Thursday, Dec 20 2007

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By Malini Bisen Hinduism as a faith and way of life. It is many sided, bound by a common search for truth and has a large pantheon of gods and goddesses. Hinduism grew by a process of acceptance and assimilation. Hinduism is a mono-theistic religion, believing in the Supreme Being from whom emanates everything. The various manifestations of this Being are worshipped in visible forms to enable people to concentrate on the abstract Being. Swami Vivekanand also laid emphasis on the fact that for the purpose of concentration and worship the presence of a physical form is an absolute necessity. Shiv - the word meaning auspicious - is one of the Hindu Trinity, comprising of Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the Preserver and Shiv or Mahesh, the Destroyer and Re-Producer of life. Time is invisible and formless. Therefore Mahakal Shiv, as per the Vedas, manifested himself as "LINGUM" to make mankind aware of the presence of Eternal Time. That day when Shiv manifested himself in the form of "Lingum" was the fourth day of the dark night in the month of Magh i.e. February-March. This is confirmed by Rishi Markendeya in the sloka :- "That night, when the many-splendoured Shiv-Lingum dazzled the world with its appearance, was the night of the Mahashivratri- the night of the great Shiv". This Mahashivratri festival continues to be celebrated for ever and ever. Maharshi Narad advised mankind to fast on this day and pray to the All-Powerful Shiv so that in all His kindness He pardons all the sins that are committed in the past three lives.

Lord Shiv is portrayed as an ascetic, sitting on a tiger skin, a bunch of poisonous snakes coiled round his blue neck, his hair and his body. He received the waters of the sacred river Ganga that rushed down from heaven with an unimaginable force and ferocity in the coil of his hair on his head to save the world from total annihilation and released the water slowly on the plains to flow. Lord Shiv has a third eye in the centre of his forehead along with a crescent moon. His most powerful weapon is the Trishul, the trident. His favourite mount is the sacred bull, Nandi who is also worshipped. His abode is on the high majestic Kailash mountain where he resides with his celestial consort goddess Parvati. Lord Shiv is worshipped in the form of `Shiv-Lingum' which symbolises the power behind the creation. As Nataraj, the master of the art of dancing, he is depicted in sculptures in bronze and images in metal. In fact, the entire world of art revolves round Lord Shiv and goddess Parvati. Thus this Mahashivratri festival is in honour of Lord Shiv. Devotees observe fast the whole day and keep vigil throughout the night. After fasting the whole day devotees bathe with the water that is boiled with black sesame seeds to wash away bodily impurities. Then putting on new clothes they wash the Lingum with milk and perform religious rites, put haldi-kumkum on the lingum and a garland of white and pink lotus flowers. Bel leaves are placed in front of the Lingum and "aarthi" and "bhajans" are sung to invoke his blessings. The aroma of the lighted agarbattis seem to float in the air and from temples are heard the chinning of the bells and the sound of melodious devotional songs. All this surely must reach Mount Kailash and wake Him up from his deep meditation to bless mankind. Our ancient religious scriptures specially `Linga Puran', abound with stories of Lord Shiv's kindness and large-heartedness in giving boons to His devotees.

This festival of Maha Shivratri is held in great esteem in most of the regions in India but especially in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. In Ujjain in the famous temple of Mahakaleshwar Shiv's Lingum is worshipped with the performance of all the religious rites and rituals. The story goes that a powerful demon who lived on Ratnamal mountain attacked Avanti - the name of the present-day Ujjain in those days - and killed a Brahmin sage by putting him in fire. The angry Lord Shiv opened his third eye and burnt the demon to ashes. On that very spot of land where Lord Shiv opened his third eye and killed the demon appeared the Shiv-Lingum. A majestic temple was built on that ground. The mention of this temple is found in `Adi-Brahma Puran' and its detailed description in the `Gyan-Samhita'. The illustrious king Vikramaditya during the time he was the ruler of Ujjaini, visited the MahaKaleshwar temple every morning, after his bath. He bowed before the Shiv-Lingum in all humility and prayed to Lord Shiv to mercifully grant prosperity and happiness to his subjects and peace to the land over which he ruled. He placed one hundred and eleven Bel leaves one by one on the Shiv lingum and while placing each leaf he praised Lord Shanker by reciting the following shlok. In Kashmir, since the majority of Kashmiri Pandits are followers of Shiv, this Mahashivratri festival is observed for fifteen continuous days. The thirteenth day of this festival in Kashmir is known by the name of HERATH which is celebrated with indescribable zest and joy. The Kashmiris belive that the marriage of Shiv and Parvati was celebrated on the day of Herath. In West Bengal Shivratri has become almost a folk festival. Young unmarried girls observe day-long fast, keep awake the whole night, sing devotional songs and pray to Lord Shanker to give them good and virtuous husbands.

In Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh devotees of Shiv take holy bath at Sangam - the confluence of the three sacred rivers - Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati- with faith that all their sins in the past and present be washed away so that they can go to heaven after death. Magh Mela fair is also held in Allahabad. In Maharashtra on this day of Shivratri every temple of Lord Shiv resounds with Vedic mantras and shlokas. These are recited during the Lord Shiv's "Abhishekh" which is the ritual bath given to the Shiv-Lingum. Fasting is observed, night vigil is kept, alms, food and sweets are distributed amongst the poor. In our country there are twelve "JYOTIRLINGAS" of Lord Shiv at twelve places that are sacred to the Hindus. It is believed that all these twelve Jyotilingas are "Swayambhus" meaning that they sprung up by themselves at these places and afterwards only temples were built. Every Hindu believes that at least once in his life-time he must visit these twelve Jyotirlingas and then he will be absolved of all the sinful acts he may have done. These twelve Jyotirlingas are:- Somnath in Kathiawar. Shri-Shailya-Mallikarjun in the South. Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain. Omkarnath on the bank of river Jamuna. Parali-Vaijanath in Marathwada. Bhimashanker on the bank of Bhima river. Rameshwar in South. Naganath in Marathwada. Ghrusneshwar at Daulatabad. Kashi-Vishveshwar in Benares. Kedarnath in Uttar Pradesh. Trimbakeshwar in Nasik. Lord Shiv is known by many names like Shanker, Mahesh, Bholenath, Neelakanth, Shambhu Kailasheshwar, Umanath, Nataraj and others. He is the most sought-after deity amongst the Hindus and pray to him as the god of immense large-heartedness who they believe grant all their wishes. Around him are weaved many interesting stories that reveal His magnanimous heart. Not only this, but these stories and legends also enrich the Indian culture and art. The article is provided by Malini Bisen.