Shivratri, or Mahashivaratri, as the name indicates is the
night of Lord Shiva. It is observed on the night before ‘amavasya’ in the Hindu
month of Magh/Phalgun (February – March). In 2013, the date of Shivaratri is
March 10.
Unlike other festivals associated with Hinduism, Shivratri
is a night dedicated largely to prayers and not to celebrations. Of course,
when Lord Shiva is worshipped there is bliss all around but the bliss is of
Brahman realization.
The importance of Shivaratri is closely associated with
‘amavasi’ (the no moon night or full dark night)). Amavasi symbolically
represents Kaliyuga. Lord Shiva appeared just before the beginning of Kaliyuga
to rid the world of evil and ignorance, which is symbolically represented
through Amavasi. Therefore Mahashivratri is celebrated to get rid of evil and
ignorance.
On the Shivratri day, Lord Shiva is worshipped in a special
form of Linga called ‘Lingodabhavamurti.’ It is a lingam in the form of fire
which has neither a beginning nor an end. It must be noted here that ‘linga’
means ‘sign.’ And it is merely an attempt to capture the formless or Brahman.
There are numerous legends and myths associated with
Shivratri, which is mainly found the Puranas associated with Shiva. An
important myth is that Shivaratri is the birthday of Lord Shiva – this is
because the formless Lord Shiva appeared for the first time in the form of
Lingodabhavamurti or Jyotirlinga before Lord Vishnu and Brahma.
Other important myths include that of Tandava, the
consummation of poison during the churning of ocean (Samudramanthan), hunter
accidentally dropping the leaves of bilva, the loss of importance of Ketki
flower, which is now only offered during Shivratri.
Incidentally, there is a Shivratri in each month of the
Hindu calendar. This is known as Masa
Shivratri and is observed by staunch Shiva devotees.
Another important Shivratri
in the year is during Shravan month (July - August).
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