Shubh Maha Shivaratri

[Galaxy]

Tens of thousands throng to Lord Shiva temples to mark Shiva Ratri in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- One of the most awaited annual festivals in Nepal Shiva Ratri, the day of Lord Shiva is being marked with much fan fare with tens of thousands of people thronging to various Shiva temples around the nation on Monday.

The Pashupatinath temple, situated in the heart of the capital Kathmandu and regarded as the most revered and famous Shiva temples in the world, has a higher number of devotees. According to the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), this year the expected numbers of visitors are more than 800,000. At the temple hundreds of people are waiting for their turn to come to take a glimpse of their Lord Shiva whereas the queue has reached to various ends of the city.

The day is marked on the waning 15 days of the moon on the Hindhu lunar calendar and which is the moon less dark day.

This year the Shiva Ratri fell on Monday which is believed to be the day of Lord Shiva, giving significance to the worship.

Each Nepali festival is marked with legendary and mythical stories, the Shiva Ratri also reminds people of the legend which says that his wife Goddess Parvati meditated to keep her husband away from the evils.

Another legend says that Lord Shiva drank poison in order to safeguard gods while they were having a battle with the demons.

The day is marked by fasting especially by the women devotees to get a good husband like other traditional festivals of Nepal.

However, on this day even men fast to get away from all sins and move ahead to nirvana.

Not only for local men and women, the day is very much significant to the "Sadhus" or the Saints who follow the path of lord Shiva.

Thousands of Sadhus also come to visit the Pashupatinath temple on this very day to perform worship as per their traditional rituals.

It is said that the Sadhus will not get nirvana, until and unless they visit the Pashupatinath temple.

Meera Sharma, who was on the queue from 5 a.m. in the morning, told Xinhua that every year she visits the Pashupatinath temple to pay respect to lord Shiva.

A housewife, Sharma says that she does not care about hours of queue but to get a glimpse of lord Shiva is very important to her.

More than 3,500 Sadhus have arrived at Pashupatinath temple to mark the day.

According to the PADT, more than 5,000 volunteers including scouts are mobilized to assist the queues.

Tens of thousands throng to Lord Shiva temples to mark Shiva Ratri in Nepal -- Shanghai Daily | 上海日报 -- English Window to China New

 

[KS]

Hindus celebrate Maha Shivratri in Pakistan, IBN Live News

 

[KS]

Why Celebrate Maha Shivratri?

Maha Shivratri, the night of the worship of Shiva, occurs on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna (Feb / March) when Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of destruction.

Here're three reasons to celebrate Shivratri:

1. The absolute formless God, Sadashiv appeared in the form of "Lingodbhav Moorti" exactly at midnight on Maha Shivratri. That is why all Shiva devotees keep vigil during the night of Shivratri and do "Shivlingam abhishekham" (coronation of the phallic idol) at midnight.

God in his manifestation as Vishnu made his appearance as Krishna at Gokul at midnight, 180 days after Shivratri, commonly known as Janmashtami. Thus, the circle of one year is divided into two by these two auspicious days of the Hindu Calendar.

2. Lord Shiva was married to Devi Parvati on Shivratri. Remember Shiva minus Parvati is pure 'Nirgun Brahman'. With his illusive power, (Maya, Parvati) He becomes the "Sagun Brahman" for the purpose of the pious devotion of his devotees.

3. It is also believed that on Shivratri, Lord Shiva became 'Neelkantham' or the blue-throated by swallowing the deadly poison that came up during the churning of "Kshir Sagar" or the milky ocean. The poison was so deadly that even a drop in His stomach, which represents the universe, would have annihilated the entire world. Hence, He held it in His neck, which turned blue due to the effect of poison. Shivratri is therefore also a day of thanksgiving to the Lord for protecting us from annihilation.

The 14th shloka of Shivmahimna Stotra says: "O three eyed Lord, when the poison came up through the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons, they were all aghast with fear as if the untimely end of all creation was imminent. In your kindness, you drank all the poison that still makes your throat blue. O Lord, even this blue mark does but increase your glory. What is apparently a blemish becomes an ornament in one intent on ridding the world of fear."

 

[Galaxy]

Amazing how BJP govt has ensured Lakhs of Karnataka Shiva devotees get their sacred Ganga water. :thumb:


Bangalore: Krishnaiah Setty to Distribute Ganga Jal on Mahashivaratri Again

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=129933

 

[Galaxy]

Lord Shiva Maha Shivaratri: Celebrations in Himachal from Feb 21 to Feb 27

Lord Shiva Maha Shivaratri in Himachal Pradesh is marked in a unique way, popularly known as Chhoti Kashi, as it sees a congregation of over 200 deities from hundreds of village temples. People chant Om Namah Shivaya which is a popular mantra in Hinduism and particularly in Shaivism.

This year's celebrations will be held from Feb 21 to 27.

The celebrations date back to 1526 when this town was founded during the rule of Ajbar Sen. He had 'invited' all the local deities to mark the founding of the new town.

Since then, the assembly of deities from hundreds of village temples during Mahashivratri has become a tradition.

After the rule of princely states came to an end, the district administration took over the task of inviting the gods and goddesses.

"More than 215 gods and goddesses have been invited to participate in Mahashivratri," Deputy Commissioner Devesh Kumar, the chief organiser of the festival, informed.

The arrival of the deities in beautifully decorated palanquins amid sounds of trumpets and drums has begun. They will stay at the Paddal ground till the fair concludes, said Kumar.

Like the week-long Kullu Dussehra festivities, Mandi's Mahashivratri also sees a congregation of the divine and the temporal.

Mandi, located on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway, is dotted with more than 80 temples. The prominent ones among them are those of Bhutnath, Triloki Nath, Jagannath, Tarna Devi and Jalpa Devi.

The rulers of Mandi state were devotees of Lord Shiva.

According to a legend, ruler Sen (1499-1534) saw in his dreams a cow offering milk to an idol of Lord Shiva. His dreams turned into reality when he himself saw the cow offering milk to an idol.

He then constructed a temple there in 1526 - the Bhutnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. Simultaneously, the foundation of Mandi town was also laid and he shifted his capital here.

During the first day of the fair, Lord Madho Rai, an incarnate of Lord Vishnu and the chief deity, leads the procession. The assembled deities follow him in beautifully decorated palanquins, as per protocol, and assemble at the Bhutnath temple.

Three such processions, locally called Jaleb, would be taken out on the opening, middle and concluding days of the fair, said an organiser.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Governor Urmila Singh will respectively participate on the first and last day of the festival.

Every year the festival attracts scores of tourists, especially foreigners and researchers.

The conduit between the mortals and the deities are the 'gur' - the traditional shamans of Himachal, who form the core of the communities' spiritual sustenance. The 'gur' mediates between the people and the gods.

During the festival, transactions worth millions of rupees, cultural events and rural sports take place.

Lord Shiva Maha Shivaratri: Celebrations in Himachal from Feb 21 to Feb 27 : North News - India Today

 

[Galaxy]

Devotees please Rudra with prayers

Over a lakh turn up at Dharmasthala for Darshana

'Shivaratri', the festival of Lord Shiva was celebrated with fervour in both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
Thousands of devotees thronged at the famous Shiva temples to offer different poojas and to have the glimpse of the Lord.

As a part of Maha Shivaratri, several poojas like Shivapooje, Rudrabhisheka, Javapooje, Mahapooje were performed throughout the day. The devotees who came from different parts of the State waited in a long queue to offer prayers to the Lord at the famous Shiva temples of coastal districts.

In Dharmasthala

Over one lakh devotees paid visit to pious land of Lord Manjunatha in Dharmasthala on Monday. The devotees who came walking from various parts of the State including Bangalore, Mysore, Hassan, Tumkur dipped in river Netravati river had the holy bath prior to having 'darshan' of the God. With jagarane, fasting, bhajans, satsanga, shiva panchakshari patana echoing from every corner of Dharamasthala, the temple town which was decorated beautifully wore the look of Kailasa.

Shatarudrabhisheka was performed four times in the morning following which the chariot was pulled.

Kadri

The temple was buzzing with devotees from Monday morning till late in the evening at Kadri. The temple trust had arranged a special mass prayer, 'Lokakalyana Prarthane' on Monday morning in the temple premises, where the devotees prayed for the welfare of the society.

Bhajans were performed throughout the day and cultural programmes including dance and play on Kshetra Mahime was held in the night. According to estimation over 30,000 devotees visited the temple by Monday evening.

Kudroli

Kudroli Gokarnatheshwara temple too wore a festive as the temple remained jam packed with devotees arriving at the temple. The festive mood was no less than the famous Kudroli Dasara celebrations. As the darkness peeped in, the temple glittered with colourful lights giving a heavenly look to the temple.

Maharudrabhisheka was performed on the Lord throughout the day and night. As the devotees practised 'Jagarane' (staying awake during the night without consuming food), the temple had organised Yakshagana, light music songs and other cultural programmes to keep the devotees awake. Annasantharpana will be offered to over 20,000 devotees on Tuesday afternoon, informed Temple Trust member Harikrishna Bantwal.

The devotees offered special prayers at the historical Mahalingeshwara temple in Puttur.

The Temple Trust informed that over 2500 Rudrabhishekas were performed on Monday. Chandra Mandala Utsava, Kare Ayana Utsava were performed during the night.

Shivaratri was held with grandeur in other temples too including Sri Somanatheshwara temple in Someshwara, Ullal, Umamaheshwari temple in Thokkottu and Durgaparameshwari temple in Kumpala.

Shivaratri in Udupi

Unlike usual, where only prayers for Lord Krishna is recited everyday, the devotees offered day-and-night prayers reciting name of Lord Shiva in Udupi on Monday. The long queues which are normally found in Krishna Mutt temple, were shifted to Anantheshwara and Chandramoulishwwara temples, which are located in front of Krishna mutt on Monday.

Special prayers were offered to the Lord and religious rituals had begun early in the morning which went on till late night. The devotees offered Bilwapatre to the God which holds a special significance during Shivaratri.

Devotees please Rudra with prayers

 

[Mad Indian]

Happy Maha sivarathiri everyone....
But I have been celebrating Sivarathri for the past two weeks because of my exams.... So i am the most pious one here....

 

[Galaxy]

Mahashivratri special: 'Shiva' figures in 4 of the top 5 Google searches!


New Delhi: Apart from Shiva devotees who have thronged Shivalayas and temples on the occassion of Mahashivratri, netizens too have shown remarkable interest in the Hindu deity. As a result on both Google (World's largest search engine) and Twitter (micro-blogging site), words connected to 'Shiva' and 'Shivratri' are trending.

From among the five highest search words today, four of them relate to Shiva. At around 4 pm — 'Om namah Shivaya', was trending as the most searched term. 'Lord Shiva' stood at number two, 'maha Shivratri' was on the third spot, and 'maha Mrityunjay mantra' was on fifth spot. The traffic for those searching for the search item 'Shiva' began as early 6 am and peaked at 10 am.

As per Google Trends' stats the most number of queries were geenrated from the metropolitan cities. The term 'Lord Shiva' was most searched in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai.

On Twitter Trends too 'Happy Mahashivratri', 'Om Namah Shivaya' and 'Har Har Mahadev' stood on the second, sixth and seventh spot respectively.

Mahashivratri special: 'Shiva' figures in 4 of the top 5 Google searches! - www.daily.bhaskar.com

 

[sayareakd]

 

[SpArK]

 

[KS]

How many of you went to Temple yesterday....Be honest

 

[mukhi]

Wishing u all a Shubh Maha Shivaratri..May the eternal one shower u with all his blessings !

Har Har Mahadev.

Har Har Mahadev


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