○India is the crucible of traditional beliefs and cultural coalescence. Every street, every city, every state echoes the age old spiritual teachings and its vast diversity. In a country where the triumph of good over evil is so popularly celebrated, Lord Shiva comes across as the much needed fabled saviour and he is the ultimate destroyer of evil. According to Hindu mythology, Shivratri is a festival celebrated every month as a mark of remembrance and devotion towards Lord Neelkanth but MahaShivratri is celebrated once a year during the month of Magha/Falgun to commemorate his wedding Anniversary and also the victory and pervasiveness of good everywhere. The day reminds us of Shiva's self-restraint, honesty, noninjury to others,his being self reliant, forgiveness and also his dedication towards his wife Maa Parvati and his children. Lord Shiva is the God of destruction in Hindu mythology. Maidens and married women pray to him to have a husband of his likes and stature. He is said to have swallowed a deadly, life costing poison that arose during the "Kshir Sagar" that was the churning of the milky ocean. He became Neelkanth after that and MahaShivratri also marks this event. The poison had such repercussions and power that it could annihilate the whole universe and Lord Shiva consumed it completely to save all of us from the effects of the poison. Lord Shiva is also named as Rudra since he was famous for his anger and wrath which would perpetuate into a devastating aftermath, often killing or destroying the cause of it. His enigma, mysticism and inner strength would overpower the evil and the wrong and make world a better place to reside in.

According to a legend in the Shiva Purana, two great Hindu Gods who have been known since time immemorial, Brahma and Vishnu, were fighting to establish who’s stronger and better between the two. The other gods, who were not used to the sudden change, asked Shiva to intervene into the matter and he assumed the form of a huge column of fire in between Brahma and Vishnu to make them realize the futility of their fight and wanted to tell them that the complete comparison was banal and pointless. Brahma and Vishnu decided to find the topmost end of the fire column. Brahma assumed the form of a swan and went upwards while Vishnu took the form of Varaha and went inside earth. Brahma and Vishnu did not reach the end of the fire and this shows how they had wasted their time and energy creating such a pandemonium.

During his journey upwards, Brahma found a Ketaki flower. When asked where she had come from, the flower replied she had been given the topmost position of the fire column for which the great Gods were fighting. Brahma decided to stop his search and take the flower as a witness. This made Lord Shiva very angry and he cursed Brahma and said that he had committed a heinous crime and that no devotee shall ever pray to Lord Brahma. Till date, Hindus do not worship Brahma and there is only one temple dedicated to him - the Pushkar temple in Rajasthan. The Ketaki flower too was banned from being used as an offering for any worship. Since Shiva helped pacify the fight among the Gods, the day is celebrated in his honor. He acted as a bridge to cement the gaps between the two Gods and his efforts are acknowledged by one and all.

I am a great devotee of Lord Shiva and I celebrate not only MahaShivratri but every day to remember the great Lord and pray to him to shower his choicest blessings on all his children.

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Aarti Nandrekar  •  4y  •  Reply
Great one.. check out mine too