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Mystic Maha Shivaratri: Rituals, Myths & Legends





Mystic Maha Shivaratri: Rituals, Myths & Legends

We take a look all the rituals and stories associated with the divine energy, Lord Shiva, upon which the entire universe rests

“Mrutyunjayaya Rudraya Neelakanthaya Shambhave

Amriteshaya Sarvaaya Mahadevaaye Te Namaha”

I pray to lord Mahadeva who has conquered death, who is the destroyer of the Universe, who has a blue neck and who gives happiness to all.

The transformer and destroyer of the Holy Trinity of Hinduism, Lord Shiva represents the oblivion, the soul of the universe and the divine energy upon which the entire universe rests. Heis the Master of Time (Kalapurush or Mahakala), patron of Yogis and Brahmins (Adi Yogi), protector of the sacred texts and animals (Pashupati) and Nataraj and the great dancer. He, who has a blue throat (Nilakantha), is also called Triambaka (the three eyed one) and is known to fulfill the wishes of his devotees (Ashutosh) instantly. He is also the leader of evil spirits, ghosts and vampires and he is the one who vanquishes fear (Bhairav).

Maha Shivaratri, the auspicious night, is when the universe wakes to embrace the cosmic convergence of planetary position and releases a wave of spiritual energy. It is celebrated on the 14thday of the dark half of the Phalguna month (Krushna Chaturdashi), season spring. For the seekers of spiritual significance of life, this day is meant for meditation, fasting and yoga. They urge their soul to rise beyond its consciousness and seek infinite peace and solace.

According to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, “Every Maha Shivaratri is meant to wake up every particle of your body. The festival is a wake-up call to move away from conflicts and move towards truth, beauty, peace and benevolence – the ethereal qualities of Shiva.”

Shedding light on the rituals of Maha Shivaratri, Labanyamayee Kar, a retired school teacher from Kolathia, Bhubaneswar who considers herself a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, tells us, “Since the last 52 years, I’ve been observing the rituals of Shivaratri with religious dedication. From the morning of the Chaturdashi to the morning of the Amabashya, the period of 24 hours is vital for every believer of Lord Shiva.” She quotes the Shiv Purana which talks about six key elements required for the sacred ceremony. “The first is bael (Aegle Marmelos) leaves, which is known to be the favorite of the Lord of Lords. Ceremonial offering of bael leaves represents the purification of soul. Then comesvermillion paste, which represents virtue. The third offering is of fruits and grains which represent the fulfillment of worldly desires. After that,jhunna (dammar), aguru (aloe wood) and incense are offered to the God. It is said to please the Lord, who in turn blesses the devotee with both worldly wealth and spiritual wisdom. The fifth step is to light the lamp and offer it to the Lord, for attainment of knowledge. And the last step is offering of betel leaves which signify the fulfillment of worldly bliss.”

This six-step ritual is popularly known as Sadopachara Puja. There is also the Sodasha Upachara, which is followed in the temple during the very night of Maha Shivaratri. It is a 16-step worship which includes various forms of reverence like offering the deity a golden throne to sit, washing his feet, washing his hands, offering him water to drink, ceremonial bathing with sacred water, offering new clothes, anointing him with sandal paste, adorning with jewels, worshipping with flowers, offering fragrances, lighting the lamp, offering prasad, chanting his praise, offering aarti, and finally prostrating to him and seeking his blessings.

Kar further adds, “In Odisha, especially in Ekamra Kanan (Bhubaneswar), Shivaratri is observed with great reverence. People keep fast the whole day and visit the temple of Lord Shiva. They light lamps and keep awake the whole night. Sometimes, they also sing in praise of the Lord and participate in the bhajans. After the Maha Deepa is lighted and placed above the temple, some prefer to break their fast with prasad. Others remain in the temple premises for the jagaranand light diyas.The Legend of Samudra-Manthan

Kanakalata Devi, an octogenarian lady tells us about the beautiful legend behind the observance of Maha Shivaratri. “It is the tale of Samudra-Manthan and also of the magnanimous Nilakantha who protected the world from the terrible effect of halahal(poison).”

“By the advice of Lord Vishnu, the devas and the ashuras got ready to churn the Milk-Ocean (Kshira-Samudra),” she continues. Mount Mandara was used as the churning rod and Vashuki, the king of serpents became the churning rope. All kinds of herbs were cast into the ocean and Lord Vishnu supported the mountain in the form of a giant turtle from below. Together the divine powers laboured and before long, the ocean spat out its poisonous bile, called halahal, a poison so potent that it had the power to annihilate the whole creation, if left unchecked. However, the Devas prayed to the Mahadev (Lord of the Lords), who alone was capable of handling it. To spare the universe of its undesired effects, the Lord tried to swallow the pot-full of poison. In the process, a few drops were said to be scattered, which is considered as the source of all poison in the world, including snake venom. However, the poison affected the Adi-Yogi in a different way; it remained stagnant in his food pipe and could not move down his throat. The throat turned blue and the Lord lost consciousness.”

“Worried at this unexpected aftermath, the divine entities surrounded Shiva and tried to bring him back to consciousness. They massaged his throat with all types of soothing things like butter, cheese, bananas, marijuana, milk and rock candy (mishri). This continued for the whole night, they remained awake and sangpraises for their beloved Lord. With the dawn, the poison melted and moved down smoothly, leaving the Triambaka with no more than a ‘blue throat’, which earned him a new name “The Neelkantha”.

“In memory of this divine phenomenon, the Maha Shivaratri is observed”, explains Kanakalata, “And till date, the rituals of Gharshan (massage) and Jagaran(remaining awake all night) continue.”

Debashis Rana, a staunch devotee and worshipper of Lord Akhandalamani says, “The night is of utmost importance. The rituals start in the evening and continue throughout the night till the Mahadeepa is lighted and offered to the Lord. But before that, four pujas are observed, each in one prahar (approximately for three hours) of the night.”

He also talks about the importance of grapefruit (Tava). “This sour smelling fruit appeases the Lord more than any sweet-smelling fragrance. So, before each puja begins, a majana (massage) of the Shivling using grape-fruit is performed. Four different key ingredients are used for the four pujas, honey, juice of sugarcane, coconut water and milk, respectively. Other than these, nabata (rock candy), banana, marijuana leaves, butter and the panchamrit (a mixture of milk, yogurt, honey, clarified butter and jaggery) is also used for this purpose.”

The Legend of Ketaki Flower

The Ashutosh is fond of flowers like hibiscus, stramoni flower (dudura), dhak (palasha), arakha, cape-jasmine (sugandha-raj) and of course the screw-pine or ketaki. However, ketaki, is offered to the Lord only once in a year; on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. The story behind this is quite an interesting one.

Retired bank manager Dayanidhi Dash shares the legend of the Holy Trinity and the screw pine. Once the Holy Trinity challenged each other to determine which one of them is the most efficacious. Lord Shiva assumed the form of a rock phallus of immense magnitude (the shiv ling) and the Lords Brahma and Vishnu set out to find out its limit. While Lord Brahma assumed the form of a swan and travelled upward, Lord Vishnu took the form of a boar and explored down. Both searched and searched but there was no end to the divine vastness.

Meanwhile, a tired and irritated Brahma came across a falling flower, a screw pine. When asked about the upper limit of the ling, the flower confessed that it had no idea, as it had fell from the Lord’s head ages back but was yet to reach the ground. In his extreme arrogance, Brahma conspired with the flower and made it a witness to his lie. He came back from the heights and found a tired Vishnu at the base who confessed about not being able to find the end of Rock Phallus. But Brahma, backed up by the screw pine, announced that he had discovered the head of the Shiv ling and plucked the flower from there. At that instant, Lord Shiv appeared to put an end to this folly and cursed both Brahma and Ketaki flower. Brahma was to remain un-worshipped while screw-pine was never to be used in any sacred rituals. However, after much pleading, the rudrasanctioned Brahma one place of worship (the Puskara) and ketakigot the chance to be used in rituals only one day in a year (the Maha Shivaratri).Lubdhaka and the Family of Deer

The Shanti Parv in Mahabharat talks about the legend of a forest-dweller Lubdhaka and his salvation.

One day, Lubdhaka, who was a hunter by profession, visited the woods in search of a prey. He travelled far and deep into the forest, however, could not find a suitable prey. The sun went down at last and night came in. A disappointed Lubdhaka decided to spend the night in the forest and try his luck. He climbed over a tree and made himself comfortable. To kill time, he began plucking the leaves one by one and threw them down. After a while, he saw a buck and was ready to shoot an arrow. When he took aim hastily, he upturned his water skin and splashed some. The buck saw him too, understood his intentions and said, “I too have a family. Let me go and meet them one last time, I promise to come here when dawn breaks. You can kill me then.” Lubdhaka was touched and he allowed the buck to go. Then he encountered three more deer and each acted similarly. When the night finally ended, Lubdhaka was sad, hungry and was cursing himself for his emotions and stupidity. Just then, the deer returned, all four of them andthey turned out to be of one family. They offered themselves toLubdhakabut he was so touched by their sense of honour and decency that he decided to let them all go.

At that time, Lord Shiva appeared, for he was there, below the tree, in the form of an old Shiv-ling, neglected and long forgotten. The night before Lubdhak, had unknowingly worshipped him, with bel leaves (the tree he climbed was a bel tree) and water, keeping fast and staying awake all night. It was the night of Maha Shivaratri, so the Lord blessed him and the deer family with immortal bliss and salvation.

Pictures by: Rakesh Roul

Author: Sutikshna mohapatra

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