Shiva being an ascetic god, Mahashivaratri is
very popular with ascetics. Thandai, a drink made with cannabis, almonds and milk,
is essentially drunk by the devout. This is so because cannabis is said to have
been very dear to Shiva. The Puranas contain many stories and legends describing
the origin of this festival. According to one, during the samudra manthan, a pot
of Poison merged from the ocean. This terrified the gods and demons as the poison
was capable of destroying the entire world, and they ran to Shiva for help. To
protect the world from its evil effects, Shiva drank the deathly poison but held
it in his throat instead of swallowing it. Because of it, his throat turned blue,
and he was given the name Neelakantha, the blue-throated one. Shivaratri is the
celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world.
|
 |
According to another legend in the Shiva Purana,
once Brahma and Vishnu were fighting over who was the superior of the two? Horrified
at the intensity of the battle, the other gods asked Shiva to intervene. To make
them realize the futility of their fight, Shiva assumed the form of a huge column
of fire in between Brahma and Vishnu. Awestruck by its magnitude, they decided
to find one end each to establish supremacy over the other. Brahma assumed the
form of a swan and went upwards and Vishnu as Varaha went into the earth. But
light has no limit and though they searched for thousands of miles, neither could
find the end. On his journey upwards, Brahma came across a Ketaki flower wafting
down slowly. When asked where she had come from, the Ketaki replied that she had
been placed at the top of the fiery column as an offering. Unable to find the
uppermost limit, Brahma decided to end his search and take the flower as a witness.
At this, the angry Shiva revealed his true form. He punished Brahma for telling
a lie, and cursed him that no one would ever pray to him. The Ketaki flower too
was banned from being used as an offering for any worship, as she had testified
falsely. Since it was on the 14th day in the dark half of the month of Phalguna
that Shiva first manifested himself in the form of a linga, the day is especially
auspicious and is celebrated as Mahashivaratri. Worshipping Shiva on this day
is believed to bestow one with happiness and prosperity.
Phalguna is a peculiar month. Immediately after Mahashivaratri, almost like a
miracle, the trees are full of flowers as if to announce that after winter, the
fertility of the earth has been rejuvenated. And this perhaps is the reason why
the linga is worshipped throughout India as a symbol of fertility. The festivities
differ in various parts of India. In southern Karnataka, for example, children
are allowed to get into all kinds of mischief and asking for punishment is the
rule of the day, probably originating from the mythological incident of Shiva
punishing Brahma for lying. The Vishvanatha Temple at Kashi in Varanasi celebrates
the linga (symbolic of the pillar of light) and the manifestation of Shiva as
the light of supreme wisdom. Mahashivaratri is thus not only a ritual but also
a cosmic definition of the Hindu universe. It dispels ignorance, emanates the
light of knowledge, makes one aware of the universe, ushers in the spring after
the cold and dry winter, and invokes the supreme power to take cognizance of the
beings that were created by him.
A legend explains the benefits of the all-night worship of Shiva. There was once
a poor tribal man who was a great devotee of Shiva. One day he went deep into
the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home
before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified,
he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day- break. Perched amongst
the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake,
he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting
the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves
onto a linga below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be
a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose
grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. Devotees recite this story on
Mahashivaratri on fast. After observing the all-night fast devotees eat the prasad
offered to Shiva. There is another possible reason for the origin of the all-night
worship. Being a moonless night,people worshipped the god who wears the crescent
moon as an adornment in his hair, Shiva. This was probably to ensure that the
moon rose the next night. |
|
