Lord Shiva ideology and importance of Mahashivaratri.

There are many temples of Hindu deities in India, religiously and spiritually.  From Himalayas in the north to Kanya Kumari in the south, the large series of temples of Lord Shiva is a symbol of our faith in Bholenath.  Shiva has been called Rudra since Vedic times.  In the Shiva Purana is told the glory of Shiva's Dwadas Jyotirlinga's darshana.

Lord Shiva is known by many names like Devadhideva, Mahadeva, Shankar, Neelkanth, Bholenath, Shiva-Shambhu, Mahesh and Bhole Bhandari.  It is said that whoever worships Bhole Bhandari with body-mind with full devotion gets desired results. He can not see  in the sorrow and troubles of his devotees.  On the occasion of Mahashivratri, devotees stay hungry-thirstily all day long and offer water to Shivlinga and try to please him.  Shivaratri is very important in Hinduism.  Every year this day celebrate on the Trayodashi date of the Krishna Paksha of Phalgun month.  Swayambhu Shivji is worshiped on Mahashivaratri.

In India, there are many famous temples such as Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Somnath in Gujarat, Mahakal in Ujjain, Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, Amarnath on Himalayas, Lingaraja in Bhubaneswar, Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. Many devotees visit in such as place every year.  Maha Shivaratri is the great festival of worship of Lord Shiva.  Innumerable Shiva temples resonate with the sound of Bam Bhole and this echo resonates with full reverence in India as well as abroad across the  seas.

In India, there has been a practice of preserving and upholding values ​​for human welfare since the beginning of this creation . Which is full of desire for universal bondage.  Where the whole world is seen by the concept of Vaisudhaiva Kutumbakam.  Vedic and mythological texts are clearly conveying the message of mutual cooperation, goodwill, mercy, forgiveness, courage, patience, also it have been giving the message of valor among mankind since ages.

Whether it is Gita, Bhagwata Purana, Shiva Purana, Linga Purana or Ramayana in the accepted and authentic texts of Hindu religion, the preeminence of karma has been accepted in all and according to that every person gets  good-bad results. The results of the karmas ,  if not today surely tomorrow will have to be suffered.  Because the spirit of universal good and welfare of others has been a habit of God and divine power.  The spirit of goodwill, benevolence continues to be transmitted in human beings only with the help and devotion of God. Every human should be happy, their intellect should be pure, their body beautiful-mind happy, they gets divinity, also they gets relief from the frustrations of the mind, malaise, guilt, disease, fear, pain, debts. And they may be get the darshana of the Supreme God. They may be successful in achieving the ultimate goal of life by being a part of human's salvation, in order to achieve this goal, the repetition of various ritual festivals in Hinduism continues to be a continuous process of worship of their respective deities.

In the same sequence, to obtain the blessings of the supreme benevolent Lord Shiva, the fast of Mahashivaraatri celebrate.  Shiva is the God of all, the father-Lord of the world, the supreme master of all the vidyas, he is Shamsan vaasi , he is the Ardhnaarishwar, everything is Shiva, Shiva is everywhere. Lord Shiva is the God of the Gods, who is also known as Mahadev.  Shiva is the shelter of all.  Since all those who have shelter are also revered for all, so therefore Mahashivaratri is worshiped in many countries of the world including India. Because this date is very dear to Lord Shiva.  The Shivalinga was first time appear on this day.  In the ancient time, Shiva Parvati was married on this day.  Thus, there are many reasons the festival of Mahashivaratri is celebrated on this day.  Children, youth, old men, women and men can observe this fast with faith-devotion.  The subjects of this fast are found in the Puranas related to different contexts.

Bholenath is a very simple nature, omnipresent and the God who is pleased very soon by the devotees.  If in front of him,  demons also came to ask for boon, he do not back down in giving desired boon.

Once, a demon name Bhasmasura pleased Bhole Shankar by devotion and Bholenath appeared in front of him with Mata Parvati.  He told Bhasmasura to ask for a boon.  Seeing Maa Parvati with Shiva, he becomes fascinated on maa Parvati.  But how to ask for her!  Considering this, he asks for a boon that if I lay hands on the anybody head, should be consumed immediately and Lord Shiva is naive in nature.  He spoke in happiness - so be it !

Bhole Shankar starts going by saying so be it.  At the same time Bhasmasura comes to behind him for consume .  Now Bholenath understood that he wants to try my boon on me.  Bholenath runs to save his life and hides inside a cave.  Bhasmasura sits at the entrance of the cave and looks forward to the exit of Lord Shiva.  Lord Narayana was watching all this leela.

Lord Vishnu Narayan immediately comes to fascinate Bhasmasura by taking  the form of Mohini.  Lord Vishnu starts dancing to fascinate Bhasmasura and incites Bhasmasura to dance as well.  Bhasmasur is so fascinated with Mohini that he loses his consciousness  and starts dancing with her.  Mohini makes a dance pose by dancing with own hand on her head. After seeing him, Bhasmasura also puts his hand on his head and he is consumed.  Shiva is a donor for everyone, who gives them the same boon as he demands. Shiva's worship, which has been doing by Gods, humans, demons, Yaksha and sages etc. since ancient time.

The God who is of the most importance in India, he is only Lord Shiva, who is still as much venerable and revered in the whole of India as the centuries before.  It can be inferred from this that the many number of temples or pilgrimage places across the country belong to Lord Shiva and not to any other deity.  Even today, the worship of Lord Shiva is widely done all over the country.  This is the reason that 'Mahashivratri' festival has the status of a national festival in India.

Lord Shiva is considered a symbol of India's emotional and national unity & integrity, while Maha Shivaratri festival is considered a living symbol of national goodwill.  There is hardly any village in India where there is no temple or Shivling of Lord Shiva established.  If there is not even a Shiva temple, then there surely will be found Shivlinga situated  under a tree or on a platform.

Now the question is that just as the birthday of various legends is celebrated as their 'Jayanti(anniversary)', why is the birthday of Lord Shiva celebrated as 'Night' instead of their 'Jayanti'?  The reason for this is probably that the night has been considered a symbol of sinfulness, ignorance and tamoguna, and in the Kaliyuga, saint, human ,seeker, a common man, that is, everyone is unhappy, so every year to destroy these evils form . Every year in the world a divine light descends and this night is 'Shivaratri'.

The literal meaning of 'Shiva' and 'Raatri' is stated in a religious book, "In which the whole world sleeps, which is devoid of disorder, it is Shiva or the one who destroy the inauspicious, He is form of happiness & auspicious. Lord Shiva is karunasagar who merges the whole world into himself.

The God who is eternal, true, base of world, devoid of disorder, witnessing is Shiva. Shiva in the form of Mahasamudra is an unbroken supreme element, many of its various elements are worshiped by many names, he is omnipresent and supremepower, he expressly and implicitly called 'Saguna Ishwara' and 'Nirguna Brahm' and also he is the divine, soul of world, Atma, Shambhava, Mayobhav, Shankar, Mayaskar, Shiva, Rudra etc. are addressed by many names. ''

Pt. Sriram Sharma Acharya Ji has explained the philosophy of Lord Shankar Ji's true nature in such a way that everyone can become like Shiva in life,

Discussion about Shivalingas becomes necessary here because the origin of the linga on the day of Mahashivaraatri.  Although the number of linga is many thousands according to the scriptures, in which there is a very detailed description of the structure and glory of each linga.  Here a brief description of the names of the major twelve (Dwadash Jyotirlinga) Shiva lingas etc. is being done.  There is great glory of these Shiva lingas, just by remembering these lingas all the sins of the person are released.  And he gets happiness and peace. It is a matter of seeing and worshiping these Shivalinga, who is going to fulfill all desires.  It is by the grace of Shiva that peoples gets the privilege of linga darshana in the life.

* Jyotirylinga

1. The name of the first Jyotirlinga is Somnath, located in Veraval Saurashtra Gujarat near Prabhas Patan, India.

 2. The name of  second Jyotirlinga is Mallikarjuna locate at Sri Shail mountain Andhra Pradesh on the banks of Krishna river.

 3. Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is on the banks of river Kshipra in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

 4. Omkareshwar, Jyotirlinga (Mandhata) is an island in the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh.

 5. Kedarnath Jyotirlinga is located about 150 miles from Haridwar in the inaccessible region of the Himalayas.

6. Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Dakini region is on the banks of Bhima River in Taluka Khed district Pune Maharashtra. shree Bhimshankar It is about 170 km from Nashik.

7.  Vishveshwar (Kashi Vishwa Nath) Jyotirlinga This is the situated on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh of the city of Varanasi.

 8. The Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga is located on the banks of the Godavari River in Nashik, about 3० km from Maharashtra.

 9. Vaidyanath Dham, Jyotirlinga Parli District, Beed Village, Maharashtra and the other is today in Deoghar of Jharkhand (formerly Bihar).

10. Jyotirlinga Darukwan Aundh District Hingoli is in Maharashtra, second Almora is in Uttarakhand.

11.  Sri Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga is located in Kanyakumari near Sethu Bandha in Tamil Nadu.

12. Ghumeshwar Jyotirlinga is in Veshal village near Ellora cave in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra.

The great glory of these twelve Jyotirlingas is said in the Veda-Puranas.  Who is going to give salvation to everyone with all the desired results like happiness, wealth, knowledge, prosperity, longage etc.

* Shivlinga

Shivlinga is a symbol of Lord Shiva.  Shiva means welfare and Linga means creation. Linga is worshiped as a creator. In Sanskrit, Linga means symbol. Lord Shiva is the symbol of eternity. According to beliefs, the linga is a giant cosmic ovary, which means the universe. It is also considered a symbol of the universe.

Lingam means identity, the symbol by which you can recognize the truth, know the reality.  One who is presently invisible but can be identified by a sign is a Shivalinga.  When a child is born, how do you identify whether the child is a boy or a girl?  Only through a part of the body can you identify the child whether he is a boy or a girl.  This is why genitalia are also called lingams.

Similarly, how can you identify the creator of this world?  He has no form!  That is why it was said that a mark should be made to identify him.  The symbol by which you are able to distinguish between male and female is a combination of the two, a symbol of the lord who has no form or symbol of his own - which is omnipresent in this entire universe - this is Shivalinga.

Shiva Linga is very ancient.  It is actually the most ancient.  Through the Shivalinga you go from the real to the formless.  It is a symbol that represents both the creation and the creator by the same form.  It represents Shiva and Shakti, both the principles of creation.  The simultaneous expression of incognito silence and manifest dynamism is in the form of a Shivalinga.  The Shivalinga is not just Shiva but the complete manifestation of the entire Supreme Consciousness.

 * Shiva's vehicle  "Nandi"

Shiva's vehicle bull is also a source of strength. Sober - Sattvic bull is a symbol of strength, a symbol of courage. To saying own words in Nandi's ears it reaches to Shiva.

Nandi and Shiva are really the same.  Shiva was born as Nandi.  Legend has it that a sage named Shilad became free from worldly affection  and got absorbed in austerity.  Due to this his ancestors and Pitra got worried  that their dynasty would end.  On the advice of the pitras, Shilad meditated on Shiva and obtained an immortal son who became known as Nandi.  Being part of Shiva, Nandi wanted to be close to Shiva.  With the penance of Shiva, Nandi became prominent in Shiva's ganas and got the privilege of becoming Shiva's vehicle in bull form. The bull has been considered a symbol of religion around the world for a long time.  Lord Shiva walking on the bull means that when you walk on the path of dharma and truth, then the divine infinite consciousness and innocent consciousness stays with you.

* Moon - Peace, Balance

Moon is adorned on Shivji's forehead.  Moon is a executant of mind.  The Moon controls the mind.  According to Shiva Purana, the moon was married to 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapati.  These girls are 27 constellations.  Among these, the moon had special affection for Rohini.

When other girls complained to Daksha, Daksha cursed the moon to decay.  To avoid this curse, the moon meditated on Lord Shiva.  Pleased with the austerity of the moon, Shiva saved the life of the moon and placed it on his head.  The place where the moon did penance is called Somnath.  It is believed that the moon keeps on decreasing-increasing due to the curse of Daksha.

Shiva tattva is that element which is beyond the mind.  The Moon is a symbol of the mind.  How can one express the nirgun(formless) state beyond the mind?  How can one understand this inexplicable situation?  It is necessary to use a little bit of psyche to understand, experience and express.  Some mind is needed to express the latent, infinite, subconscious state in the visible world.  Therefore, to express the avyakt(indistinct), it is a thin moon on the crest of Shiva, which signifies the mind.

Brahmgyan is beyond the mind, but it requires a little psyche to express it - this is the symbol of Chandrasekhar.

 The moon is a symbol of the mind's friendly state, the moon is also a symbol of complete knowledge, Lord Shankara's devotee's mind is always cheerful like the moon and happy without fear  .

* Maa Ganga's stream on lord shiva's forehead.

The incident of Ganga seated on the forehead of Lord Shiva is believed to be related to King Bhagiratha.  Legend has it that Bhagiratha had descended the Ganges from heaven to earth to liberate the sons of his ancestor Sagara.  But there are many stories behind this story from which Bhagiratha's attempt was successful. It is said that Brahma's daughter Ganga was very humorous. One day when Durvasa Rishi came to bathe in the river, his clothes flew from the wind and then Ganga laughed.

Angry Durvasa cursed Ganga that you will go to earth and sinners will wash their sins in you.  After this incident, Bhagiratha's tenacity began and Lord Shiva granted a boon to Bhagiratha and told Ganga to come from heaven to earth.  But to protect the earth from the velocity of the Ganges, Shiva ji had to tie her in his jatas.  The story also says that Ganga wanted to be close to Shiva, so she took a severe form before descending  on earth.  To handle this situation, Shiva gave Ganga a place in his jata.

Ganga means knowledge;  The knowledge that purifies our soul.  The forehead has always been a symbol of knowledge.  Heart is a symbol of love.  If Ganga meant love, she would have been portrayed as coming out of the heart of Lord Shiva.  She is coming out of the head because it means only knowledge.

Knowledge gives salvation , knowledge brings freedom, knowledge purifies.  These are all signs of knowledge.  Knowledge has state, there is a flow in it.  That is why Ganga (knowledge) is depicted coming out of the head of Lord Shiva (Divinity).

The flow of the Ganges from the head means the Gyanaganga.  Ganga ji comes here as a powerful spiritual force of knowledge.  Mother Ganga takes shelter in whose jata, which is full of the store of knowledge, which will make the environment happy and peaceful, fill the ignorant people who come to the shelter with the light of knowledge.  Only a great man with the determination power like Shiva could keep the Ganges of Brahmgyan and make it flow for public benefit.

* The third eye of lord Shiva

The third eye, that is, the enlightenment, the visionary prudence, by which Kamadeva was burnt to ashes.  The third eye has given to every human being by the creator. Under normal circumstances, this is awake as a conscience, but that is so strong and complete in himself that even a deep rage like lust cannot spoil it.  The ability to burn them also remains in his conscience.

* Tripund tilak on Shiva forehead.

Tripund tilak on the forehead of Shiva is considered a symbol of three guna (qualities).  It is also considered a symbol of Raz, Tama and Satt guna.  But how these three lines of ash came to Shiva's forehead is a very interesting story.

According to the Puranas, after the self-immolation of Sati in the Yajna Kund of Daksha Prajapati, Lord Shiva takes a fiery form and takes the body of Sati on the shoulder and makes an outcry in Trilok.  Finally, Vishnu cut the body of Sati from the chakra.  After this, Lord Shiva rubs the ashes of Havan Kund on his forehead and thus places the memory of Sati on the forehead in the form of Tripunda.

* Snake around Lord Shiva's neck

The garland of snakes is always wrapped around Shiva's neck.  It is believed that Lord Shiva drank the poison emitted during the churning of the ocean and took welfare of everyone.  It is said that Vasuki Nag was an ardent devotee of Shiva.  Pleased with his devotion, Shiva made him the king of Nagaloka and also blessed him to be stay around his neck like a jewel.

The state of samadhi - where nothing happens - only chidakash(universal soul) - that is Shiva;  The state in which you remain alert but have no action.  This alertness is depicted by putting a snake around Shiva's neck.  That is, the snake is a symbol of alertness. When the eyes are closed in the state of meditation, then it appears that the person is sleeping, but he is not asleep, he is alert.  To express this state of consciousness, a snake is shown around the neck of Shiva. Lord Shankar has used a black poisonous snake in the throat in such a way that, for him, he became profitable, useful and could not even bite.  The art of making enemies even friends.

* Neelkanth - Adoption of Intermediate Policy

Shiva carried the halal poison around his neck, neither spill out nor drank.  If spill out poison it spread in the environment, if when he drinking poison then stomach uproar.  It is learned from this that neither poisoning is acceptable , nor can it be spill out by disturbance.  Keep it restricted to the throat.

Intermediate policy is adopted, as if the Yogi Siddha men have no effect on the world's sorrow,pain,insult and bitterness. He accepts them as ordinary events and keeps his spiritual instinct of world welfare fixed.  He himself drinks poison, but keeps donating nectar for others.  This is Yogasiddhi.

* Munda mala - the ultimate culmination of life

Both king and general peoples leave this body . They are all threaded together, this is the Samvata Yoga, the face that we see many times in the mirror, decorating it, it is just a piece of the bones .  The outer pieces of the color that we see, exposing it, you will find that only the piece of bone is lying behind the beauty of human being.

* Damru

Shiva also has Damru in his hands.  Religious belief is that Lord Shiva is the father of music.  The story of Bhagwan Shiva coming to Damru in hand is very interesting.  At the beginning of creation, when Goddess Saraswati appeared, the Goddess gave birth to sound in the creation with the tone of her veena. But this sound was devoid of tone and music.  At that time Lord Shiva vibrate damru fourteen times with dancing and this damru's sound produduced grammar and music's stanza,tone,tune etc.   It is said that Damru is the form of Brahma which is seen from far away to show very huge, but as we get closer to Brahma, it gets compressed and merges with the other end and then moves towards vastness. Lord Shiva appeared with it to balance the universe.

Shiva also plays Damru and dances when he has fun. It is a symbol of the fun of Pralayankar. A person is depressed, frustrated and disillusioned, does not sit and lose his available powers, live a happy life. This is what Shiva does, adopting the same policy. His Damru is a symbol of knowledge, art, literature and victory. This repeatedly says that Shiva is the god of welfare. In every word of his, the sound of satyam, shivam comes out.

Damru is the symbol of this universe.  The universe is always expanding and disappearing. It expands, merges and then expands again, this is the law of creation. If you look at your heartbeat, you will find that it does not just move in a straight line, it has a rhythm that is up and down. There are different rhythms all over the world;  Energy rises and falls and is resurrected again.  Damru is a symbol of this.  Look at the shape of the damru - first it is widened, then it becomes thinner and widens again.

Damru is also a symbol of sound.  Sound is rhythm, sound is energy.  This entire universe is just a beam of waves - it has only different vibrations.  Quantum physics also says the same - the whole universe is nothing but waves.  That is only one wave (advaita).  That is, the damru symbolizes the monotheistic nature of the universe.

* Trishul(Trident) - Knowledge, Karma and Devotion

Trishul (Trident) one such weapon which can destroy greed, fascination, arrogance these three bondage and establish justification in every sphere , this weapon is held in the form of trishul - the sharp flow of knowledge, deeds and devotion.

The trident represents the three aspects of consciousness - awakening, dreaming and sleepiness, and it also symbolizes three qualities - sattva, rajas and tamas.  Shiva holding  the trident signifies that Shiva (divinity) is beyond all the three stages - awake, dream and sleep, and yet he is holding all three. Shul means problems or sorrow.  Trishul means - the one who ends all suffering.  And it is in the hands of Shiva.

There are three levels of anguish  in life: -

 1. Adibhautik (physical) 

 2. Adhytmik (Spiritual-mental)

 3.Adidaivik (invisible)

All these anguish and sufferings end by the trishul (trident) - and it is in the hands of Shiva. There is always a trishul in the hands of Lord Shiva.  It is believed that when Shiva appeared from the Brahmnad in the beginning of the universe, along with Raja, Tama and Sat, these three guna (qualities) also appeared. These three qualities became the three prongs ie trishul of Lord Shiva.  Without reconciliation between them, the operation of creation was difficult.  Therefore Shiva held these three qualities in his hands in the form of a trident.

* Baaghambar

Shiva wears tiger skin. Just like a tiger in life, courage and bravery are required by which to fight perversion and undesirable.

* Ash on body - unaffected by change

The entire body of Shiva is covered with ash.  Bhabhuta(ash) is considered a symbol of salvation from all the shackles, that is, fascination and attraction have no effect on it. Shiva rubs the ash of the dead body on the  his body, so that the weather effects are not affected.  Whoever sees death as intertwined with life is not attacked by the anger of pain nor by the coldness of fear, he remains a fearless choice.

* Ruler of the crematoriums

He is called ruler of crematoriums. He keep dropping the yellow leaves of autumn and feeding on the spring's leaves and flowers, the death is not frightening and there is no imperfection in it, the dirt which spreads through rottenness, the  no longer question of decay if the body was duly cremated , every person should have knowledge of Shiv Satta as a death, so he has put his camp in the crematorium.

* Residence in Himalaya

Shivatattva attains the heights of successes by battling the hardships of life.  Life is full of struggles.  Just as there is a fear of a dreaded animal in the himalayas, there is a struggle life.  The Shiva devotee does not panic with it, making it useful and attains the heights of the himalayas. Shiva resides on Mount Kailash and also is in the crematorium.  Kailash means 'where there is only joy', and cremation means 'where there is only zero'.  Divinity is found in nothingness or in any celebration.  And there is also void and celebration within you.

* A householder Yogi

Being a complete Yogi despite being a householder is an important event in the life of shiva.  He is a yogi even while keeping the worldly system, following full celibacy, also seeing his wife as own self power, this is the second ideology of is greatness, Riddhi-Siddhi feel pride in being near him.  Here he has proved that even as a householder, the work of welfare is not impossible, by keeping purity in life, it can be accomplished by laughing and playing.

* Pashupatinath

Shiva has been called Pashupati.  It is the job of Pashupati to control the maladies and vicious tendencies within the periphery of animalism.  When an animal living in the form of a male animal comes under the shelter of the welfare worker Shiva, the animalism is easily disposed of and humanity and divinity begin to develop respectively.

* Lord shiva fully dedicated for his gana

Shankar ji has taken care of the ghosts, the helpless, the backward and has taken them in his marriage.  That is, by always taking the backward, the handicapped, the deranged together, the purpose of service-cooperation .

* Lord Shiva's family- An ideal family

In Shiva's family, all are rich in individualism  and very useful in their personalities. In Shiva's family along with Shiva , ardhangani maa Bhavani, eldest son Devsenapati Karthikeya and younger son are the first worshipers Ganapati. Naturally bull-lion, snake-peacock are enemies . But they are with each other in the family due to Shivattava.

* Blessing of Shiva

Bhaang-bhang means breach - destruction, dissolution of the unity of maya and jiva, dissolution of ignorance's cover, dissolution of narrow selfishness, dissolution of evil - sin.  This is the delicious food of Shiva.  Where the blessings of Shiva will be there, the darkness of night will be dissolving and auspicious sun will be giving  virtuous darshan.

* Belapatra

Grind the belapatra with water and drink it, human can live without food for many days, the body can remain completely stable, the senses of the body and the vices of the fickle mind are concentrated and the esoteric element awakens power  , so belapatra is accepted for the attainment of Shivatattva.

* Shiva-mantra "Om Namah Shivaya"

"Shiva" means welfare, we should take steps keeping in view of welfare and every action - activity and way of thinking should be created - this is the meaning of the word Shiva.  Where is our pleasure, not this but where is our welfare? If our vision of welfare is born, then we can say that we have come to know the meaning of lord Shiva's name.  Mantra chanting is the work of remembering this sentiment again and again.

Om Namah Shivaaya is one of the most powerful mantras.  It activates the body and purifies the environment.  Mantras are sounds that help in the upliftment of consciousness.

* Mahamrityunjay Mantra.

In the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, Shiva is called Trimbak and Sugandhi Pushti Vardhanam, Vivek Daan devotion is called Trivarga, Knowledge, Karma and Bhakti is also Trimbak, by adopting this Trivarga, the personality of a human being is satisfied  and matured from every point of view . The same mystery is inaugurated in great detail in the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, then he attains the immortality of salvation like a melon, freeing himself from death, freeing him from the fear of death.

*The meaning of lord Shiva's worship.

Contemplating and trying to receive it, trying to move on that path, the true worshipers of Shiva are those who abandon their selfishness in their minds and adopt the attitude of philanthropy.

* Why  Shiva's body color is blue?

 Blue means infinite, like the sky.  The blue color symbolizes infinity, which is infinite and omnipresent.  It has no form.  Shiva has no body.  Shiva never came as a person.  The ancient sages created a form of Shiva to symbolically symbolize that unfathomable, infinite divinity and to give the knowledge of Shiva for general public to create a divine form. There is no form of knowledge, but it is ingrained in every particle of the universe. The whole world is Shivamaya - his body is the whole universe.

* Tandava------

 The whole creation is the dance of the same consciousness (Shiva).  A consciousness danced and appeared in millions of species of creation.  Therefore this infinite creation is the dance of Lord Shiva or Shiva's Tandava.  The whole world is the abode of Shiva.

* Message of Mahashivraatri------

Among the many characteristics of the marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati, the biggest feature is that this husband and wife.  When living in private, they convert that solitude of marriage into divinity.  The biggest message of the festival of Shivaratri is that the relationship that is at the center of the families of India is from the husband and wife.  This relationship seems very sweet in public.

couples also seem devoted to each other, but the reality of this relationship comes to light when men and women are in solitude as husband and wife.  Parvatiji was a very settled woman.  The world knows the same conversation as the Ramkatha, the questions she asked her husband Shiva in the solitude of the marriage.

Slowly, Parvatiji kept asking deep questions, Shivji kept answering.  Literature like Yogasutra and Tantrasutra were also given to the world by this divine couple through their mutual conversation.  Today, if the husband and wife save their solitude, be alone and be loving, be honest, then it has the biggest impact on the child. Parents and children, if their synergy is correct, no one can break the families of India.  Therefore, the festival of Shivaratri should be celebrated specially in families, assuming that the husband-wife relationship in the center is like Shiva-Parvati.  Shiva and Parvati are the names of divine solitude, mutual understanding and a special understanding towards children.

Goddess Parvati told Lord Shiva that she needed her own palace

We all know that Sri Hanuman had set fire to Lanka.  But do you know that all this was due to the curse of Maa Parvati.  So, let us know what happened to the mother Parvati whom to cursed and sat fired to Lanka?

The story goes that once Maa Parvati invited Vishnu and Lakshmi to dine on Kailash.  Then Maa Lakshmi asked her how she lived amidst such cold winds.  That too when she has lived the life of a princess.  This hurt Mata Parvati a lot.  A few days later, Mother Lakshmi invited Goddess Parvati to come to her Baikuntha Dham.

Mother Parvati reached Baikuntha Dham with Shiva on the invitation of Lakshmi.  Seeing the splendor and opulence of Baikuntha Dham, Goddess Parvati ji also felt that she should have a palace too.  She realized that all the gods live in their palaces, so Mahadev, the god of the gods, should also stay in the palace.  Goddess Parvati started stubbornly thinking that Mahadeva should also stay in the palace and our palace should be better and grand than Indra's palace.

Mahadev tried hard to explained Goddess Parvati.  But Goddess Parvati did not listen to him and she stubbornly said that she wanted a palace which should not be anywhere in the three worlds.  Mahadev explained to Goddess Parvati that I am a yogi, I will not be able to stay in the palace for much longer.  There are many rules and criteria of living in the palace.  The palace is not suitable for us.

Goddess Parvati was not affected by the talk of Lord Shiva.  She remained on her head.  Finally, Lord Shiva called Vishwakarma ji after losing it.  He called Vishwakarma Ji and said that he build a palace whose beauty is  greater than to the palace in all worlds and that palace is neither on earth nor in water.

Vishwakarma started searching for a place which was according to Lord Shiva's direction.  While traveling, he found a place which was covered with water from all the sides.  Three beautiful mountains were seen in the middle.  There were different types of flowers and vegetation on that mountain.  It was Lanka.

Vishwakarma ji told Goddess Parvati about that place.  Goddess Parvati was very pleased to hear about the beauty of that place and ordered Vishwakarma to build a huge city.  Vishwakarma Ji, while introducing his art, made a wonderful city of gold there.

After the palace of gold was built, Parvati ji got the auspicious time entrance to the house.  Vishrava Rishi was appointed as Acharya.  Invitations were sent to all the gods and sages.  All the gods praised the palace very much.

After Griha pravesh(home entry) Mahadev told Acharya to ask for Dakshina(fee).  Mahadev, with his maya (illusion), filled the mind of Vishrava with greed for that city.  Due to Mahadev's illusion, Acharya asked for Lanka in Dakshina.  In Dakshina, he asked for Lanka, Goddess Parvati could not stop Mahadeva from donating Lanka.

After donating Lanka, Parvati ji felt very angry at Vishvara's audacity.  She cursed him in anger that by taking advantage of the simplicity of Mahadeva, you have captured my beloved palace.  One day one form of Mahadeva will be burning that palace and with that the destruction of your dynansty will begin.

According to the Ramayana story Lanka got his son Kubera from Vishwa, but Ravana took out Kubera and grabbed Lanka.  Lord Hanuman, an incarnation of Shiva sat fire to that Lanka due to the curse and the destruction of Vishrava's son Ravana, Kumbhakarna and his dynansty was start .  Vibhishan survived by being in the shelter of Shri Ram.

Why did Mata Parvati curse Samudradeva to be salty?

When the seas were built by the sons of Maharaja Prithu, the seven seas were liquids like fresh water and milk.  Everyone must have heard at some time that Lord Vishnu sits on the bed of Sheshnag in Kshirsagar.

Yes, Kshira means milk, you must have thought that whether it is written wrongly in the Purana.  If this idea has also come to your mind, then we want to tell that what is written in the Purana is true.  Mythological time, the sea, which is also called Kshirsagar, was filled with milk instead of salt water.

Kamdhenu, Mata Lakshmi, Apsaras and Amrit Kalash were obtained from the churning of the same Kshirsagar, but this is not the reason behind the saline sea water.  It is about the time when the goddess Uma, the daughter of the Himalayas, started austerities to get Lord Shiva in her husband's form. Due to this difficult austerity, Earth, Hades and Dev Lok started to tremble with all the gods, because of this problem, all the gods discussed among themselves. Meanwhile, the Samudradev( god of seas) started giving many taunts and even started speaking worse things  about Lord Shiva.   Seeing the beauty of the goddess Uma, Samudradeva was fascinated by her and he did so by being subjected to own feelings.

Not only this, when Lord Shiva and other gods forgave him for this activity, his courage increased.  Samudra Dev directly approached Goddess Uma and proposed to marry her in front of him, but Goddess Uma turned down his request, saying that she has accepted Lord Shiva as her husband in her heart, so she can not marry anyone else. According to Hindu religion, if a woman accepts a man as her husband, then thinking about another man is also a heinous crime.

Hearing this, there was no limit to the anger of the Samudradeva and he was full of annger & proudly and said a very worse thing about Lord Shiva.  By marrying that Aghori, you will have to live in the midst of ghost vampires on Kailash. There is still time to change your decision and marry me and live with me like a queen in my palace.  My seas are full of milk and sweet water, so I am entitled to be your husband.  Hurt by these harsh words, Goddess Uma cursed him that the sweet water and milk you are proud of will become salty.  And since then the sea water has become salty.

Lord Ayyappa is unique son of the father Lord Shiva and mother Lord Vishnu.

Our tradition is story-oriented.  Many stories for the same event will be found in the Puranas.  Then there is a difference in the stories in the north-south as well.  We north Indians do not know much about Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala.  According to the legend Lord Ayyappa is believed to be son of father Lord Shiva and mother Lord Vishnu.

If we look at the mythology of Lord Shiva and Vishnu, both the gods created many leelas for human welfare.  Lord Vishnu, along with his twenty four avatars, has presented many example for the betterment of human beings.  Lord Shiva, with his meditation, anger and sacrifice, has given us a message to do Satkarma(good deeds) in every form.

But now let's consider who are the children of Shiva and Vishnu?  There are many avatars of Lord Vishnu and he was accompanied by many families and children.  Mahadev  is considered to be the only one family, in which he has two children as Ganesh and Karthikeya.  But this is not the whole truth.  There is also the third child of Shiva, it is worshiped as Lord Ayyappa.

The mystery lies in that Lord Vishnu gave birth to the third child of Shiva.

That is, the child of two men!

 So let's know this secret related to the birth of Lord Ayyappa!

Lord Vishnu took Mohini avatar for distribute necter in gods.

In Kalyug it is common for two men to have a relationship.  With the help of science, men have started giving birth to children, but in mythological history, it is surprising to have children of two male deities.  Before you reach a decision and make any unwanted perception, first understand this mystery!

If you have read or heard the mythology, then you will definitely remember about the Samudramanthana( sea churning) between the gods and the asuras.  In the Samudra Manthan, one name is mentioned repeatedly, which has been called Mohini.  In fact, when Amrit(necter) came out of the sea during the churning of the sea, a dispute arose between the gods and the demons about its sharing.

Then Lord Vishnu took the form of Mohini avatar and took the urn of nectar.

 Mohini was so beautiful that the focus of the demons was more on the appearance of beauty of Mohini than a pot of nectar.  During this time, deceit happened and Mohini gave to the gods to drink nectar while the demons  getting only simple water.

 But Mohini's character is not limited only to the story of Samudramanthan but there is another story ahead of it.

Mahishasura's sister Mahishi received a boon from Lord Brahma.

Actually, a demon named Mahishasura was inhabiting the earth.  Who had crossed all the limits of his ego and tyranny.  Troubled by the atrocities of Mahishasura, the gods prayed to Mother Durga for help.  After this, Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura.

 But violence and arrogance did not end with Mahishasura.

Mahishasura's sister Mahishi was deeply saddened by her brother's death.  She was angry with the gods and that is why she started doing intense penance to make herself powerful.  She worshiped Lord Brahma.  Lord Brahma was pleased with this worship done continuously for many years.  Then Mahishi asked to a boon from Lord Brahma for herself immortality.

Lord Brahma said that it is against the laws of creation.  The one who is born is sure to die.  She can decide the condition of her death, but cannot postpone it.  Mahishi found the middle way.

 She asked for a boon that I want my slaughter to be done by the son of Shiva and Vishnu.

Lord Brahma accepted her request and gave him a boon.  Mahishi felt that this is never possible.  Since the union of two gods and then children cannot be born.  Due to this arrogance, she created chaos from the earth to the heavens.  Once again, the gods were trap in trouble.

Mohini gave birth to Shiva's son.

This time again all the gods reached the shelter of Lord Shiva.  They said that there is no solution in the boon that Lord Brahma has given to Mahishi.  The offspring cannot be born with the union of two men.  This is why none of us can kill him.  In a way, she has become immortal.

 After this, the gods reached Lord Vishnu and requested him to solve this problem.  Although they were realizing that there could be no solution of this boon.

 But something else was written in future. 

Lord Vishnu sent his avatar Mohini to Kailash.  Lord Shiva recognized him after seeing Mohini.  Mohini proposed love to Shiva.  Since Shiva was a yogi and Kama lust never got involved in his weaknesses, he declined her offer to meet Mohini.  But Lord Shiva kept the honor of Mohini's love.

Shiva gave his semen to Mohini, which is called Parda(mercury).  Shiva and Mohini got together without making a relationship like this.  Since Mohini was an incarnation of Vishnu, it is also called the union of Shiva and Vishnu. Due the influence of Parda ,Mohini had pregnant and she gave birth to a son.

In the Puranas, this son was known as 'Harihar' or 'Manikanta'.  Lord Ayyappa, who is worshiped in South India,he is the 'Harihar'.  Ayyappa is the child of Shiva and Vishnu, so he possessed the powers of both the gods.  Later, he killed Mahishi and freed the gods from her atrocities.

Lord Ayyappa is also known by the name 'Hariharan'. Hari means Lord Vishnu and Harn means Shiva. The sons of Hari and Harn i.e. Hariharan. They are also called Manikandan.  Here Mani(gem) means gold bell and Kandan means neck. That is, the God who holds the gem in the neck.  He is called by this name because his parents Shiva and Mohini tied a gold bell around his neck.

According to the mythology, after the birth of  Ayyappa, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu who became Mohini , they tied a golden necklace around his neck and placed him on the banks of the Pampa River.  Then Rajasekhara, the king of Pandalam, adopted Ayyappa and raised him like a son.  King Rajasekhar was childless.  Presently, Pandalam is a city in the state of Kerala.

Shortly after Ayyappa started living in the king's palace, the queen also gave birth to a son.  The queen's behavior changed for adopted son Ayyappa after having a son.  Raja Rajasekhar understood his queen's mistreatment against Ayyappa.  For this he apologized to Ayyappa.

The queen feared that the king loved his adopted son very much, it may possible that he give his throne to him.  In such a situation, the queen pretended to be sick and sent information to Ayyappa that she could be cured by drinking the tigress's milk.  Her plan was to get Ayyappa killed by a demonic Mahishi living in the forest.  Ayyappa went to the forest to take the tigress's milk for his mother.  When the Mahishi tried to kill him but there Ayyappa killed Mahishi and bring the tigress's milk,  but he also  brought the tigress for the mother while riding the tigress.

When Ayyappa came out of the forest riding the tigress, all the people of the state were surprised to see him alive and riding the tigress.  All cheered Ayyappa.  Then the king understood that his son is not an ordinary man.  At this he apologizes to Ayyappa for the queen's bad behavior.  Seeing his father upset, Ayyappa decided to leave the kingdom and went to heaven, asking the father to build a temple in Sabari (hills).  His purpose behind building the temple was to leave own memories on earth at the father's request.

According to the wishes of the son, Raja Rajasekhar built the temple in Sabari.  After the construction of the temple, Lord Parashuram built the idol of Ayyappa and installed it in the temple on the holy festival of Makar Sankranti.  In this way the temple of Lord Ayyappa was built and since then this form of God is being worshiped and the temple is the center of the faith of the devotees.

Near the temple, a flame appears in the dark night of Makar Sankranti.  Crores of devotees from all over the world come every year to see this flame.  It is said that whenever this flame is seen, noise is heard along with it.  Devotees believe that this is a divine flame and God ignite it himself.  It has been named Makar Jyoti.

This legend is quite popular in South India, while there is no mention of Lord Ayyappa in North and East India.  There is a Sabarimala temple in the state of Kerala in South India.  It is believed that Ayyappa resides here.  Apart from this, temples of Lord Ayyappa are found in almost every street in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka.

Since the birth of Lord Ayyappa, it is clear that in Hindu mythology, the story of meeting of two gods is described.

 So don't be surprised the next time you hear the name of Lord Ayyappa from the mouth of a South Indian!

Story of Shumbha and Nishumbha slaughter.

After Mahishasura, there were two more demons, who took the Indrapuri by conquering in the war and taking possession of the heaven by taking away the Indra, Surya, Agni etc.  Once again the gods had to be humiliated by the demons.  Then the gods remembered Mateshwari and remembered  that Mateshwari had given us a boon that whenever my devotees face troubles , I would protect them.  Like Mahishasura, I will slay the newly risen demons.

Meditating on this assurance of Shri Durga ji, they all  gods went to the Himalayas to praise Maa Durga and started praising her. In this way, when all the gods were invoking Maa Shakti together, Goddess Parvati came from there. That very beautiful maa Parvati asked the gods - 'Whom are you calling, in whose praise are you engrossed?'  'O Bhagwati, Shumbha-Nishumbha has insulted us, suffering from their atrocities, we are remembering Shri Durga ji for help here.  On hearing this reply of the Gods, Parvati ji disappeared from there.

One day two powerful messengers of Shumbha and Nishumbh named Chand and Mund came on the Himalayas.  There they saw Maa Ambe absorbed in devotion in a very beautiful form.  They had never seen such a beautiful woman before, such a beautiful form that the entire Himalayas were being illuminated.  Chand and Mund immediately described this unique beauty to their lord Shumbha and Nishumbh in this way. She has a moon-like face to relieve all grief.  The eyelids steal the beauty of the snake.  Eyes are more beautiful than lotus, eyebrows are like bows, eyelashes are like arrows. Waistline like a lion, speed like elephant , will defeat Rati's beauty.  There is a sword in the hand which is as bright as the sun, wearing a beautiful form. Look  seem like Shiva's ardhangini .

"Hearing such praise of Maa Ambe, Shumbha sent the messengers with a proposal of marriage to the goddess. When the messengers went and spoke to the goddess, the goddess replied," O fool, go away and tell the monster that ,who will defeat me in the war. " Then I would consider that as a groom.

Slaughter of Dhumranayan,Chand and Mund.

When the messenger came to the assembly of Shumbh and Nishumbh, when he said this to the goddess's reply , the monster named Dhumarnayan got up from the middle of the meeting and said with great pride - I can bring her by convincing only , if she does not agree, I will bring her by dragging with grab her hairs.

Hearing this statement of Dhumranayan, Shumbha sent him with a large army to bring the goddess.  In this army, there were also two big trusted demons Chand and Munda of King Shumbha. On the other hand, a large demonic army with Chand-Munda.

 Seeing the they coming, the goddess got very angry and due to this anger Jagadamba's face turned black and immediately there appeared Kali Devi in ​​a formidable form.  Killing great demons, Mahakali, with her Khadaga (sword), separated Dhumranayan's head in one stroke and Mahabali Dhumnayan slept in the battlefield forever. When Dhumranayan was killed, Mund got angry and he proceeded to attack Kali.  After a terrible battle with Mund, Goddess separated the head of Mund from the his body. Now the goddess attacked with her spear so that it did not take even a moment to separate Chand's head from his torso.

Slaughter of Raktabeeja.

On the death of their great demons, Shumbha- Nishumbha sent a specific demon, Raktabija, to fight.  It was a boon to the Raktabija that the more blood drops that fall from his body, the more Raktabeeja will be born.  It was also base for Raktabeeja to be proud of it.  He would gladly go to any battlefield and today he went out to fight Devi with the same joy.

 Seeing the goddess in front of him, he starting laughing loudly,  then Mata showered arrows so much that the entire army were confused as to whether it was actually rain or a shower of arrows.  This sequence of attack on each other continued for a long time.  Till now, Maa Durga attacked on Raktabeeja was bleeding from his body.  As many drops of that blood fell on the ground, more Raktabeeja were born.  Countless Raktabeejas like this surrounded Durga and her lion, but Chandi and Lion together killed a group of all those demons in the war.

In this way, when many Raktabeeja were born again and again from the blood , then Chandi said to Maa Kali that " I attack on this great mighty monster, then you do not let his blood fall to the ground.  Then  maa Kali took a khappar in her hand as a rage, and drank all the drops of blood falling from the Raktabeeja.  When the mother hit Raktabeeja with the trident for the last time, Maa Kaali drank all his blood.  In this way,  maa Shakti destroyed him.

Slaughter of Nishumbha.

The some weakend demons who survived went to their lord Shumbha-Nishumbha and told the news of the death of Raktabeeja, hearing this, Nishumbha while holding a sword in his hand, he said - was the Raktabeeja also killed by Chandi, like a lion of a forest kills small animals.

Filled with anger, Shumbh-Nishumbh start roaring such a that ten directions were echoed.  According to the strategy, the flag hoisting the flag by decorating its armies in many ways,  Nishumbha walked such like as a mountain had moved.  Dust started flying everywhere. On the other hand, the arrival of a new monster was also heard in the ears of Chandi.  Chandi also descended from the mountain and shouted at the enemy and made a great noise.  On seeing the goddess, Nishumbh raised a very large bow and generate amazing sound by his bow's thread as if the clouds were thundering.

Such Seeing the terrible monster, the goddess absorbed all her powers into herself.  There was a fierce struggle between Goddess and Nishumbha.  The heads of the enemies were falling as if the mulberry falls by moving the mulberry tree.  In full rage, when Chandi shot an arrow at Nishumbh, his head also fell in two pieces and darkness fell in the battlefield.

Slaughter of Shumbha.

When the head of Nishumbh fell in the ground in this way, a monster ran away from battle ground and went to Shumbha and informed him that his brother was killed.

Shumbha got full of angry after the death of his beloved brother.  Without spending a single moment ran to take revenge on Mateshwari.  Speaking to Mateshwari in pride, you have killed such a large army and my brother with the help of other powers including Kali, now see I will take revenge on you alone.

Mateshwari said - 'There is no other power with me.  When the time comes, my power takes different forms and comes out of my body and then enters me. Seeing this, I stand alone to fight you.  Get ready!  In the war, Shumbha also died and after then all the gods together praise Mateshwari's glory.