Lord Shiva

This is an important day for the devotees of Shiva, who stay awake throughout the night, praying to him. In all major centers of Shoveling worship, Shivaratri, also called Mahashivaratri, is a grand occasion. From the very early morning, Shiva temples are flocked by devotees, mostly women, who come to perform the traditional Shoveling worship and hence hope for favors from the god. All through the day, devotees abstain from eating food and break their fast only the next morning, after the nightlong worship.The day is considered to be specially auspicious for women. According to one myth, Parvati performed tapas, and prayed and meditated on this day to ward off any evil that may befall her husband on the Moonless night. Since then, Mahashivaratri is also believed to bean auspicious occasion for women to pray for the well-being of their husbands and sons. An unmarried woman prays for a husband like Shiva, who is considered to be the ideal husband.

Devotees bathe at sunrise, preferably in the Ganga, or any other holy water source (like the Shiva Sagartank at Khajuraho). They offer prayers to the sun, Vishnu and Shiva. This is a purificatory rite, an important part of all Hindu festivals. Wearing a clean piece of clothing after the holy bath, worshippers carry pots of water to the temple to bathe the Shoveling. The temple reverberates with the sound of bells and shouts of Shankerji ki Jai or'Hail Shiva'. Devotees circumambulate the linga, three or seven times, and then pour water over it. Some also pour milk.

According to a legend in the Ramayana, once King Bhagiratha left his kingdom to mediate for the salvation of the souls of his an castors. He observed a penance to Brahma for a thousand years, requesting Ganga to come down to earth from heaven. He wanted her to wash over his ancestor's ashes to release them from a curse and allow them to go to heaven. Brahma granted his wish but told him to pray to Shiva, who alone could sustain the weight of her descent. Accordingly, Ganga descended on Shiva's head, and after meanderingt through his thick matted locks, reached the earth. According to a modified version, what reached the earth was just sprinkles from his hair. This story is believed to be re-enacted by bathing the linga. The love of water, the primary element of life, is also remembered in this ritualistic action. 

To protect the world from annihilation, shiva drank the deathly poision

The linga is bathed with milk, water and honey. It is then an nointed with sandalwood paste. People offer wood apple or bel leaves and fruit, milk, sandalwood and jujube fruit or ber to the linga. Shiva is believed to be very hot tempered, and hence things, which have a cooling effect, are offered to him. People decorate the linga with flowers and garlands and also offer incense sticks and fruit. In bigger temples, there is almost a stampede as devotees seek favors from the beloved god. Many also employ the services of a priest to perform special prayers.

According to the Shiva Purana, the Mahashivaratri worship must incorporate six items: the ceremonial People offer the cooling bel leaves to the hot-blooded deity bath representing purification of the soul; the vermilion paste applied on the linga after bathing it, representing virtue; food offering which is conducive to longevity and gratification of desires; incense, yielding wealth; the lighting of the lamp which is conducive to the attainment of knowledge; and betel leaves marking satisfaction with worldly pleasures. These six items, till today, form an indispensable part of Maha shivaratri, be it a simple ceremony at home or a grand temple worship. By offering water, hugging the linga, lighting the diya and incense, and ringing the temple bells, devotees call into focus all their senses, making them acutely aware of themselves and the universe to which they belong.

Shiva being an ascetic god, Mahashivaratri is very popular with ascetics. Thandai, a drink made with cannabis, almonds and milk, is essentially drunk by the devout. This is so because cannabis is said to have been very dear to Shiva. The Puranas contain many stories and legends describing the origin of this festival. According to one, during the samudra manthan, a pot of Poisson merged from the ocean. This terrified the gods and demons as the poison was capable of destroying the entire world, and they ran to Shiva for help. To protect the world from its evil effects, Shiva drank the deathly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. Because of it, his throat turned blue, and he was given the name Neelakantha, the blue-throated one. Shivaratri is the celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world. 

Devotees bathe the shivalinga with milk

Phalguna is a peculiar month. Immediately after Mahashivaratri , almost like a miracle, the trees are full of flowers as if to announce that after winter, the fertility of the earth has been rejuvenated. And this perhaps is the reason why the linga is worshipped throughout India as a symbol of fertility. The festivities differ in various parts of India. In southern Karnataka, for example, children are allowed to get into all kinds of mischief and as king for punishment is the rule of the day, probably originating from the mythological incident of Shiva punishing Brahma for lying. The Vishvanatha Temple at Kashi in Varanasi celebrates the linga (symbolic of the pillar of light) and the manifestation of Shiva as the light of supreme wisdom. Mahashivaratri is thus not only a ritual but also a cosmic definition of the Hindu universe. It dispels ignorance, emanates the light of knowledge, makes one aware of the universe, ushers in the spring after the cold and dry winter, and invokes the supreme power to take cognizance of the beings who were created by him.

A legend explains the benefits of the all-night worship of Shiva. There was once a poor tribal man who was a great devotee of Shiva. One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day- break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a linga below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss.

This story is recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast devotees eat the prasad offered to Shiva.

There is another possible reason for the origin of the all-night worship. Being a moonless night, people worshipped the god who wears the crescent moon as an adornment in his hair, Shiva. This was probably to ensure that the moon rose the next night.