How To Do Shivratri Jagran
The Mahashivratri fasting begins on the morning of Shivratri and ends next day morning or the Amavasya morning. Devotees wake up before sunrise and take bath and wear clean clothes. Applying of sacred ash, or vibhuthi, is an important aspect on the day. People also wear a Rudraksha Mala. You Know Why One Should Do Jagaran On The Auspicious Day. Anantha Lakshmi Garu Explains Maha.
Mahashivratri
An Indian woman dressed as Hindu goddess Kali participates in a Shivaratri procession in Allahabad, India, in February 2014. AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar SinghShivaratri - sometimes written Shivratri - means Night of Shiva.This is a day in honour of the god Shiva and is held on the 13th or 14th day of every month.But once a year, there is a Maha Shivaratri - or Great Night of Shiva - on the new moon day in Maagha, the 11th month in the Hindu calendar.This usually falls in February or March, before the arrival of spring.In 2018, the date of the Maha Shivaratri is Tuesday, February 13. What are the origins of this festival?It was on this day that Shiva is said to have saved the world from destruction on condition that people worshipped him with great enthusiasm.Another legend says that Shiva simply named this as his favourite day when asked by the goddess Parvati.A third story says that a hunter was unable to find any game and so decided to wait in a woodapple tree. He threw down leaves in the hope they would attract deer but was unaware there was a sacred worshipping place to Shiva beneath the tree.The god himself appeared and blessed the hunter with wisdom for his patience. From that day, the man stopped eating meat.Religious texts explain: 'During the Vigil Night of Shiva, we are brought to the moment of interval between destruction and regeneration; it symbolises the night when we must contemplate that which watches the growth out of the decay.'
During Maha Shivaratri we have to be alone with our sword, the Shiva in us. We have to look behind and before, to see what evil needs eradicating from our heart, what growth of virtue we need to encourage.' Shiva is not only outside of us but within us.
To unite ourselves with the One Self is to recognize the Shiva in us.' So what happens at Maha Shivaratri? A women dressed as Hindu goddess Kali participates in a procession on the eve of Maha Shivaratri in Jammu, India, in 2014.
How To Do Shivratri Jagran Live
AP Photo/Channi AnandThis is a major Hindu festival about overcoming darkness and ignorance in life and the world.Unlike most other festivals in Hinduism, the Maha Shivaratri is held at night and is a solemn occasion rather than a time of revelry.The focus is on, prayers, poems, meditation and reflection and also includes an all-night vigil at temples, which are adorned with lights and colourful decorations.This is a time to focus on restraint, forgiveness, repentance, honesty and kindness. A Shadu, or holy man, looks into a mirror while applying paint to his face inside Pashupatinath temple during the celebration of the Maha Shivaratri festival on February 17, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.