Maha Shivaratri a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of Lord Shiva. There is a Shivaratri in every luni-solar month of the Hindu ...
Maha Shivaratri a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of Lord Shiva. There is a Shivaratri in every luni-solar month of the Hindu calendar, on the month's 13th night/14th day, but once a year in late winter (February/March, or Magha) and before the arrival of Summer, marks Maha Shivaratri which means "the Great Night of Shiva". This year Mahashivratri is celebrated on 4th March 2019.
It is a major festival in Hinduism, this festival is solemn and marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating on ethics and virtues such as self-restraint, honesty, noninjury to others, forgiveness, and the discovery of Shiva. The ardent devotees keep awake all night. Others visit one of the Shiva temples or go on pilgrimage to Jyotirlingams. This is an ancient Hindu festival whose origin date is unknown.
On this auspicious day world observe Shivratri Vrat or Upvaas or fast. Maha Shivaratri is the wonderful opportunity for the followers of Lord Shiva, to praise the God and seek his blessings. The fasting involves refraining from eating any food and not sleeping throughout the night.
The Mahashivratri fasting begins on the morning of Shivratri and ends next day morning or the Amavasya morning. Since it is a long Upvaas or Vrat, many people consume a special meal known as ‘phalar.’ Devotees wake up before sunrise and take bath and wear clean clothes. Most people then visit a nearby Shiva Temple. In most places, Shivratri is largely observed in temples.
The ritual of bathing Shiva Linga with milk and honey takes place in temples of the diety, on the festival. While in the temple, the devotees would sing devotional songs and bhajans, to invoke Lord Shiva. All through the day and night during the festival, they would indulge in chanting of three words ‘Om Namah Shivaya.
Different legends describe the significance of Maha Shivaratri. According to one legend in the Shaivism tradition, this is the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance of creation, preservation and destruction. The chanting of hymns, the reading of Shiva scriptures and the chorus of devotees joins this cosmic dance and remembers Shiva's presence everywhere. According to another legend, this is the night when Shiva and Parvati got married. A different legend states that 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.
The significance of dance tradition to this festival has historical roots. The Maha Shivaratri has served as a historic confluence of artists 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.
After wearing new clothes, the devotees would visit the nearest Lord Shiva temple to worship the deity. The ritual of bathing Shiva Linga with milk and honey takes place in temples of the diety, on the festival.
While in the temple, the devotees would sing devotional songs and bhajans, to invoke Lord Shiva. All through the day and night during the festival, they would indulge in chanting of three words ‘Om Namah Shivaya’.
Some people do not even prefer Peanuts in fasts, in this case you can avoid using Peanuts while preparing the following recipes. You can choose any of the following food item to prepare from the given list.
Lauki ka halwa
Thandai
SagoSaboodana Khichdi
Cashew Nut Barfi (Kaju Katli)
Saboodana Kheer
Green Gram Fry
Potato Pumpkin Pancakes
Shivratri Raita
Aloo Tikki
Sweet Yam (Chakravelli)
Pachi Pulusu (Raw Rasam)
Aloo Khichdi
Roti made of kuttu flour or singhada (water chestnut) flour.
(Buttermilk) Kadhi with singhada flour.
Potato curry, sweet potato chaat, paneer and aloo chaat, sago vacla, potato & kuttu atta
pakodi in cords, raw banana vadaas.
Almond’s halwa.
Porridge made out of saamak along with ingredients like bottlegaurd and paneer.
Fruits and milk
Wish you a Happy Maha Shivratri to all. Stay tuned to this website. We will update Shivratri Images here. Press CTRL+D to bookmark this page for easy navigation.
It is a major festival in Hinduism, this festival is solemn and marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating on ethics and virtues such as self-restraint, honesty, noninjury to others, forgiveness, and the discovery of Shiva. The ardent devotees keep awake all night. Others visit one of the Shiva temples or go on pilgrimage to Jyotirlingams. This is an ancient Hindu festival whose origin date is unknown.
On this auspicious day world observe Shivratri Vrat or Upvaas or fast. Maha Shivaratri is the wonderful opportunity for the followers of Lord Shiva, to praise the God and seek his blessings. The fasting involves refraining from eating any food and not sleeping throughout the night.
The Mahashivratri fasting begins on the morning of Shivratri and ends next day morning or the Amavasya morning. Since it is a long Upvaas or Vrat, many people consume a special meal known as ‘phalar.’ Devotees wake up before sunrise and take bath and wear clean clothes. Most people then visit a nearby Shiva Temple. In most places, Shivratri is largely observed in temples.
Maha Shivratri History & Traditions:
The ritual of bathing Shiva Linga with milk and honey takes place in temples of the diety, on the festival. While in the temple, the devotees would sing devotional songs and bhajans, to invoke Lord Shiva. All through the day and night during the festival, they would indulge in chanting of three words ‘Om Namah Shivaya.
Different legends describe the significance of Maha Shivaratri. According to one legend in the Shaivism tradition, this is the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance of creation, preservation and destruction. The chanting of hymns, the reading of Shiva scriptures and the chorus of devotees joins this cosmic dance and remembers Shiva's presence everywhere. According to another legend, this is the night when Shiva and Parvati got married. A different legend states that 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.
The significance of dance tradition to this festival has historical roots. The Maha Shivaratri has served as a historic confluence of artists 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.
Maha Shivratri Fasting Rules:
Traditionally, people who observe fast on Mahashivaratri would take bath early in the morning, with warm water and black sesame seeds. However, nowadays, people prefer to take a hot water shower, in the morning. By bathing, it is believed that the bodily impurities are washed away.After wearing new clothes, the devotees would visit the nearest Lord Shiva temple to worship the deity. The ritual of bathing Shiva Linga with milk and honey takes place in temples of the diety, on the festival.
While in the temple, the devotees would sing devotional songs and bhajans, to invoke Lord Shiva. All through the day and night during the festival, they would indulge in chanting of three words ‘Om Namah Shivaya’.
What food we can eat While Observing Shivaratri Fast?
No meal is eaten after sunset on Shivaratri day. But many people don’t know what to eat on this day. So here we have listed some recipes which you can eat during the fasting. Though many go on a diet of fruits and milk, some do not consume even a drop of water all through the day and night of Shivaratri Festival. Saindha Salt is used in the food prepared for Vrat(Mahashivratri Vrat) and even Black pepper is used instead of Red Chilli.
Shivaratri Recipes:
Some people do not even prefer Peanuts in fasts, in this case you can avoid using Peanuts while preparing the following recipes. You can choose any of the following food item to prepare from the given list.
Lauki ka halwa
Thandai
SagoSaboodana Khichdi
Cashew Nut Barfi (Kaju Katli)
Saboodana Kheer
Green Gram Fry
Potato Pumpkin Pancakes
Shivratri Raita
Aloo Tikki
Sweet Yam (Chakravelli)
Pachi Pulusu (Raw Rasam)
Aloo Khichdi
Roti made of kuttu flour or singhada (water chestnut) flour.
(Buttermilk) Kadhi with singhada flour.
Potato curry, sweet potato chaat, paneer and aloo chaat, sago vacla, potato & kuttu atta
pakodi in cords, raw banana vadaas.
Almond’s halwa.
Porridge made out of saamak along with ingredients like bottlegaurd and paneer.
Fruits and milk
Wish you a Happy Maha Shivratri to all. Stay tuned to this website. We will update Shivratri Images here. Press CTRL+D to bookmark this page for easy navigation.
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