sincere thanks: www.webpages.uidaho.edu
Sivarathri is here – the night when Siva married Parvathi. There are many stories associated with Sivarathri and the most popular one is the marriage of Siva and Sakti. This is the fastival where fruits galore as many people fast and keep a vigil at night for the Abhisheka-priya bathing him with milk, curd, honey, sugar, ghee and washing him down with water between each. These abhishekas are for cooling down Halahala dhara and the practice of offering him behl (marjuana) leaves is to calm him down. All this goes on amidst continuous chanting of ‘Om Namah Sivaya’, believed to wash away one’s sins. Mahashivratri.org is dedicated to providing all the information related to Sivaratri legend and practices. A detailed description of those fascinating legends has been provided there.
| The story tells us how Lord Shiva got married a second time to Shakti, his divine consort… | |
| Samudra Mathanam | This very popular Shivaratri legend from Puranas explains why people stay awake all night on Shivaratri. Besides, it also tells us why Lord Shiva is also known as Neelakantha. |
| Legend of Shiva Linga | The legend of Shiva Linga or Lingodbhavamurthy is deeply related to Mahashivaratri. The legend narrates the story of vain search by Brahma and Vishnu to discover the Aadi (beginning) and the Antha (end) of Lord Shiva… |
| The Legend of Lubdhaka | The legend of Lubdhaka is deeply related to Mahashivaratri and explains the popular custom of all-night worship of Lord Shiva on the festival. As a tradition devotees recite the legend of Lubdhaka while… |
| The Legend of Ganga | The legend of Ganga’s descent from the heavens into the earth has been narrated in the Hindu mythological epic of Ramayana. The legend explains the popular custom of giving bath to Shiv Linga on Shivaratri festival. |
| Lord Shiva’s Assurance | The legend of Lord Shiva’s assurance explains the popularity of Shivaratri festival amongst the devotees. Besides, it also tells us why we observe fast in the name of the Lord and perform ceremonial baths on a Shivaratri day… |
DS had been studying about Siva in the previous semester and knows his stotrams and ashtakams by heart. I swell with pride as I type this – he loves to chant and sways with the rhythm. I am taking both DS and DD to our Sivarathri celebrations where everything will be explained in a lot more detail, where all DS’s questions will be answered. I am not a very religious person and not knowledgeable enough to answer his innocent yet thoughtful questions.
