jyotir Lingam in twelve holy shrines. These shrines are distributed through out India. The Jyotir Lingams are being worshipped from the time of immemorial:  

1)  Somnath Temple, Gujarat 2)  Mallikarjun Temple, Andhra Pradesh 3)  Mahakaleshwara Temple, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh 4)  Omkareshwar Temple, Madhya Pradesh 5)  Vaidyanath Temple, Deogarh, Bihar 6)  Bhimashankar Temple near Pune in Maharashtra 7)  Rameshwaram Temple, Tamil Nadu 8)  Nageshwar Temple, Dwarka, Gujarat 9)  Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi 10) Trimbakeshwar Temple, Nasik, Maharashtra 11) Kedarnath Temple, Himalayas 12) Grishneshwar Temple, Daulatabad, Maharashtra 

Other holy shrines include:

1) Lingaraj temple, Bhubaneswar 2) Pasupathinath temple, Nepal 4) Shiv temple, Bagot 5) Shri Kalahasti, Andhra Pradesh 6) Nataraja temple, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu