Maha Shivaratri Festival

As the entire country celebrates the Maha Shivaratri festival, let us read about its history, significance and how we can worship Lord Shiva and attain immeasurable benefits.

First and foremost, there would hardly be a soul who would need introduction to Lord Shiva, which is the name of one of the most important Gods of the universe as per Hindu religion and has been bestowed with the powers of destruction.

In Hindi language ratri means night and maha means great. So basically Maha Shivaratri festival means the great night of Lord Shiva. There are many version or stories as to the origin of this festival.

One legend says that this is the day when Lord Shiva was married to Goddess Parvati for the second time. Of course there is a long story as to why they got separated the first time and the need to remarry for a second time and we will cover it in another article.

Another legend about Maha Shivaratri festival goes that Lord Shiva had to drink poison which came out of the churning of the ocean by the Gods and demons and there was no one willing to accept the deadly poison which threatened to destroy the entire world. Hence Lord Shiva held that poison in His throat (kanth) and that is why He is also known as the Lord Neel (blue) Kanth since blue colour is associated with poison. The night when Lord Shiva drank poison and saved the world was celebrated as Maha Shivaratri.

There are various other legends associated with the this pious day as well such as the manifestation about Shiva Linga on this night and the manifestation of Ganges River on Earth due to the meditation of Bhageerath.

Whatever may be the story, the fact is that this night has a special significance for devotees of Lord Shiva and one can attain lot of good vibrations and improvise one’s karma by performing Puja of Lord Shiva on the Maha Shivaratri festival day.

We will soon be putting an article on the method of performing Puja of Maha Shivaratri so that when the Maha Shivaratri 2014 festival arrives, you can benefit the most and earn the Blessings of Lord Shiva.

If you liked this article, you might also want to read Diwali Puja Vidhi.