Mahashivaratri Pooja: A Sacred Festival For Lord Shiva

by Astro Ved Online Astrology Consultation

The night of Maha Shivaratri is a day to celebrate the glory of Lord Shiva. It comes in the Hindu month of Phalguna. It is considered one among the most prominent of twelve Masik (monthly) Shivaratri. Devotees of Lord Shiva consider it to be the most auspicious day of the year to worship Shiva.

It is believed that he will relieve them of all miseries and bestow abundant blessings on them.

The celebration goes on throughout the night. Devotees observe fast, keep vigil, and perform many activities like singing hymns on Shiva, chanting Panchakshari mantras, singing devotional songs or bhajans, meditating and offering water, fruit juices, Panchamrit, flowers, and Bel Patra to Shiva Lingam. Worshipping him on this day can easily appease him and redeem one of all sins and help attain spiritual growth.

Significance of the Pooja on Maha Shivaratri

Astrologically, due to the influence of the planets on the earth’s northern hemisphere on this day, a natural upsurge of energy takes place in the human body. Sitting straight with an erect spine and observing vigil all through the night makes one feel spiritually elevated. The fast observed by devotees also prepares the body and mind to absorb the divine vibrations of this holy night. Abishekam for Shiva Lingam is performed during the entire night. On this day, the Shiva Lingam is said to emit higher levels of peace, bliss, and cosmic intelligence. This helps to purify the devotee’s mind and soul when performing the rituals for Abishekam. They also acquire a greater capacity to absorb the vibrations, with the result that they feel calm and peaceful.

The Legend of Maha Shivaratri Pooja

There is an interesting legend about Maha Shivaratri Pooja. The Shiva Purana tells the story of a hunter called Gurudruha, who was very strong and ruthless. He also did many cruel things. In fact, there were hardly any good things that he had done. One day he went to the forest, as usual, to hunt and kill animals. His family was starving due to hunger. Though he searched for prey for many hours, he could not find any. As night fell, he became desperate and decided to take shelter in a Bilva tree near a pond, hoping that some animal would come there to slake its thirst. He kept vigil for many hours. To pass the time, he plucked Bilva leaves and threw them down. They fell on a Shiva Linga, which was under the tree. The water from his drinking pot also fell on the Lingam by accident. Finally, after many hours, a deer came to the pond to drink water.

Gurudruha at once aimed his arrow at the deer. But the deer noticed the hunter with his bow and arrow, and it questioned him. It wanted to know the reason why he wanted to kill an innocent animal that had done no harm to him. The hunter explained that his family had nothing to eat, and so he needed to kill the deer. The deer begged the hunter to give her some time to say goodbye to her family and ask her companion to take good care of her little fawns. She promised to return once this was done and even swore an oath. Despite being hungry and tired, the hunter took pity on her and let her go so that she could carry out her tasks.

After the deer left, there came two other deer during the second and third quarter of the night. The same thing occurred with them too. The hunter, in an astonishing departure from his cruel nature, let them go as well. All three deer were from the same family. They met together, and each deer decided to sacrifice its own life to save the others. The three deer returned to where the hunter was waiting and asked him to decide which deer he wanted to kill. On seeing their sincerity and self-sacrificing nature, he changed his mind and decided to spare all of them.

At that point, Shiva emerged from the Linga and told the hunter that as he had offered Pooja during all the four quarters of night, he was very pleased with his devotion and wanted to grant him a boon. The hunter was amazed, but he had no further desire when he got darshan of the Lord. Shiva said that all his sins and bad qualities had been cleansed, and now he had reached a divine state. He also blessed his family with abundance, even for coming generations. This event supposedly occurred on Maha Shivaratri day. As the hunter had unknowingly offered Pooja to Shiva and observed a vigil throughout the night, he was blessed by Shiva.

This profound story signifies that performing Maha Shivratri Pooja by even a sinful and ignorant person can cleanse them of their sins and elevate them to a divine state. Thus Maha Shivaratri is a holy day that presents one a great opportunity to attain a state of divinity and spiritual growth.