Shivaratri, meaning “night of Shiva”, is a major festival celebrated by hindus. Shivaratri always falls on either the 13th or 14th day of the waning moon in Phalgun(Feb/March). The hindu calendar follows the lunar cycle, so the date varies annually. The night of Shiva is literally a no-moon night, it is the darkest phase of the lunar cycle, just before the new moon.
Devotees worship Lord Shiva on this auspicious night by staying awake all night through, performing ritual worship(puja, abhishekham) of Shiva, chanting the Panchakshara Mantra,
singing and dancing in praise of Lord Shiva. It is traditional to fast for the day and night without food or water, some conduct a moderate fast by taking only milk and fruit, or simply abstaining from meat.
Shiva is one of the trinity in hinduism, known as the destroyer. He roots out all negative qualities, impurities in the mind. He is powerfully transforming. In the form of Nataraj, the Cosmic Dancer, he dissolves the old, making way for the new creation.
Shiva is the auspicious one, the Supreme Yogi who sits in meditation on Mount Kailash, Himalayas. He is white as snow, (as in the sculpture shown in the photograph from Bangalore, South India). In art, he is usually coloured grey as he is covered from head to foot in ash. Shiva is an ascetic, wearing only tiger skin, wearing garlands of snakes and skulls, with the crescent moon on his forehead, and surrounded by a following of ghosts.
The Shiva Purana reveals how Shiva came into being. The Shiva Purana is one of the 18 major Puranas. There are also 29 known minor Puranas. The Puranas are part of an incredible collection of ancient sacred texts which include the four Vedas, the Mahabharat (considered to be the Fifth Veda), the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Brahmanas.
Unfortunately, colonialists refused to believe that Indians could have given rise to this heritage. They invented the notion that people called ‘Aryans’ invaded India and were the civilized people who produced these texts!(Where’s the evidence?)
Indians and the rest of the world were (and are still) taught that ‘Aryans’ came to India and gave India its profound wisdom and culture. What a shame ‘scholars’ allowed racism and prejudice to get in the way of examining history. Consequently, on Wikipedia and most textbooks on topics dealing with the history of India, the Vedas, Yoga and Hinduism, there are gross errors, in particular in relation to dating and chronology, as well as interpretation of text and symbols.
For more accurate chronology and interpretation of the import of India’s sacred texts, I recommend the following list of books;
“In Search of the Cradle of Civilization”
by Georg feuerstein, Subhash Kak & David Frawley
“Hidden Horizons: unearthing 10,000 years of Indian Culture”
by Dr. David Frawley and Dr. Navaratna S. Rajaram
“From the River of Heaven” by David Frawley
“Gods, Sages and Kings” by David Frawley
From the oldest Veda, the Rig Veda, we learn that in the post ice age world, when the ice was retreating, and sea levels rose, coastal regions suffered flooding, Manu took his people from the south higher up and settled by the River Saraswati, which flowed from the Himalaya mountains to the Arabian sea, possibly around 8000-7000 BCE (BC). This is the period of the Rig Veda. The Puranas appear in the late Vedic Age, around 3100-1900 BCE.
Puranas are sacred text which explain the worship of deities, yoga , meditation, mantra and the rules of society and kingdom. The Shiva Purana narrates the stories of Shiva. The Shiva Purana has 24,000 shlokas, (verses).
I have used “The Shiva Purana” by Dipavali Debroy, Bibek Debroy as the main source for material and quotations for the following section.
Shiva Arrives
“At the beginning of creation, there was nothing in the universe. The universe was not there either. It was only the Brahman (divine essence) which was everywhere. The Brahman was neither hot nor cold, neither thick nor thin. It had no beginning and no end. There was water everywhere.”
Lord Vishnu came into being and slept on the water. From his navel, sprouted a lotus. From this lotus, Lord Brahma was born. He thought, “There seems to be nothing around except for this lotus. Who am I? Where did I come from? What am I supposed to do? Whose son am I? Who made me?”
Brahma explored the lotus for two hundred years but could not find anything, so he gave up. Then he heard the words, “Brahma, perform tapasya” (meditation).
He meditated for twelve years. Then Vishnu appeared before him. Brahma did not recognise Vishnu and did not accept that he had been created from Vishnu’s body. He fought with Vishnu. While they were fighting, a Linga (symbol of Shiva) appeared. It seemed to have no beginning or end. Vishnu told Brahma to stop fighting as there was a third being now. He suggested that Brahma should adopt the form of a swan and explore the upper limits of this being, while he became a boar, and explored the lower part. Brahma agreed. They looked for four thousand years but could not find the end of the Linga. They came back and prayed for a hundred years. Then “the sound ‘om’ was heard and a being with five faces and ten arms appeared before them. This was Mahadeva or Shiva.”
Vishnu said it was good that they had been fighting since this resulted in Shiva appearing.
“Shiva replied, ‘We are all three parts of the same entity and have been divided into three. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and I am the destroyer. There is another being named Rudra who will be born from my body, but Rudra and I are really one and the same. Let Brahma create now.”
Brahma prayed and through his meditation, he created several rishis (sages), who gave birth to the adityas (gods), daityas & danavas (demons), trees, birds, mountains and creepers. Rudra, who was Shiva, was also born from Brahma.
SHIVARATRI
From the Shiva Purana, we learn that Shivaratri is the night when Vishnu and Brahma worshipped Shiva. If a vrata (rite) involving vigil, fast and prayer of the Linga is observed on this night, it has special significance, and confers the blessings of Shiva and moksha (liberation).
There is a story of a hunter named Rurudruha who knew nothing of the Shivaratri Vrata. He was a cruel thieving man. It just so happened that on the day of Shivaratri, his family were very hungry, and they pleaded with him to get them some meat. He went to the forest to hunt deer. He didn’t have any luck and it was now dark, so he found a waterhole and climbed up a nearby bilva tree, keeping a pot of water with him in case he got thirsty.
Soon, a doe turned up to drink water. He readied his bow and arrow. As he did this, the leaves shook and a few bilva leaves fell on a linga that was right under the tree. (Bilva leaves are sacred to Lord Shiva and they are used in his worship). Some water also spilled on to the linga. (Water is poured over the linga when worshipping Shiva). The doe saw the hunter and pleaded with him not to kill her, requesting that he allow her to go home and say farewell to her family, after which she would return and then he could kill her. The doe took an oath, so he reluctantly allowed her to go.
Soon, another doe turned up to drink water. Again the tree shook, bilva leaves and some water fell on the linga. This doe was the sister of the other doe and both of them were married to the same deer. The doe saw the hunter and said to him to wait a little before killing her, so she could say goodbye to her husband and children.
She also took an oath that she would return, so he let her go.
After some time, a deer turned up to drink water. Again when he readied his bow and arrow, the leaves and water fell on to the linga.
The deer said to the hunter to let him go so he could say goodbye to his wives and children, and took an oath that he would come back so the hunter could kill him later.
Rurudruha let him go.
Later, the deer and two does came to the waterhole. They all said, “Kill me and spare the others. They need to stay alive to look after the children.” The baby deer had also turned up and they said, “Kill us. We don’t want to be alive when our parents are gone.” Rurudruha was so surprised, the tree shook and again the leaves and water fell on the linga.
Lord Shiva took pity on the hunter and removed all evil thoughts from his mind. The hunter let the deer go. Shiva appeared before him saying, “From now on, your name will be Guha. You will be so blessed that Rama will become your guest.”
Inadvertently, without any knowledge of Shivaratri, by staying awake and dropping sacred bilva leaves and water on the linga, (symbol of Shiva), the hunter had worshipped Shiva on the most auspicious night of the year. Anyone who observes Shivaratri Vrata, even unknowlingly as in this case, receive the blessings of Shiva.
Shivaratri is also the night Shiva married Parvati.
Marriage of Shiva and Parvati
Shiva lived on Mount Kailash. Shiva married Sati (Sage Daksha’s daughter), but Shiva and Daksha didn’t get on with each other. One day, Daksha held a grand Yajna (ritual sacrifice) to which everyone except Sati & Shiva, were invited. Nevertheless, Sati went along, but Daksha insulted her so much, she gave up her life in the sacrificial fire (hence the term, committing ‘Sati’). Shiva was so angry, he sent his ganas (attendants) to disrupt the sacrifice, and kill the Gods who had attended. After Shiva was pacified, he brought the Gods back to life again. Sati was reborn as Parvati, the youngest daughter of King Himavat (mountain Himalaya) and his wife Menaka.
Sage Narada paid a visit to King Himavat and told him his daughter Parvati was destined to be Shiva’s wife. Since Shiva did not show any sign of leaving his meditation, Himavat decided to take his daughter and a couple of friends to attend upon Shiva. Shiva thought they would not disturb him at all, and accepted the offer of service. Parvati set about her duties collecting kusa grass and flowers for worship. As she served him, she began to love him.
Back in heaven, the Gods were distraught as the Demon Tarakasura was terrorizing everyone in all three worlds.
Tarakasura had performed severe tapas (penance) and obtained two boons from Brahma the creator; firstly that Brahma does not create anyone as strong as him, secondly that he, Tarakasura should only be killed by Shiva’s son. He knew that Sati had died and Shiva had no sons.
The Gods approached Brahma and pleaded with him to resolve the situation. Brahma told them they would have to get Shiva to marry Parvati, then their son would kill the demon.
Indra, King of the Devas (Gods) went to Kamadeva (also known as kandarpa), the God of Love. He requested his assistance to lure Shiva into marrying Parvati. So, Kamadeva went to Shiva’s abode, taking along his wife, Rati (the Godess of Love) and Vasanta (Spring).
When Kamadeva saw Parvati close in attendance to Shiva, he struck his arrow. All of a sudden, Shiva noticed how beautiful Parvati was and felt attraction towards her. With great effort, he brought these feelings under control, and wondered how his peace had been disturbed. His glance fell upon Kamadeva. In his anger, fire came forth from his third eye and Kama was instantly incinerated. The distraught wife of Kamadeva was ready to die, but she heard a voice saying her husband would be restored to her when Shiva married Parvati, so she went away to wait for his return.
Parvati was heartbroken and went back to her parents. She realised Shiva could not be won over with beauty. Undaunted, she decided to win him over with devotion and penance. She cast off her fine garments and jewelry and with the blessings of her parents, went to a grove for her spiritual practice. Here, she fasted and performed severe and arduous tapas (penance) while worshipping Shiva.
One day a hermit passed by Parvati. He marvelled at her steadfastness in spite of her tender frame. He couldn’t believe she was enduring such hardship because she wanted to marry Shiva, that man who wore snakes round his neck, smeared from head to foot in ash, and surrounded by ghosts. He said Shiva had no manners, he was poor, no-one knew his parents, how could such a beautiful princess take him for a husband? He suggested she marry one of the Gods instead.
Parvati became angry hearing his insults, and retorted that he, the hermit was the one who was stupid. She refused to stay and listen to Shiva being insulted. As she was about to leave, the hermit who was Shiva in disguise, assumed his normal form, and said,
“Where are you going? I thought that you were praying for me. You can’t forsake me now. I am not going to let you go. Ask for a boon.”
Parvati requested that he marry her and Shiva agreed.
The Gods rejoiced, Kamadeva was brought back to life and reunited with his wife Rati. In due course, a son was born to Shiva and Parvati. He was named Kartikeya (also known as Muruga, Subramanya). He destroyed the demon Tarakasura and brought peace to all three lokas (worlds).
Dr Narsinhbhai Maganlal Patel has conducted research into the ancient history of India, and orgins of hinduism. He has written a small book explaining three important symbols of hinduism;
“Om, Swastika and Shivlinga”
This book is available to read free online through his website
www.truthlingo.co.uk
The following section is sourced mainly from his book.
The tectonic plates around the world move, sometimes quite violently, causing volcanic eruptions, spewing out lava, ash and creating new mountains, dramatically transforming the landscape of continents.
Back in 17000 BCE, much of the earth was still covered in ice, except for regions around the equator which supported coastal civilizations. At that time, the land mass of India was larger and Sri Lanka was part of the Greater India landmass.
Around 10,000 BCE, two great rivers began to flow, the Sindhu and the Saraswati, fed by glaciers in the Himalayas. This gave rise to the Saraswatisindhu (Harappan) civilization which created the culture of Sanatana Dharma (“Eternal Law”, Hinduism).
In 2002, two submerged cities were found off the coast of the Gulf of Khambat, near Gujarat. Carbon 14 testing of recovered wood samples from the cities revealed that these cities submerged around 7500 BCE. Due to seismic activity in the Himalayas, the Saraswati river began to dry up.
Shiva is said to live on Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. Some versions of Shiva’s origin in the Puranas and epics are clearly describing volcanic and seismic activity. Shiva is covered in ash. Generally this is associated with ash from the cremation grounds, but I wonder whether originally, this ash signified volcanic ash.
He holds the Damaru (small drum)-the shaking of this drum is the shaking of the earth in an earthquake.
He is white like the mountain. Mount Kailash is covered in white ice.
He has the river springing from his hair, formerly it would have been Saraswati, after this dried up and the people relocated to the Ganges Basin, it became the Ganges. Mount Kailash has rivulets which start from it and flow around it. The great river of antiquity, the Saraswati was fed by glacial waters, and now the River Ganges originates also from a glacier in the Himalayas.
There is a bit jutting out at the top of Mount Kailash, which resembles the hood of a cobra, hence the cobra around Shiva’s neck.
“The Siwalika (Siwa-linga) mountain range which is parallel to the Himalayas in Uttar Pradesh and Nepal gives us an indication that Linga may also mean mountain.”
Shivaratri is a joyous occasion, with drums banging, conches blowing, dancing and singing. In some parts of India, they drink bhang, a beverage made from hemp, a plant associated with Lord Shiva.
Mantra of Shiva
The chanting of the Mantra, “Om Namah Sivaya” throughout the night, is tremendously uplifting and energizing. Mantras are mystical sounds, realised by great Rishis, enlightened beings. Sound gives rise to form. The Mantra tune us into a higher consciousness, connecting us to our true Self.
Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra
Om Trayambakam Yajamahe
Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanan
Mrityor Mukshiya Mamritat
The Great Liberation Mantra
Om, We worship the three eyed Lord (Siva) who is full of sweet fragrance and nourishes human beings. May he liberate me from bondage, even as the cucumber is severed from the vine.
(It is the energy in the sound of the Mantra in Sanskrit that is beneficial for spiritual practice/transformation.)
Reference:
“The Shiva Purana” by Dipavali Debroy, Bibek Debroy
“Hidden Horizons: unearthing 10,000 years of Indian culture
by Dr. David Frawley and Dr. Navaratna S. Rajaram
“Shiva Parvati” Amar Chitra Katha
“Om, Swastika and Shivlinga” by Dr Narsinhbhai Patel
“Meditation and Mantras” by Swami Vishnu devananda
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