While Maha Shivaratri is clearly about Shiva, an explanation of He who is infinite and inexplicable cannot be attempted here. This article hence limits its scope to the history and theology of all Shaiva sampradayas and rituals observed on the occasion. The Maha Shivaratri is observed annually in honour of Shiva while there are also Shivaratris once every month. The name refers also to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance, tandava.
In every month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, there is a Shivaratri, literally the “night of Shiva”, on the day before the new moon. Once a year, in the spring or late winter and before the arrival of summer, which is February or March, the Shivaratri becomes Maha Shivaratri, “the Great Night of Shiva”. The day falls in Phalguna as per the north Indian Hindu calendar and in Magha as per the south Indian Hindu calendar (you need to refer to Amanta and Purnimanta systems to get further details).
According to the south Indian calendar, Maha Shivaratri is observed on Chaturdashi Tithi during Krishna Paksha in the month of Magha, and in other parts of India, on the 13th night, when the moon wanes, and 14th day of Krishna Paksha (a fortnight of moonless nights) in Phalguna of the Hindu calendar. The Gregorian date, however, remains the same. Kashmiri Shaivas do not observe the 14th day of the festival.
This year, there is also a coincidence of Shani Pradosh Vrat on Maha Shivaratri. After 30 years, Shani (Saturn) is transiting in Aquarius, as a result of which Saturn and Sun will remain in Aquarius on Maha Shivaratri. Venus is cast on Pisces.
Maha Shivaratri is a notable festival in Hinduism, with the solemn occasion marking a remembrance of “overcoming darkness and ignorance” in life and the world. A devotee invokes Shiva by chanting prayers, fasting and meditating on ethics and virtues such as honesty, non-injury to others, charity and forgiveness and tries to realise Shiva in himself or herself. Ardent devotees keep awake all night. Others visit a Shiva temple or go on a pilgrimage to a jyotirlinga or more.
In recent years, the Isha Foundation has been a major patron of such festivities in India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the celebration hosted at the site of the giant Adiyogi in Coimbatore.
Description of Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri is an annual festival dedicated to Shiva, particularly important in the Shaivism tradition. Unlike most Hindu festivals that are celebrated during the day, the Maha Shivaratri is celebrated at night. Furthermore, unlike most Hindu festivals that include expression of cultural revelry, the Maha Shivaratri is a solemn event notable for its introspective focus, fasting, meditation on Shiva, self-study, social harmony and a whole-night vigil at Shiva temples.
The celebration includes jāgaran, an all-night vigil with prayers, as Shaiva Hindus mark this night as “overcoming darkness and ignorance” in one’s life and the world through Shiva. Offerings of fruits, leaves, sweets and milk are made to Shiva, some perform all-day fasting with Vedic or tantric worship of Shiva, and some perform meditative yoga.
In Shiva temples, “Om Namah Shivaya”, the sacred Panchakshari mantra of Shiva, is chanted throughout the day. Devotees praise Shiva through the recitation of Shiva Chālīsā. The details of this appear in the section on rituals.
History, theology of Maha Shivaratri
The festival has been integral to the ancient but continuous Indian civilisation and its origin predates recorded history, but some western Indologists, based on their limited understanding of this nation, believe this festival originated in the 5th century BCE. The Maha Shivaratri is mentioned in several Puranas, most prominently the Skanda Purana, Linga Purana and Padma Purana. These mediaeval-era Shaiva texts present different versions associated with this festival, mentioning fasting and reverence for icons of Shiva such as the Linga.
Different legends describe the significance of Maha Shivaratri. According to one, it’s the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance of creation, preservation and destruction. The chanting of hymns, the reading of Shaiva scriptures and the chorus of devotees join this cosmic dance, celebrating Shiva’s omnipresence.
According to this verse from the Ishāna Samhitā, Shiva appeared in the form of a linga with the effect of crores of suns in Mahanishithkal on Falguna Krishna Chaturdashi.
According to another tradition, which is popular among girls and women looking for perfect life partners, this is the night when Shiva and Parvati got married. Notably, while the match-making of Rama and Sita is as legendary and revered by Hindus, the marital life of Shiva and Parvati does not involve the pain of separation, unlike the story in the Ramayana. This is an added attraction for a believer-woman seeking an ideal husband. Note that it’s not the Shiva-Sati match, which did have its fair share of angst, following the sacrifice of an insulted Sati at the house of Daksha, her father, who had on purpose not invited Shiva to the yajna he had organised.
In the Rigveda, Daksha is an Aditya associated with priestly skills, a son of Brahma and father of many children who became progenitors of various creatures. An egotistic Daksha was beheaded by Virabhadra, created out of a strand of Shiva’s hair, for insulting Sati and Shiva but was later resurrected with a goat’s head. Many Puranas state that Daksha was reborn to Prachetas in another Manvantara (epoch).
According to another belief, the offering to Shiva icons such as the linga is an annual occasion to get over past sins, if any, to restart on a virtuous path and thereby reach Mount Kailasha and liberation.
On this particular day, goes another belief, Shiva gulped the halahala (poison) produced during the Samudra Manthana and beheld it in his neck, which was bruised and turned blue, after which he was named as Neelakantha. The famous Neelkantha Mahadeva Temple is the place where this incident took place.
Cultural observations
The significance of dance tradition to this festival has historical roots. The Maha Shivaratri has served as a historic confluence of artistes for annual dance festivals at major Hindu temples such as at Konark, Khajuraho, Pattadakal, Modhera and Chidambaram. This event is called Natyanjali, literally “worship through dance”, at the Chidambaram temple which is famous for its sculpture depicting all dance mudras in the ancient Hindu text of performance arts called Natya Shastra.
Similarly, at Khajuraho Shiva temples, a major fair and dance festival on Maha Shivaratri, involving Shaiva pilgrims camped over miles around the temple complex, was documented by Alexander Cunningham in 1864.
Locations of famous Maha Shivaratri festivals in India
Maha Shivaratri is celebrated in Tamil Nadu with great pomp and fanfare in the Annamalaiyar temple located in District Tiruvannamalai. The special process of worship on this day is Girivalam or Giri Pradakshina, a 14 km barefoot walk around Shiva’s temple on top of the hill. A huge lamp of oil and camphor, not to be confused with Karthigai Deepam, is lit on the hilltop at sunset.
Devotees flock to the major jyotirlinga Shiva temples of India, such as those in Varanasi and Somanatha, on Maha Shivaratri. They serve also as sites for fairs and special events.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Shivaratri yātrās are held at Mallayya gutta near Kambhalapalle, Gundlakamma Kona near Railway Koduru, Penchalakona, Bhairavakona, Uma Maheswaram amongst others. Special pujas are held at Pancharamas: Amararamam of Amaravati, Somaramam of Bhimavaram, Draksharamam, Kumararama of Samarlakota and Ksheerarama of Palakollu.
The days immediately after Shivratri are celebrated as Brahmotsavaalu at Srisailam, one of 12 jyotirlinga sites. Mahashivaratri Utsavalu (the second word in the term is the Telugu tadbhava of Sanskrit “utsava“, meaning “festival”) are held at the Rudreshwara Swamy’s 1-000-pillar temple in Warangal. Devotees throng Srikalahasti, Mahanandi, Yaganti, Antarvedi, Kattamanchi, Pattiseema, Bhairavakona, Hanamkonda, Keesaragutta, Vemulawada, Panagal, Kolanupaka amongst others — for a special puja.
The famous Mandi fair is organised in the town of Mandi; it is one of the most popular venues for Maha Shivaratri celebrations. It transforms the town as devotees pour in. It is believed that all gods and goddesses of the area, numbering more than 200, assemble here on the day of Maha Shivaratri. Mandi, located on the banks of Beas, is popularly known as the “Cathedral of Temples” and one of the oldest towns of Himachal Pradesh, with about 81 temples of different Gods and Goddesses on its periphery.
In Kashmir Shaivism, the festival is called Hara Ratri, often pronounced as a phonetically simpler Haerath or Herath by Shiva devotees of the Kashmir region. Shivaratri, regarded as the most important festival of the community, for instance, is celebrated here only on trayodashi or the thirteenth of the dark half of the month of Phalguna (February–March) but not on chaturdashi or the fourteenth as in the rest of the country.
Kashmiri Shaivas reason that the long-drawn festival is celebrated for one full fortnight as an elaborate ritual is associated with the appearance of Bhairava (Shiva) as a jwala-linga or a linga of flame. Tantric texts describe the form as Bhairavotsava as, on this occasion, Bhairava and Bhairavi, the second being His Shakti or cosmic energy, are propitiated through Tantric worship.
The linga appeared at the pradoshakāla or the dusk of the early night as a blazing column of fire and dazzled Vatuka Bhairava and Rama (or Ramana) Bhairava, Mahadevi’s mind-born sons, who approached it to discover its beginning or end but miserably failed. Exasperated and terrified they began to sing its praises and went to Mahadevi, who herself merged with the awe-inspiring jwalalinga. The Goddess blessed both Vatuka and Ramana that they would be worshipped by human beings and would receive their share of sacrificial offerings on that day and those who would worship them would have all their wishes fulfilled. As Vatuka Bhairava emerged from a pitcher full of water after Mahadevi cast a glance into it, fully armed with all his weapons (and so did Rama), he is represented by a pitcher full of water in which walnuts are kept for soaking and worshipped along with Shiva, Parvati, Kumara, Ganesha, their ganas (companions) or attendant deities, yoginis and kshetrapalas (guardians of the quarters) – all represented by clay images. The soaked walnuts are later distributed as naivedya. The ceremony is called ‘vatuk barun’ in Kashmiri, which means filling the pitcher of water representing the Vatuka Bhairava with walnuts and worshipping it.
Central India has a large number of Shaivas. The Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain is one of the most venerated shrines consecrated to Shiva, where a large congregation of devotees gathers to offer prayers on the day of Maha Shivaratri. Tilwara Ghat in the city of Jabalpur and the Math Temple in the village of Jeonara, Seoni are two other places where the festival is celebrated with much religious fervour.
In Punjab, Shobha Yātrās would be organised by various Hindu organisations in different cities. It is a grand festival for Punjabi Hindus.
In Gujarat, Maha Shivaratri mela is held at Bhavnath near Junagadh where bathing in the Mrugi (Mrigi) kund is considered holy. According to a belief, Shiva himself comes to bathe in the Mrugi kund.
In West Bengal, Maha Shivaratri is observed devoutly by unmarried girls and boys seeking a suitable husband or wife, often visiting Tarakeswar.
In Odisha, Maha Shivaratri is also known as Jagara. People fast for their wishes the whole day and take food after ‘Mahadipa’ (The great lamp) rises at the top of Shiva temple. It usually is held at midnight. Unmarried girls seek suitable husbands.
Special anointings and worships were performed at the Karuvadikkuppam Kurusithananda Temple in Pondicherry on the eve of Maha Shivaratri with various items including milk and sandalwood for the Shivalingam. Also, a Natyanjali was held at the temple premises.
Nepal
Maha Shivaratri is a national Holiday in Nepal and is celebrated widely in temples all over the country, especially in the Pashupatinath temple. Thousands of devotees visit the famous Shiva Shakti Peetham nearby as well. Holy rituals are performed all over the nation. Maha Shivaratri is celebrated as Nepali Army Day amid a spectacular ceremony held at the Army Pavilion, Tundikhel.
Artistes from various classical music and dance forms perform through the night. On Maha Shivaratri, married women pray for the well-being of their husbands, while unmarried women pray for a husband like Shiva, considered as the ideal husband.
Shiva is worshipped also as the Adi Guru (first teacher) from whom the divine wisdom originates. In the capital city of Kathmandu, there is a provision for road blockage where children use ropes and strings to stop people or vehicles passing through in exchange for money.
Worshippers of Shiva stay up all night and smoke marijuana as Shiva is believed to be an avid smoker and marijuana smoking on this day is called taking ‘Shivako Prasad’ or ‘Shiva Buti’ literally the “Blessing of Shiva”. Crowds of sadhus and saints travel to Pashupatinath Temple located in Kathmandu from all of Nepal and neighbouring India to celebrate the day and perform puja on this day.
Pakistan
Another major temple where Shivratri is celebrated is the Shree Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple in Karachi whose Shivratri festival is attended by 25,000 people. On Shivaratri, Hindus in Karachi fast and visit the temple. Later, devotees from the Chanesar Goth come to the temple carrying water from the Holy Ganga to bathe Shiva’s murti.
Puja is performed until 5 AM and then aarti is done. Devotees walk barefoot with women carrying a pooja thali containing flowers, incense sticks, rice, coconut and a diya to the sea after which they are free to break their fast. Later they eat food prepared in the temple kitchen for breakfast.
Outside south Asia
In Indo-Caribbean communities, thousands of Hindus spend the beautiful night in over four hundred temples across multiple countries, offering special jhalls (an offering of milk and curd, flowers, sugarcane and sweets) to Shiva.
In Mauritius, Hindus go on a pilgrimage to Ganga Talao, a crater lake.
Rituals involved
It is considered auspicious to worship in green clothes on Maha Shivaratri, which pleases Shiva. You may alternatively wear red, yellow, white or orange coloured clothes but not black clothes.
As per a north Indian tradition, the Shiva Chālīsā, which the exposition referred to above, must begin with an ode to Ganesha, which is as follows:
The above is a dohā, a development in the poetry of the mediaeval languages of northern India, such as Braj, Awadhi, Khadi Boli, Khichdi etc, which has every line divided into two padas, with the first having 13 matras and the second having 11, where laghu matras (short vowels) count 1 and guru matras (long vowels) count 2 each. Braj, Awadhi and Khadi Boli continue to be spoken in Mathura, Ayodhya and areas adjoining Delhi respectively, although they have more or less stopped being languages for written literature since the late 19th century. Since dohās were never a part of ancient India, there is no such hymn in Sanskrit.
The dohā above is followed by
For puritans, the prescribed rituals are more specific and detailed, as follows.
The Shiva Puranas ask for the worship of Shiva in all four praharas. After taking a bath in the evening, visiting a Shiva temple or at home facing east or north and sporting a tripunda (three horizontally parallel strokes on the forehead, with two drawn with the index and middle fingers and the third in the opposite direction with the thumb) and rudraksha, take the resolution of worship as in the quoted mantra below.
The most important thing in the worship of four hours on Maha Shivaratri is to perform Rudrabhishek in every prahara. In the first phase, anoint the linga with milk. Do abhisheka of the linga with curd in the second phase, abhisheka with ghee in the third phase and honey in the fourth phase with this mantra:
Those observing the fast should chant the Shiva mantra (Om Namah Shivaya) throughout the day and continue fasting the whole day. Patients, weak and old people who cannot endure going without food can do night worship by taking fruits during the day.
The person observing fast should worship Shiva in all four praharas, offering Him fruits, flowers, sandalwood, bilva leaves, dhatūra, dhūp and lamp and also bhoga.
After mixing milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar separately and mixing all together, bathe the linga with panchamrita and anoint it with water.
Chant the Shiva Panchakshara Mantra — Om Namah Shivaya — in the worship of all four praharas.
Offer flowers in the eight names of Bhava, Sharva, Rudra, Pashupati, Ugra, Mahan, Bhima and Ishaan and perform arati and circumambulation of Shiva.
The next day, break the fast after taking a bath in the morning and worshipping the Shankara form of Shiva.
Auspicious times of worship throughout the day
First prahara: 6:13 PM to 9:24 PM. Mantra:
Second prahara: 9.24 AM to 1 AM. Mantra:
Third prahara: 12.35 to 3.46 in the night. Mantra:
Fourth prahara: 3.46 am to 6.56 am. Mantra:
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