Wherever there is a Shiva-ling in this movable and immovable universe, whether it is small or extremely huge, Lord Shiva gets absorbed in the divine form on this day of Mahashivratri. On this day, he accepts the worship of the devotees. Lord Shri Hari Vishnu also loves the day of Mahashivratri. In today’s blog, I will be providing some very rare and important information about Mahashivratri,.This is a sacred day, which is mentioned in Shiv Mahapuran composed by Ved Rishi Shri Ved Vyas ji with the immense compassion of Lord Bholenath.
Although there are 12 Shivratri in a year, which falls on the Chaturdashi of Krishna paksha of each month. But the Shivratri that falls on the Chaturdashi of Krishna paksha of phalgun month is known as Mahashivratri. In fact there are different beliefs regarding the holy festival of Mahashivratri in Hindu religion. Some celebrate this festival as the birthday of Lord Shiva, some celebrate this day as the day on which Lord Shiva drank the poison, which came out of the Samudra Manthan and some celebrate this day as the marriage of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati.
But today I am narrating the story through the knowledge described in the Vidyeshwar Sanhita section of Shiv Mahapuran. When the Sonkadi sages asked from Sut that, what are the two forms of Lord Shiva and how they formed? Please explain us.
Three God are born who called ‘TRIDEV’
Then Sut ji has said that, due to Munishrestha being in the form of Brahma, Lord Shiva has been called formless and being beautiful including Anapratham , he has also been called corporeal. This is the reason why the formless Linga and the corporeal idol of Lord Shiva are worshipped. Apart from Lord Shiva, other gods are not physically present, hence formless gender is not available for them anywhere.
Lord Vishnu was born from the infinite Parambrahma and Brahma sitting on the Lotus was born from the navel of Lord Vishnu. Parambrahma assigned the responsibility of creation of the universe to Lord Brahma and made Lord Shri Hari Vishnu the sustainer of the universe. And Lord Shiva himself being born from the Bekuti i.e. the middle part of the forehead of Lord Brahma, took the form of Rudra and was established as the creator of the universe. In this way, out of Lord Parambrahma, three gods were born who are called ‘Tridev’.
Dispute between Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma
Further, Sut ji explained to sages, “he says “O great sages”, once there was a dispute between Lord Vishnu and Brahmadev about, who is more powerful? . Due to this dispute, all gods became frightened, worried and extremely distressed. To find the solution, all the gods went to Divya Kailash peak and praised Chandramouli Lord Chandrashekar Mahadev regarding this matter.
Then pleased with the prayer of the gods, Lord Mahadev created himself in the form of a formless and endless, fierce pillar of fire in the middle of the dispute of Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. This fiery pillar was more luminous than the brightness of millions of suns. Subsequently both Shri Brahma and Shri Vishnu tried to find out the height and depth of the pillar of light.
Then Shri Brahma went to see the upper end of the pillar and Shri Vishnu went to find the lower end of the pillar. But both of them could not find the end and beginning of the pillar. After that, Lord Brahmadev and Lord Vishnu, folded their hands and stood silently on the right and left side of the pillar. Then they worshipped the Lord Mahadev and offered him the highest place, and then offered him sacred objects i.e. long lasting objects like precious earrings (kundal), sacred clothes, flower garland, silk clothes, sacred thread camphor, sandalwood and incense, lamp.
The fruits, eatables and other divine gifts whose glory was beyond the reach of even gods also was offered to lord shiva. This was worthy only for pashupati i.e. supreme soul.
That’s why this day is know as Mahashivratri
Thus, first of all Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu worshipped Lord Sankar there. Pleased with this, the Lord Shiva reduced his beginning and end The Jyotirmayalinga form became extremely small. Lord shiva got very happy with lord brahma and lord vishnu and blessed that today onwards, the formless and corporeal form will be worshipped. That’s why this day is the most sacred and the greatest of all the days.
Today, onwards this day will be know as Mahashivratri. On this day of Mahashivratri, I will be especially absorbed in Linga. And I will accept the worship of the devotees. Whoever devotee will do the darshan and worship with true feelings, their wishes will be fulfilled. And they will have good children, wealth and splendor and will attain salvation by giving up all the worldly pleasures.
Since then Mahashivratri is celebrated on this holy day. On this day all the devotees worship Lord Shiva with true heart, offer milk and water on the Shivling, offer fruits, flowers, bel leaves, datura etc. They apply sandalwood paste and light incense lamps. On this day, God becomes extremely happy and fulfills all the wishes of his devotees. Bestows them with happiness and good fortune and removes all the problems in their life and opens the doors of success.
Another Story of Mahashivaratri
There is one more story of Mahashivaratri, which is quite different from the earlier story. During Samudra Manthan, when both the Sura and Asuras were churning the ocean which was an extensive process. Mount Mandara was used as the churning rod , and Vasuki naga as the churning rope. The mount Mandara was so heavy that both Suras and Asuras were not able to lift the mountain. Then, Vishnu flew upon his mount Garuda and placed the Mandara on his mount and carried it to the ocean, which has to be churned. Reaching their destination, Vasuki coiled himself around Mandara.
Vishnu counseled the suras to tug from the head of the serpent and the asuras the tail, but perceiving it as inauspicious the asuras refused. The devas relented and held the tail henceforth and the churning commenced. However, Mandara was too enormous and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Vishnu, in the form of Kuruma avatar came to the rescue and supported the mountain on his shell.
The Samudra Manthana bequeathed a panoply of substances from the Ocean. One of them was the lethal poison known as Halahala or Kalkut. This terrified the gods and the demons because the poison was so powerful that it could destroy all of creation. The asuras were poisoned by fumes emitted by Vasuki. Despite this, the suras and the asuras pulled back and forth on the snake’s body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean
Lord Shiva consumed the poison
To save the Universe from the poison, Lord Shiva consumed the poison to protect the three worlds, the consumption of which gave a blue hue to his throat, offering him the epithet Neelakantha. After drinking the poison, Lord Shiva fell unconscious. On seeing this great sacrifice, both Sura, Asuras and all the living beings were pleading Lord Shiva to wake up. After some time, Lord Shiva got consciousness. And every one was happy to see that. Lord Shiva was very happy to see the love for him from his devotees on this day. This day is celebrated as Mahashivaratri, and as per the rituals, the devotees will be awake throughout the night and chant “Om Namah Shivaya”. On this day, Lord Shiva will be pleased whoever will be awake throughout night and chants his name.
So this was a little information about Mahashivratri, a holy festival celebrated in Hindu religion. How did you like this information about Mahashivratri, please tell me by commenting and please share with everyone. Om Namah Shivaya. 🙏
