Why Celebrate
Maha Shivratri?
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 phallic idol) at midnight.
God in his
manifestation as Vishnu made his appearance as Krishna at Gokul at midnight,
180 days after Shivratri, commonly known asJanmashtami. 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 increases your glory. What is
apparently a blemish becomes an ornament in one intent on ridding the world of
fear."
