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| Festivals Of India |
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| India is a land of festivals and carnivals. Mosaic of culture, ethos, heritage and values fills magical hues in the god-gifted land of India. Every day festivals are celebrated in every part of the country with reverence and religious fervor. Festivals are celebrated to mark the birthday of god, goddess, saints, gurus; welcome the seasons, harvest, rain; advent of the year; and commemorate the religious ceremony. Indiafairs.dgreetings is benchmark in providing in-depth information of the history, origin, custom, rituals, and religious significance of all the yearly festivals. |
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The famous festival among the Hindus of Mahashivratri 2010 falls on February 12, Friday. This occasion falls on the Krishna Paksha of Phalgun (the Hindu month), which at the same time relates to the February – March months of the English calendar. The Mahashivratri 2010 is the day which celebrates the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati.
The actual meaning of Mahashivratri is the ‘night of Shiva’ when the Lord is worshipped with all dedication in the Hindu fraternity. On the moonless night of Mahashivratri, thousands of devotees offer their prayers to the Lord in various Lord Shiva temples. On the day of Mahashivratri, Lord Shiva was married to Parvati and people celebrate this day by observing fast and chanting prayers.
There are various ways to celebrate Mahashivratri. Perked up with utmost devotion and religious commitment, people across India (also abroad) get into the groove of worshipping Lord Shiva. It is through fast and worshipping the Shiva Linga that Shivratri celebrations take place. It is a common ritual of Shivratri celebrations with few minor variations in different regions.
For all dedicated devotees of Shiva, the Shivratri festival every year is an important occasion. They all stay awake the entire night for offering prayers to him. Various rituals are performed for worshipping the Shivalinga. It is a practice by the devotees that they stay on fast the entire day and eat and drink only next morning after night long worship. Also known to be pious, it is on this day that married women offers prayers for the well being of their husbands and sons and correspondingly unmarried women prays of the festival of Shivratri to get an ideal husband like Shiva.
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Mahashivratri is the occasion when the Lord Shiva is worshipped with utmost dedication by chanting Shiv Chalisa verses. Lord Shiva is considered to be the Supreme Being as he is the creator, destroyer and preserver of the entire universe. Lord Shiva, with all mercy and kindness, protects his devotees from all evil around.
There are loads of verses and hymns which are sung as Shiv Arti of the occasion of Mahashivratri. Lord Shiv Arti is recited on the special Hindu festival of Mahashivratri for calling upon the divine blessings of the Lord. The verses that are sung are usually in Hindi, but for the proper understanding of the Shiv Arti, there are also English stanzas attached.
Shivratri Puja has immense religious significance in the Hindu fraternity among the Lord Shiva devotees. Various rituals of Shivratri puja are followed to please the Lord. It is believed that if the Lord Shiva is pleased on the puja of Shivratri, then one can get rid of past sins and can attain salvation or Moksha.
The Twelve Jyotirlingas have been considered to have great religious esteem dating back to the ancient days. The Puranas, however, have detailed description about the twelve Jyotirlingas. It is believed that if one repeats the names of the Jyotirlingas, then their sins are all easily wiped off and it makes a person pure and calm. The locations of twelve Jyotirlinga temples are across all parts of India.
The prayer that is offered to Lord Shiva is known as Shiv Chalisa. The Chalisa for Lord Shiva have all praises for the Lord, whereby the devotees ask for His help to come out of sufferings and obstacles. To ask for blessings of Lord Shiva, it is essential to recite Shiva Chalisa with dedication. All minds should be focused on the Lord, while chanting the Shiv Chalisa verses.
There are varied Shivratri rituals which are followed during Mahashivratri. It is now when the devotees take a bath at sunrise (in the Ganges or any holy water source). Offering prayers to the sun, Vishnu and Shiva are also a part of the rituals of Shivratri. It makes all the Hindus pious and pure. After this, pots of water are carried to the temples for bathing the Shivalinga. Either water or milk is used for this purpose.
Different legends of Shivratri are linked with this famous Hindu festival. In the Ramayana legend of Shivratri, King Bhagirath had left his kingdom for meditation (sole purpose was to achieve salvation of the ancestral souls). A thousand years of penance was observed by him whereby he requested Ganga to come down from heaven to earth and consequently, Ganga fell down on Lord Shiva’s head.
The Mahashivratri cards come as a medium to wish each other a happy Mahashivratri. On this famous Hindu celebration, the Lord Shiva is worshipped with utmost dedication and sincerity. The cards for Mahashivratri might consist of a Lord Shiva image and on that verses of the Shiv Chalisa may be written on it. The Mahashivratri ecards, which are available online, are slowly gaining popularity among devotes across India.
Mahashivratri is a festival of the Hindus and is celebrated across India with utmost religious fervor and commitment. On the special occasion of Mahashivratri, one can also decorate their desktop of different resolutions with Shivratri wallpapers. For instance, the wallpapers of Shivratri can comprise of a Lord Shiva picture and verses of Shiv Arti.
Nearly all pious Hindu makes it a point to celebrate Shivratri. The places to visit on Shivratri are varied famous Lord Shiva temples which gets thronged with devotes on this auspicious occasion. The famous places to visit on Mahashivratri are Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Mahakaleshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Dhushmeshwar in Ellora near Aurangabad, Somnath in Saurashtra, Vishwanath in Benaras, Naageshwar in Dwarka, Mallika in Uttar Pradesh, Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Vaidyanatha in Marathwada, and Sibsagar in Assam.
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