5 Facts about Mahashivratri you must know

Mahashivratri, the night of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati, is here. This one is an exuberant nightlong festival that Hindus celebrate. This beautiful day is observed every year on the 13th night or 14th day of the 11th Hindu month of Phalguna or Maagh (February-March). It is not random timing, but it’s when the northern hemisphere creates a natural surge of energy in the human system, making it easier to tap into our spiritual nature. If you count the many auspicious days in Hindu culture, Mahashivratri will be at the top of the list. Maha Shiv Ratri is a compilation of three words which means the grand night of Lord Shiva. The festival is celebrated the entire day, but the night is the main time of this festival. Maha Shivaratri stands apart from other Hindu festivals. On this festival, people focus on fasting and meditating.

During the daytime, people visit the temples and do their puja, Rudraabhishek, and bhajans are being played. But, it’s the nighttime that invites people to stay awake through the night in quiet reflection. Meditating at night time while staying awake until dawn is one of the main rituals of this festival. The spiritual leaders’ advice is to keep the spine straight while meditating through the night as that helps to channel the special energy that flows during this time.

Staying awake and doing bhajans or listening to the stories of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati is also observed by many devotees. However, spiritual leaders always focus on using these hours of this special day for deep meditation. The goal of blessings could be anything like family life, personal growth, or spiritual seeking, this time is the best to ask it all from Lord Shiva.

These are some of the many basic things we know about this festival. These rituals and a lot of stories are something we have grown up hearing about this auspicious festival. But, there are a lot more facts about Mahashivratri, which we are quite sure you all don’t know! So, through this blog post, we aim to discuss some of the lesser-known but important facts about Maha Shivratri.

So, keep reading to know more about culture and mythology. If you believe in the higher power then you are going to feel really positive by the end of this blog post. Come, let’s read!

Tandava Dance – It was on this night that Lord Shiva performed the Tandava dance. This is Lord Shiva’s epic dance. This is the furious dance of all creation and destruction in the Universe. It is also called Tandav Natyam. There are seven types of Tandava dance. The Tandava performed in happiness is called Ananda Tandava, and the one that is performed in a violent mood is called Rudra Tandava. The other types of tandava identified are Tripura Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, Samara Tandava, Kaali Tandava, Uma Tandava and Gauri Tandava. Tandava dance is called the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. This strota is called a poetic masterpiece that is known to symbolise the cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction. The posture of Shiva Tandava is Lord Shiva with a raised right hand holding a damru that signifies the sound of creation. On his left hand, he is holding a fire that symbolises destruction and transformation. Through his right foot, crushing the demon Apasmara, represents the triumph of knowledge over ignorance.

Special Night for Unmarried Women – Girls feel that Maa Parvati is very lucky to have a husband like Lord Shiva, who loved her so much. Each girl wants to have a husband like Lord Shiva, and for that, this is the best night to convince him through devotion. Unmarried girls can observe fast and do his puja, aarti, and Rudra Abhishek and convince him to give them the husband of their dreams.  After Sati’s death, Lord Shiva went into deep meditation. After many years, with the help of Kamadeva, Parvati was able to break his meditation. Lord Shiva recognised her and married her. Also, the married women pray for their husbands well being.

Nishita Kala – One of the main rituals of this festival is to stay awake at night time and do meditation. Since this is the festival of the nighttime itself, the night is the most important time for this festival. Nishita kala is the most important time of the night of Mahashivratri. Nishita Kala is the time when Lord Shiva manifested as Shiva Lingam on earth is the most important time of the night for Shiva puja. It is believed that by worshipping Lord Shiva and observing Maha Shivaratri fast for the entire night, one can have control over negative thoughts like anger, lust, greed etc. It is believed that on the night of Maha Shivratri, Lord Shiva appears on earth to give blessings to his devotees and accept their offerings.

Neelkanth flower – Samudra Manthan is a very important occasion in Indian Mythology. It is believed that during the Samudra Manthan time, a fatal drink (poison)  came up which could destroy the gods and goddesses. Since there was no other option, Lord Shiva drank the poison which made his throat turn blue. He kept the poison in his throat and got the name – Neel Kantha. This is the reason that Lord Shiva is offered Neelkanth flowers and prayed to.

Different significance to different people – Mahashivratri has different meanings and importance to different people. Generally, for normal family people, the festival is worshipped as Shiva’s wedding anniversary. For the ascetics, it is the day he became one with Kailash, and he became Achaleshwara and merged with the mountain. The ascetics see this day as the day of stillness because, after his deep meditation, Lord Shiva became as still as a mountain and became a part of it, merging and preserving all his knowing in Kailash.

The Straight Spine Act – The spiritual guides always advise to stay awake at night time on Maha Shivratri and engage in deep meditation. As per them and other legends, the significance of the day is that there is an upward movement of energy in the human body. They insist on sitting in an erect spine position in whichever Sadhna is being performed because there is great assistance from nature. All evolution in a human being is fundamentally an upward movement of energy.

Pancha Bhuti Aradhana – The human body and the basis of all creations are made of five elements. It is believed that purifying the five elements within the human body leads to the well being of the body and the mind. This process also shapes the body to become a stepping stone towards one’s ultimate well-being rather than being a hurdle. This is a yogic system and it is called bhuta shuddhi. This word simply translates to purification of the five elements. Many spiritual leaders do this on the day of Mahashivratri and encourage devotees to be a part of it. As per them, this is the best day for this yogic practice.

Conclusion

Our Indian mythology is so vast that there is enough to learn about everything every day. We are sure some of these facts were new to you in a lot of ways. We aimed to bring some of the freshest facts about Mahashivratri to all our readers. So, this Maha Shivaratri let us all embrace the night as a journey inward. Let us all take a moment to connect with Lord Shiva’s energy that will help us awaken the universal consciousness that resides within us. It is believed that the silence you hold can transform this night into a powerful experience of inner growth and spiritual alignment. Happy Mahashivratri, may Lord Shiva’s guidance and love always be with us. He is the one who will guide us for our betterment, always!

Mahashivratri, the night of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati, is here. This one is an exuberant nightlong festival that Hindus celebrate. This beautiful day is observed every year on the 13th night or 14th day of the 11th Hindu month of Phalguna or Maagh (February-March). It is not random timing, but it’s when the northern hemisphere creates…