Mahashivratri, “The Great Night of Shiva” is a night of special spiritual significance.
Shivratri is celebrated in every month of the luni-solar calendar, in accordance with the Hindu calendar but once a year, in late winter Maha Shivratri is celebrated to commemorate the oncoming summer.
Of the 12 Shivratris observed in any given year, Maha Shivratri is considered especially auspicious. Shivratri is supposed to be the night of convergence of Shiva and Shakti, which in essence mean the masculine and feminine energies that balance the world.
Shiva represents Purusha (Mindfulness) at a philosophical level, while Devi Parvati symbolises Prakriti (Nature). These are the two fundamental aspects that make the Universe. Hence, the importance.
In Hindu culture, this is a solemn festival that marks the remembrance of ‘overcoming darkness and ignorance in life’. Different legends, throughout history, describe the significance of Maha Shivratri and according to one of them, it is on this night that Lord Shiva performs his cosmic dance of ‘creation, preservation and destruction’. Another legend dictates that on this night, offerings of Lord Shiva’s icons can help one overcome and let go of their sins and start on the path of righteousness, allowing the individual to reach Mount Kailash and achieve ‘moksha’.
Maha Shivratri Vrat Katha:
There was a king named Sundarsen. Once he went hunting in the forest with his dogs. When he did not find any animal after toiling all day long while suffering from hunger and thirst he climbed on a tree that was there besides a pond to retire for the night.
Under the bael tree, there was the Shivling which was covered with bilvapatras. Meanwhile, in the process of breaking some twigs, a few of them coincidentally fell on the Shivling. This way the hunter accidentally fasted also and by chance he even offered bilvapatra to the shivling.
After a few hours passed at the night, a deer came there. When the hunter shot an arrow at the bow to kill him, some bilvapatra broke and fell on the shivling. In this way, the worship of the first Prahar was also done unknowingly. The also deer disappeared into the wild bushes.
Shortly after that, another deer emerged. The hunter, seeing him, again mounted an arrow on his bow. This time also in the second half of the night, the leaves and water of Bilvapatra fell on the Shivling and the Shivling was worshipped. The deer escaped.
After this, a deer of the same family came there, this time also the same thing happened and the Shivling was worshipped in the third hour. That deer also escaped.
Now, for the fourth time, the deer with his flock came to drink water there. The hunter was very happy to see everyone together and when he again put an arrow on his bow, some of the Bilvapatra fell on the Shivling which led to the worship of Shivling again in the fourth stroke.
In this way, the hunter remained hungry and thirsty throughout the day and kept awake throughout the night, and all four of them inadvertently worshipped Shiva, thus completing the fast of Shivratri.
Later, when he died, the messengers of Yamraj tied him in the loop and took him to Yamlok, where Shivaji’s Ganas fought with Yamdoot and freed him from the loop. In this way, Nishad joined the beloved ganas of Lord Shiva.