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Maha Sivarathri
Maha Sivaratri is a hindu festival observed on the night of the fourteenth day of the dark half in the month of Magha, called Masi in Tamil, corresponding to the English months of Febuary -March.It is observed in honour of Siva, one of the Hindu-Trinity, representing the destructive aspect in the universe. Though generally, the night time is considered sacred and suitable for the workship of the feminine aspect of the deity,and the daytime for that of the masculine aspect,yet on this particular occasion Siva is worshipped during the night time, and, as a matter of fact, it is specially enjoined to be observed then. The observance of the Vrata is believed to secure for the devotee immunity from the effects of sin committed either wittingly or unwittingly.The night is divided in to four quarters, each quarter going by the name of a jama also called yama, and pious people keep awake during every one of it, worshipping Iswara.
It is said that the whole world was destroyed once and the goddess Parvathi worshipped her husband Siva then, and prayed to him that the jivas(living souls)suspended in space like particles of gold dust in a lump of wax during that long period of pralaya (deluge) night, should, when they became active once again, have his blessings if they worshipped him just as she did then. Her prayer was granted. The night which Parvathi fixed for the mortals for the worship of Iswara was named Maha Sivarati, or the great night of Siva, since pralaya is brought about by him.
There are five kinds of Sivaratris in the course of a year and they go by the names of Maha Sivaratri,Yoga Sivaratri, Nitya Sivaratri, Paksha Sivaratri and Masa Sivaratri and its origin has already been explained above. Nitya Sivaratri is the daily night of Siva while Paksha Sivaratri and Masa Sivaratri are Siva’s fortnightly and months nights respectively. Yoga Sivaratri is the night which a yogi creates for himself by his yogic trance.
The people who observes this Sivaratri Vrata take only a single meal during the day previous to the Vrata day and sleep in a clean place during the night. In the morning of the Vrata day they take a bath in the waters of a sacred river like Cauvery, if possible and then go to the witness the divine worship in a Siva temple, and offer worship to Siva during every one of the four yamas at night. It is ordained in the scriptures that those who want to observe the Vrata very scrupulously, should worship Siva with lotus flowers, offer him a preparation called Pongal, which is nothing but rice and green dal mixed and cooked together and then recite the Rig Veda till the first yama is over.
In the second yama, they should worship they should worship him with Tulasi leaves (ocymum sanctum), offer a kind of preparation called payasam, a kind of sweet soup-like preparation, and the recite the Yajur Veda till its close.
In the third yama, he should be workshipped with bael leaves (Aegle marmelos),also called Bilvam in Tamil; food mixed with sesame powder should be offered to him and the hymns of Sama Veda should be recited.
In the forth or the last quarter of the night, he should be worshipped with blue lotus called Neelothpalam or Sengalinir, should be offered pure and simple food and the Atharva Veda should be recited.
There are myths emphasising the importance of the workship of Siva during the Sivaratri night and they are as follows:
Once there was a hunter, who went into the forest one day, to procure meat for his family by hunting some animal. He wandered up and down in the forest from morning till night in search of game but was unable to shoot any. At last, when night overtook him, he climbed up a bael tree to escape from a wild animal that was pursuing him. The animal lay down at the foot of the tree quite certain that the man would fall down either from sleep or from exhaustion,and then he would eat him. The hunter, exhausted as he was from his exertions and hunger, wished to scare away the animal by throwing handfuls of bael leaves as it. These leaves dripping with water on account of the recent shower, fell on a Sivalingam that was near. The night happened to be the Maha Sivaratri night. He had fasted during the whole day since he could not find anything to eat. The drenching rain constituted a bath and his action of throwing the bael leaves on the Sivalingam, the workshipof Siva. Though his actions were not intentional to worship Siva, yet he is said to have gained heaven as he had observed the Sivaratri Vrata, though unwittingly.
A Brahmin youth of a very bad character was once banished from his country as a punishment for his evil deeds. One day he was wandering from morning till night without anything to eat. After sunset he was a Siva temple and entered it. The temple priests had placed offerings before the image of Iswara. None was there when this youth went inside. Seeing that the coast was clear he thought of walking away with some of the offerings and eating the same elsewhere. As the lamp placed there did not burn brightly, so he trimmed it. But before he could commit theft he was seized by the priests and put to death. He is said to have reached heaven because he had observed Maha Sivaratri Vrata since the day in which he fasted happened to be Sivaratri day and his action of trimming the lamp for making it bright, constituted an offering of the food stuff to Iswara on the Sivaratri night.
The basic principle underlying the observance of the Maha Sivaratri Vrata appears to be to emphasise the fact that death is sure to follow birth, night is sure to follow, pralaya to active cosmic life and so on. Consequently while enjoying the one aspect people should always bear in mind its opposite and regulate their life accordingly. They should not be elated at success nor should they allow themselves to be disheartened by failures, but always have trust in God and worship him.
The temples considered specially holy for the workship of Iswara on Maha Sivaratri nights are those at Tiruvaikavur near Papanasam in the Tanjore district, Omampuliyur near Vaithisvarankoil in the South Arcot district, Srisailam in the district of Kurnool and Kalahasti in the North Arcot district.
On a pillar in the southern porch of the of the mukha mandapa of the Mallikarjuuna temple at Srisailam, Kurnool district there is an inscription dated Kali 4505 and Saka 1326, Tarana,Sivaratri day. It relates to the incidient of gifting that very mandapa by the Vijianagar king Virapratapa Harihara Maharaya II.
On the west wall of the central shrine in the Ratnachalesvara temple at Ratnagiri,Trichinopoly District,there is a record of Chola king Rajaraja III making a gift of 1000 kasus for the expenses incurred on the Sivaratri day.
In the temple of Nagesvaraswami at Vijiamangalam, Coimbatore district, there is a record of Virarajendra (1207-52) making offerings and gifting 90 lamps on the day of Sivaratri in the 14th year in this reign.
On the door post of the entrance into the Tambrattiamman temple at Solamadevi, Coimbatore district, there is a record in the 24th year of the reign of Vikrama Chola (1005-45?) which mentions a gift of money for the Sivaratri festival to be observed at the temple of Rajaraja-Isvaram-Udaiyur in Kadappadi alias Virasolapuram.
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