Introduction

An important festival Mahashivratri is celebrated once every year with great enthusiasm and spirituality. This festival usually falls in the month of February or March. Lord Shiva is entitled as the destroyer and constitutes the tridev with Lord Brahma and Vishnu who are referred to as creator and sustainer of Life. This year in 2023 we will be celebrating Mahashivratri on Saturday, the 18th of February.

Mahashivratri - The Grand Night of Lord Shiva

Mahashivratri as the name itself conveys its meaning as a Grand Night dedicated to Lord Shiva. Shivaratri is observed in every lunar month but Mahashivratri is celebrated once a year. The 13th night or 14th day of Krishna Paksha in Phalguna Month of the Hindu calendar is celebrated as Mahashivratri. This auspicious day is celebrated with full enthusiasm and joy by the people of India and other nations. It is a great day for the devotees of Lord Shiva.

Mythology behind Celebrating this Festival

There are many prevailing stories that mark the significance of the celebration of this great festival. The first belief is that on this day Lord Shiva married Mata Parvati. The celebration is in the honor of the wedding ceremony of Lord Shiva.

Another story reveals that this was the day when Lord Shiva performed the dance of destruction i.e. Tandav dance and opened his third eye. This led to the destruction of the whole universe.

It is also believed at some places that Lord Shiva drank the poison produced during the Samudra Manthan and therefore saved the deities. His neck turned to blue color after drinking this liquid and he was popularly known as Neelkanth.

Significance of Fasting on Mahashivratri

The Mahashivratri is a great festival of Hindus and people worship the divine god Shiva on this occasion. Many devotees of Lord Shiva keep fasting on this day. Some of them are fasting by consuming no meal for 24 hours while others keep fast by consuming milk and fruits. It is believed that worshiping Lord Shiva on the day of Mahashivratri helps in forgiving our sins and ending all pain and suffering.The unmarried girls fast on this day to be blessed with a husband like Lord Shiva. People worship day and night by keeping fast on this auspicious day to get blessings from Mahadev. Fasting is a great medium that helps us in making our prayers reach the divine power so that we get bestowed of blessings.

Conclusion

The festival of Mahashivratri symbolizes the victory of truth and knowledge over the darkness. The darkness signifies ignorance. Knowledge the only powerful weapon that can avail us from ignorance and knowledge is a fact and that is always true. The festival of Mahashivratri fills everyone with great devotion and spirituality.