Maha Shivaratri/Maha Sivaratri
Lord Shiva
Observed by	Hindus in general and Shaivites in particular
Type	Hindu
Observances	Fasting, worship of Lingam

Maha Shivratri or Maha Sivaratri or Shivaratri or Sivaratri (Night of Shiva) is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the month Maagha (as per Shalivahana) or Phalguna(as per Vikrama) in the Hindu Calendar. The most significant practices on this day are offerings of Bael (Bilva) leaves to the Lord Shiva, fasting and all night long vigil. public domain file found on numerous sites File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A puja as performed in Ujjain during the Monsoon on the banks of the overflooding river Shipra. ... A Linga. ... Maagha is the eleventh month of the Hindu calendar. ... Phalguna is the twelfth month of the Hindu calendar. ... A page from the Hindu calendar 1871-72. ... Binomial name Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. ... This article is about the Hindu God. ...

Legends

There are many stories associated with Shivaratri and its origins.

Samudra manthan

During the samudra manthan by the gods and demons, haalaa-hala, a poison came out of the ocean. It was so toxic, that its effect would have wiped out the entire creation. At this juncture, as per the advice of Vishnu, the gods approached Mahadev and prayed to him to protect their lives by consuming this poison. Pleased with their prayers, out of compassion for living beings, Lord Shiva drank this poison and held it in his throat by binding it with a snake. The throat became blue due to the poison (Thus Lord Shiva is also know as Neelakantha) and Shiva remained unharmed. This shows that shiva is also the protector. In another story, it is said that the whole world was under destruction once and the Goddess Parvati worshipped her husband Siva then and prayed to him that the Jivas (living souls) remaining in space like particles of gold dust in a lump of wax during that long period of pralaya (deluge) night, should, when they became active once again and are in the enjoy­ment of their short day and night, have his blessings if they but worshipped him just as she did then, and her prayer was accordingly granted.The night fixed for the worship of Iswara by mortals by Parvati was named Maha-Sivaratri or the great night of Siva, since pralaya is brought about by him and hence the period is really his night from the great night or pralaya which was the cause for the origin of this Sivaratri [1] In Hinduism, Samudra manthan (Devanagari: समुद्र मंथन) or The churning of the ocean of milk is one of the most famous episodes in the Puranas and is celebrated in a major way every twelve years in the festival known as Kumbha Mela. ... In Hinduism, Samudra manthan (Devanagari: समुद्र मंथन) or The churning of the ocean of milk is one of the most famous episodes in the Puranas and is celebrated in a major way every twelve years in the festival known as Kumbha Mela. ... Poison from the sea when Suras (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) churned the sea in order to get the bounties. ... Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari ), (honorific: Sri Vishnu) also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for Vaishnavas and a manifestation of Brahman in the Advaita or Smarta traditions. ... Nilakantha redirects here. ... Nilakantha redirects here. ... Nilakantha redirects here. ... Nilakantha redirects here. ... Nilakantha redirects here. ...

Assurance

After creation was complete, Parvati asked Shiva of which rituals pleased him the most. The Lord replied that the 14th night of the new moon, during the month of Maagha, is my most favourite day. It is known as Shivaratri. Parvati repeated these words to her friends, from whom the word spread over all creation. This article is about the Hindu God. ...

The Hunter

Once upon a time, a hunter worshipped Lord Shiva unknowingly on Shivaratri. He did this by dropping bael leaves on a shiva linga at the base of a bael tree from its branches where he was hiding and fasting all night. For this he was forgiven of all his sins. This forms the basis behind the offerings of bael to the Lord on Shivaratri. Binomial name Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. ...

The Story Of King Chitrabhanu

In the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhishma, whilst resting on the bed of arrows and discoursing on Dharma, refers to the observance of Maha Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The story goes as follows - Mahabharat redirects here. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Dharma (Sanskrit: धर्म) or Dhamma (Pāli: धमा) (Natural Law) refers to the underlying order in Nature and human behaviour considered to be in accord with that order. ...

Once upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku dynasty, who ruled over the whole of Jambudvipa, was observing a fast with his wife, it being the day of Maha Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit to the court of the king. Ikshvaku dynasty or Sun Dynasty are the same. ... Ashtavakra or Ashtaavakra in sanskrit means eight bends. In ancient india, sage Ashtavakra was known to be very intelligent and spiritually well advanced rishi who realized self or Atman. ...

The sage asked the king the purpose of his observing the fast. King Chitrabhanu explained that he had the gift of remembering the incidents of his previous birth.

The king said to the sage that in his previous he was a hunter in Varanasi and his name was Suswara. His only livelihood was to kill and sell birds and animals. One day while roaming through forests in search of animals he was overtaken by the darkness of night. Unable to return home, he climbed a tree for shelter. It happened to be a Bael tree. He had shot a deer that day but had no time to take it home. So he bundled it up and tied it to a branch on the tree. As hunger and thirst tormented him, he was kept awake throughout the night. He shed profuse tears when he thought of his poor wife and children who were starving and anxiously waiting for his return. To pass away the time that night he engaged himself in plucking the Bael leaves and dropping them down onto the ground. VārāṇasÄ«   (HindÄ«: वाराणसी, UrdÅ«: وارانسی, IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras (HindÄ«: बनारस, UrdÅ«: بنارس, ; IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi (काशी کاشی ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Binomial name Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. ... Binomial name Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. ...

The next day he returned home and sold the deer and then bought some food for himself and his family. The moment he was about to break his fast a stranger came to him, begging for food. He served the food first to stranger and then had his own.

At the time of his death, he saw two messengers of Lord Shiva. They were sent down to conduct his soul to the abode of Lord Shiva. He learnt then for the first time of the great merit he had earned by the unconscious worship of Lord Shiva during the night of Shivaratri. The messengers told him that there was a Lingam at the bottom of the tree. The leaves he dropped fell on the Lingam. His tears, which had shed out of pure sorrow for his family, fell onto the Lingam and washed it and he had fasted all day and all night. Thus, he unconsciously worshiped the Lord.

As the conclusion of the tale the King said that he lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed divine bliss for long ages and now he has reborn as Chitrabhanu.

Jyotirlingas

Main article: Jyotirlinga

Jyotirlinga symbolises the shrine of Lord Shiv. There are twelve of them " DWADASA JYOTIRLINGAS" at twelve places that are sacred to the Hindus. It is believed that all these twelve Jyotirlingas are "Swayambhus" meaning that they sprung up by themselves at these places and temples were built upon them. A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirling or Jyotirlingam is a shrine where Lord Shiva, an aspect of God in Hinduism is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam or Lingam of light. ...

The twelve Jyotirlingas are:-

The Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India is one of the twelve Jyotirlings (golden lingas) symbols of the God Shiva. ... Kathiawar in between Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Khambat. ... This article is for the Indian state. ... Rameswaram is a town in the southern part of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Srisailam ಶ್ರಿಶೈಲ is a Jyothirlingam (Hindu shrine to Shiva) located in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Map showing kurnool district Kurnool   is a city in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh state of southern India. ... Andhra Pradesh  : (Telugu: ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్, Urdu: آندھرا پردیش, IPA: ), is a state in South India. ... Dwarka   is a city and a municipality in Jamnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. ... This article is for the Indian state. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Ujjain   (Hindi:उज्जैन) (also known as Ujain, Ujjayini, Avanti) is an ancient city of central India, in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River. ... Madhya PradeÅ›   (HindÄ«: मध्य प्रदेश, English: , IPA: ), often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. ... Grishneshwar, also known as Ghushmeshwar, is an ancient pilgrimage site revered as the abode of one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. ... Kailasanatha Temple Ellora is an ancient village 30 km from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra famous for its magnificent rock cut architecture comprising of Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina cave temples and monasteries built between the 6th and 10th century A.D. These structures were excavated... Maharashtra   (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र , English: , IPA: ) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. ... Omkareshwar is a Hindu temple in Madhya Pradesh state in India. ... Madhya PradeÅ›   (HindÄ«: मध्य प्रदेश, English: , IPA: ), often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. ... Varanasi (Hindi: वाराणसी , pronunciation / /), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras (Hindi: बनारस , pronunciation / /), or Kashi or Kasi (Hindi: काशी ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... VārāṇasÄ«   (HindÄ«: वाराणसी, UrdÅ«: وارانسی, IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras (HindÄ«: बनारस, UrdÅ«: بنارس, ; IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi (काशी کاشی ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: ‎, translation: Northern Province, IPA: ,  ), and Kanpur is the most populated city in the uttar pradesh also popularly known by its abbreviation U.P., is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. ... Deoghar is the headquarter of Deoghar District of Jharkhand state, India. ... Jharkhand   (Hindi: झारखंड, Bengali: ঝাড়খণ্ড,IPA: ) is a state in eastern India. ... Kedarnath temple is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva located atop the Garwal Himalayan range near the holy river of Mandakini in Kedarnath, Uttaranchal in India. ... Uttarakhand presently called Uttaranchal is the ancient name for the stretch of Indian Himalayas that borders the Himachal ranges in the west, and Nepal in the east. ... Bhimashankar in Maharashtra is an ancient shrine, enshrining Bhimashankara one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. ... Puṇe (Marathi: पुणे)(IPA: , is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. ... Maharashtra   (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र , English: , IPA: ) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. ... Trimbakeshwar is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. ... Nashik or Nasik is a city, and also a district and division, in Indias Maharashtra state. ... Maharashtra   (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र , English: , IPA: ) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. ...

External links

• Shivratri is the crown festival of the Kashmiri Pandits
• Maha Shivaratri significance from skandha purana along with mantras for worship
• Maha Shivratri Greeting Cards
• Article on Maha Shivaratri
• Festivals of Nepal
• Shivaratri
• Maha Sivaratri celebration video from Dattapeetham India
• Maha Shivaratri - Comprehensive site with details on all major aspects of Maha Shivaratri and Lord Shiva.
• Maha Shivaratri pooja

Festivals in the Hindu calendar

Sankranti | Hosa Varsha | Gowri Habba | Anantana Vrata | Bheemana Amaavaase | Satyanarayana Pooja | Datta Jayanti | Pongal | Holi | Ugadi | Rama Navami | Krishna Janmaashtami | Onam | Ganesh Chaturthi | Vaisakhi | Navratri | Durga Puja | Vijayadashami | Dasara | Karwa Chauth | Deepawali | Thaipusam | Maha Shivaratri | Ekadasi | Mahalakshmi vrata | Raksha Bandhan | Bhai-Dooj/Bhau-Beej | Puthandu v • d • e