Dear Readers,
Greetings of the day!
On the occasion of Mahashivaratri, which is falling on Sunday, the 10th
March 2013; I congratulate you and wish you a healthy and wealthy year ahead. I pray to
Almighty, let this Mahashivaratri may bring peace happiness, harmony in your life
and you may enjoy the true purpose of your living on the mother earth planet.
Mahashivaratri is an auspicious and important festival of
Hindus, especially for the devotees of Lord Shiva who celebrate the religious
festival with great enthusiasm. The Mahashivaratri festival, also much popular
as 'Shivaratri' or 'Great Night of Lord Shiva', is observed on the 13th
night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha every year on the month of Phalguna or
Maagh according to the Hindu calendar. Devotees on Mahashivaratri throng to
temples and holy shrines to offer prayers and please Lord Shiva. Like each
year, Mahashivaratri 2013 will be celebrated on Sunday, March 10 by decorating
the Shiv temples in colourful ways.
According to Hindu mythology, Mahashivaratri is Lord Shiva's
favourite day. Devotees on this day remain on fast or perform hour
long spiritual meditation by following rituals to commemorate Mahashivaratri
and be blessed with grace. In the early morning, they visit temples to offer
cold water, milk and bael leaves on the Lingam, a symbol for the worship of
Lord Shiva, after properly cleaning it. Many sadhus on Mahashivaratri visit
shrines and offer prasadam to worshipers to spread the significance of the
festival. Wearing a garland made from rudraksha and applying turmeric vermilion
or holy ash on forehead symbolizes a holy ritual on this religious festival.
Holy mantras are also recited and special puja ceremonies are held throughout
the night to celebrate Shivaratri.
Numerous interesting and intriguing mythological stories are
believed pertaining to the celebration to Mahashivaratri. In a version,
devotees believe that Shivaratri is auspicious because it marks the marriage
ceremony of Lord Shiva and Parvati. However, many believe that Mahashivaratri
signifies the auspicious night when Lord Shiva performed the dance 'Tandava' that
led to the creation, conservation and devastation of the universe.
Mahashivaratri is not only one of the magnificent festivals in India but also
in Nepal and other regions where Lord Shiva is worshipped. Among the various
popular shrines, Amarnath temple pilgrimage or Mount Amarnath (about 140 km
from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir) is believed to be the holiest in Hinduism.
Surrounded by fascinating mountainous terrains and picturesque snowy mountains
this shrine remains crowded by pilgrims throughout the year especially on Mahashivaratri.
For women, Mahashivaratri is an auspicious festival. They observe fast and
offer prayers both to Lord Shiva and Parvati to shower their grace with a
peaceful and blissful married life.
Amid celebrations, to share the excitement and spread the essence of the Mahashivaratri
festival people send inspirational Mahashivaratri SMS and lovely Mahashivaratri
messages to their dear ones. The collection of Mahashivaratri SMS gives
individuals the privilege just to say 'Happy Shivratri' or to mark Shivratri
2013 as a special occasion.
In Hinduism, the Absolute is known as the Brahman and is formless and
without attributes. But the human being has form and attributes so we need some
form of the Absolute on which we can concentrate. The lingam which is a
rounded, upright stone is used as a symbol of Shiva. Worship of the lingam is
one of the most important aspects of the worship of Shiva. The word
"lingam" actually means a sign or characteristic. So the Shiva lingam
is a sign of Shiva and helps us to remember him in his formless aspect. The
Shiva lingam is also considered to be the divine phallus, containing within it
the seed of the universe. From it all life is created. Together with the yoni
or seat on which it rests and which corresponds to the female vulva, the
yoni-lingam represents the union of man and woman, Shiva and Shakti, the cosmic
Spirit in union with the cosmic Prakriti, which brings everything into
existence.
There are thousands of lingams all over India but some of them have a special
importance. The most important of these are called Jyotirlingas and they are
twelve in number. As given in the sloka, their names are Somnatha,
Mallikarjuna, Mahakala, Omkara, Kedara, Bhimshankara. Vishvanatha, Tryambaka,
Vaidynatha, Nagesha, Rameswara and Ghushnesha. Most of these are supposed to be
self-formed or sprouted out of their own will. A few have been installed by
human hands. Every Shiva worshipper dreams of doing a pilgrimage to all these
twelve Jyotirlingas at least once in his lifetime.
Before we take a tour of all of them in turn, let us recite the famous
sloka given in the Shiva Purana describing the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva.
"Saurashtre Somanatham cha, Sri Saile
Mallikarjuna.
Ujjanyinyam Mahakalam, Omkare Malamleshwara.
Himalaye to Kedaram, Dakinyam Bhimashankara.
Varanasyam cha Vishweshwam, Tryambakam Gautameethate.
Paralyam Vaidyanatham cha, Nagesham Darukavane.
Sethu bande Ramesham, Grishnesam cha
Shivalaya".
Somnath
Somnatha is the name of Shiva in the town of the same name situated in Prabhas
Patan in Saurashtra in the state if Gujarat in India. Prabhas Patan is the
place where the Yadava clan fought amongst themselves and came to an end as per
Lord Krishna’s wish.
Somnatha is connected with the story of Daksha’s curse to Chandra or Soma who
is the moon God in Hindu mythology. Daksha was one of the patriarchs and Soma
was his son-in-law. However Daksha took a dislike of Soma and cursed him that
he would wane away to nothing. Soma appealed to Lord Shiva to save him from
this curse. Somnatha is the place where Soma prayed to Shiva. Shiva decreed
that he would not wane away to nothing but would have only fourteen days of
waning after which he would start waxing for the rest of the month.
Mallikarjuna
Mallikarjuna is the name of Shiva in the town of Sri Sailam near the town of
Kurnool in the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. The temple is rich in
carvings and architectural wealth. Adi Shankara is supposed to have composed
his great poem called "Shivananda Lahari" at this temple.
The legend concerning this temple is connected with Karthikeya, the son
of Shiva. He had left Kailasa and gone to stay on a hill in south India.
Parvati was bereft at the departure of her son and begged Shiva to take her
there. Kartikeya refused to let them live on his own hill so Shiva and Parvati
took up their residence on the hill at Sri Saila from which spot they could pay
periodic visits to their beloved son. An interesting thing here is the sound of
buzzing which seems to come from within the granite wall at the back of the
temple. Bees are supposed to have made their home here but they have never
harmed any of the devotees.
Mahakaleshwar
Mahakaleshwar is situated in Madhya Pradesh in the ancient and historic town of
Ujjain or Avanti. It is situated on the river Kshipra which is one of the four
places in which the Kumbha Mela takes place. It is mentioned in the Bhagavad
Purana as being the place where the famous rishi called Sandeepany had his
gurukulam or institute of learning where all the princes of the land went for
their education. In fact Lord Krishna and his brother Balarama also did their
course of studies in this institution. The temple here is situated beside the
cremation grounds and it is said that the ashes of this cremation ground is
taken for puja in the temple. Shiva is the Lord of destruction and ashes from
the burning ghat signify the ephemeral quality of life.
The legend goes that four Brahmin brother were great devotees of Lord Shiva and
used to worship him daily at that spot. However a demon wanted to put an end to
their worship and went to kill them. The brothers were confident that their
Lord would protect them and continued their worship undaunted. Suddenly the
lingam burst open with a tremendous sound and Shiva leapt out brandishing the
weapons of destruction. His form was that of Mahakala or the great destroyer in
the form of Time. The demon was burnt to ashes. The brothers begged Shiva to
stay there forever and so he did.
Omkareshwar
Omkareshwar is situated on an island in the middle of the river Narmada
in Madhya Pradesh. The Shiva is here is also known as Mamaleshwara.
Once the celestial sage Narada had gone on a visit to the mountain known
as Vindhya. The sage knew that the mountain was puffed up with pride so in his
usual bantering fashion he told Vindhya that the mountain Sumeru was superior
to it. Vindhya decided to become the equal of Sumeru and started doing tapasya
to Lord Shiva. When Shiva revealed himself, Vindhya begged him to remain there
all the time so that it would be the equal of Sumeru. Omkaresha is the place
where Vindhya did tap
Kedarnath
Kedarnatha is the northernmost of the Jyotirlingas and nestles in the snow clad
Himalayas. It is snow bound for six months of the year and opens only from May
to October. The last twelve kilometers of the journey to Kedarnatha has to be
made on foot or pony.
During the last part of their sojourn on earth the five Pandavas (heroes
of the Mahabharata war) and their wife, Draupadi proceeded to the place in the
Himalayas known as Kedarkanda. They went in search of their favourite deity,
Shiva. They thought they saw him and gave chase but they were unable to catch
him. Very soon they were joined by a wild looking dog and a noble buffalo. They
came to realize that the buffalo was none other than their favourite deity.
Once again they tried to catch it but it ran away. The Pandavas chased the
buffalo and at last each of the brothers managed to catch one part of the
animal. To their consternation it came apart into five pieces in their hands.
They threw the pieces far and wide. Those spots where the pieces fell came to
be known as the panch Kedars or the five Kedars and are important pilgrim spots
in the Himalayas. The hump of the buffalo fell at a most auspicious spot and
came to be known as Kedarnatha. The lingam at Kedarnatha is in the shape of the
hump of a buffalo.
Bhimashankar
Bhimshankara is situated in the Sahyadri hills of
Maharashtra. The easiest way to go there is via Pune. This is the spot where
Shiva is said to have destroyed the three demons known as Tripurasuras. The
legend connected with this place has to do with one of the brothers of the
demon known as Kumbhakarna who was a brother of Ravana, the demon king of
Lanka. His son was called Bhima. When he heard of the death of his father at
the hands of Rama, he swore vengeance on all the devotees of Vishnu (Rama was
an incarnation of Vishnu). His first target was the king called Kamarupa whom
he captured and threw into a dungeon along with his wife. The couple started
earnest prayers to Shiva to save them. When he heard this, Bhima rushed to the
dungeon with upraised sword to kill him. At that moment Shiva split open the
lingam and jumped out of it and killed the demon. The couple begged him to
remain there and hence the lingam here is known as Bhimshankara.
Vishwanath
Vishwanath temple is situated on the banks of the holy river Ganga in Varanasi
in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the most famous temple of Shiva in India
and attracts thousands of pilgrims every year. The famous Manikaran ghat is the
place where countless Hindus have been cremated. The fires of cremation have
never been extinguished here since time immemorial since dead bodies are being
constantly brought there. Anyone who sits for a few minutes at this ghat will
realise the transitory quality of life and start looking deeper into the
meaning of life.
The creator Brahma himself is supposed to have done tapasya in this spot.
It is said that Varanasi will not be destroyed even at the time of the great
deluge when the rest of the world goes into dissolution. Shiva will raise the
city on the point of his trident and protect it while destruction rages all
around.
There is another story connected with this city. Once Shiva and Parvati had
gone to the world of Brahma. He began reciting hymns through all his five
mouths in praise of Shiva. But one of the mouths was making mistakes and so
Shiva, who was a perfectionist where music was concerned, plucked off the head
which was making mistakes. But since this was a great crime, Shiva found that
he could not shake off the head which had stuck to his back. For many years he
went round with the head on his back. It was only when he went to the holy city
of Varanasi that the head fell off. So Shiva decided that he would stay there
in the form of a lingam. This lingam is called Vishwanatha or the Lord of the
universe. The first humans to worship there were Swaymbhu Manu and his wife
Shatarupa who were the first couple to be created by Brahma.
Tryambakeshwar
Tryambakeshwar is situated on the banks of the Godavari River. In fact the
river has its origin on a hill above the temple. The temple is about ninety
kilometers from the pilgrim city of Nasik in the state of Maharashtra.
The place is associated with the sage Gautama and his wife Ahalya. They
had prayed to Shiva for a long time. At last the Lord appeared and asked them
to choose a boon. He begged Shiva to allow the Ganga to flow beside his
hermitage so that he could bathe in her purifying waters and expiate for his sin
in having killed a cow by accident. Shiva granted the boon. However Ganga
insisted that she would go there only if Shiva took up his residence there.
This was agreed upon and Shiva stayed there in the form of a lingam. Ganga
flowed beside him and took the name Godavari. To reach the source of the
Godavari one has to climb some hazardous steps up the mountain near the temple.
The steps lead you to a small shrine where water gushes out of a stone cow’s mouth.
One can also trek up the mountain to the top where the river actually has her
source.
Vaidyanath
The temple of Vaidyanatha is situated in the state of Bihar in the town
of Deogarh.
Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, was a great devotee of Shiva. He
practiced intense tapasya in the Himalayas, but still Shiva failed to appear, so
he made a fire and decided to sacrifice all his ten heads. He started throwing
them one by one into the fire. After the ninth, Shiva appeared and asked him
what he wanted. Ravana prayed for superhuman strength and the restoration of
his nine heads. Only Shiva could grant such a boon for he was Vaidyanatha, the
Lord of all physicians. Shiva also gave him a wonderful Jyotirlinga and told
him to take it straight to his capital city of Lanka. He warned him never to
put it down. Ravana started back carrying the radiant lingam. The gods feared
that if he took it to Lanka, he would indeed become invincible so they sent
Ganesha to thwart him. Ganesha took the form of a young brahmachari and
appeared before Ravana just as he felt a terrible urge to answer the call of
nature. Ravana was forced to give the lingam to the boy who had so
providentially appeared before him and warned him never to keep it down. Hardly
had Ravana gone than Ganesha put the lingam down. When Ravana returned he found
no trace of the boy and try as he would he was unable to budge the lingam which
had become rooted to the spot! This is the lingam which is known as
Vaidyanatha.
Nageshwar
The tenth Jyotirlinga is known as Nagesha and is situated near the pilgrim city
of Dwaraka in Gujarat.
There was once a merchant who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. During
his travels he often had to cross a forest which was inhabited by a demoness
called Daruka who kept harassing him. He begged Shiva to help him. Shiva came
with his snakes or "nagas" and drove Daruka away. Daruka worshipped
Parvati who gave her another forest to roam about without troubling anybody.
The lingam which was worshipped by the merchant came to be known as Nageshwara,
Lord of serpents. Parvati also took up residence here and is known as
Nageshwari.
Rameshwaram
The huge temple of Rameshwaram is situated on the island called Rameshwaran in
the state of Tamilnadu. This spot is the closest bit of land in India to the
island of Sri Lanka.
Ravana, the demon king of Lanka had abducted Sita, the wife of Rama, king
of Ayodhya and taken her to his island fortress. Rama came to rescue her but before
he could cross the straits which separated the mainland from the island of
Lanka, he made a lingam of Shiva and prayed to him to help him rescue his wife.
Shiva appeared and blessed him with all success. Rama requested Shiva to stay
in that spot forever. This is the lingam called Ramalingeswara and it is one of
the most famous places of worship in India.
Ghrishneswar
Ghrishneswar is the twelfth and last of the Jyotirlingas. It is situated close
to the famous caves of Ellora.
Once there was a Brahmin called Sudharma who had a wife called Sudeha.
They had no children and so his wife asked him to marry her niece, Ghrishna in
order to get a son. She was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and she made a vow
that she would make one hundred and one lingams of Shiva daily and worship
them. At the end of her puja she would immerse the lingams in the pond nearby.
After having completed one lakh of pujas she conceived and got a lovely baby
boy. As can be expected her aunt’s nature changed with the birth of the child
and one day she killed the baby and threw the body into the pond in which the
lingams were immersed. Next morning Ghrishna got up and started her daily
ritual of worshipping Shiva. She refused to be distracted even when her husband
announced the disappearance of the baby. At the end of her puja, Shiva who was
pleased with her devotion restored the baby to her. When he raised his trident
to kill her aunt, Ghrishna begged him to spare her life and asked for the boon that
he would stay near the pond in the form of a lingam. He agreed and this lingam
is known as Grishneswara.
Devotees of Shiva consider it to be a rare good fortune to be able to make a
visit to all the twelve Jyotirlingas in one lifetime.
Aum Nama Shivaya
With blessings and best wishes,
Vinod Khurana
00971 557149983
