Shiva ratri: On Phalguna krishna Chaturdasi people celebrate the famous Shiva ratri, the “night of Shiva”. It is also called jagran festival because devotees stay awake all night, fasting, chanting, reading shastra and singing bhajans, offering puja to the Shiva lingam with bilva (bel) leaves and the pancha akshara mantra Om namah Shivaya, and keeping a ghi lamp burning all the time. Many devotees also observe a nirjala upavasa, in which they do not even drink water (some even avoid to swallow their own saliva, and spit it out instead). The next morning, they take bath and after worshipping Shiva again they break their fast. In Shiva Purana, Shiva says to His consort Parvati that no festival other than Shiva Ratri observed by his devotees gives Him so much pleasure and satisfaction. The festival celebrates the day when Mahadeva swallowed the deadly poison produced by the churning of the milk ocean, when Devas and Asuras were trying to obtain the nectar of immortality. At first all the impurities frothed up and nobody else dared to take care of them, so Mahadeva volunteered for the dangerous task, and His throat became black blue: this is why He is also called Nilakantha. The Devas became worried and kept vigil through the night praying; their prayers are still used by devotees on Shiva ratri. It is also said that at the time of the destruction of the universe, when the world was covered in darkness, Mother Parvati restored light to the world by invoking Shiva. There are many stories about the effects of the observance of this festival. It is said that during his previous birth king Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku dynasty had been a hunter by name Susvara, making a livelihood by hunting birds and other animals and selling them. On a Shiva Ratri day he was roaming about in the forest and got a deer, but night fell before he could return home, so he climbed on a bilva tree and remained awake for the entire night, without eating or drinking. Since he had not taken any food or water for the entire day, he could not sleep due to hunger, and tossed and turned around, causing leaves falling to the ground where, unknown to him, there was a Shiva Lingam, just under the tree. At dawn the climbed down the tree and returned home, where he prepared food his family, and gave some of the food in charity to a beggar who came to his door. Due to these meritorious actions, at the time of death he attained the abode of Shiva and later he was reborn as a King. Another popular story says that one day Brahma and Vishnu wanted to measure the greatness of Shiva. Vishnu took the form of a boar and dived below while Brahma on his swan soared upwards; high above Brahma found a ketaki flower floating downwards, and claiming it was coming from the head of Shiva. So Brahma asked the flower how far above Shiva’s head was, but the flower replied that it had forgotten for how long it had been falling. Brahma seized the flower and went to meet Vishnu, claiming that he had collected it from Shiva’s head, but the flower exposed his lie and Brahma, angered, cursed the flower that from that day it would not be offered to Shiva. Vishnu, on the other hand, was pleased by the flower’s truthfulness and blessed the flower that it would be offered on Shiva ratri. Still according to the tradition, the ketaki flower is offered to Shiva on this occasion. The greatest festivals for Shiva ratri are observed in Puri, Bhubaneswar, Mahendragiri, Gupteswar, Kapilas and Khiching.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 08:56:50 +0000
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