SIVARATRI
 The day prior to the
new moon day every month, the masasivaratri, is said to be specially sacred to
Siva. This when occurs in the month of Magha is celebrated as Maha
Sivaratri, a day of particular rejoicing.
The Legend :
Shivaratri is celebrated one night before Amavasya, which is symbolic of all that is evil:
injustice, ignorance, darkness, sin, violence, treachery, falsehood, and misfortune. Lord
Shiva is said to have manifested himself as the Lingodbhavamurti, the boundless pillar of
fire that spans all appeared just in time to save the world from the darkness in the
beginning of Kaliyuga.
Legend says that Goddess Parvati once
worshipped the Lord during the destruction of the world to calm him down from the PralayaTandavam
on this day. It was a word from Lord Shiva to Parvati to protect the living beings
that worship the Lord on this day and also bless them with prosperity.
Another legend in vogue with Sivaratri is
that of the tribal Lubdhaka, a great devotee of Shiva. Lubdhaka once finds himself lost in
the woods when he was collecting the firewood. As darkness engulfs the jungle, unable to
locate himself and frightened by the growls of tigers, he climbs up the nearest tree for
safety. Perched among the branches he decides to pluck one leaf at a time from the tree
and drop it down chanting the name of Shiva, lest he should doze off after the daylong
fatigue. It being Sivaratri and he being on a Bilva tree, it so happened that he
had showered thousands of Bilva leaves on to a Shiva linga right below. Although done
unknowingly, pleased with the nightlong worship Lord Shiva had rewarded him with divine
bliss.
Thus the devout with the belief of being blessed with
salvation worship Lord Shiva with heaps of Bilva (Aegle marmelos) leaves and
fragrant flowers like Parijata, Bogada, etc., all the day and night long. Pilgrims
flock the Shiva temples where the festival is celebrated with all pomp to witness the
Almighty’s Kalyana mahotsavam.
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