Mahashivratri and the mythology

Bishaldeep Kakati

(Advocate, Gauhati High Court)

The Hindu Mythology elaborates the concept of life and living by taking into consideration the idea of creation, preservation and destruction. People following Hindu Mythology believe that Lord Brahma is the creator, Lord Vishnu is the protector and Lord Shiva is the destroyer. The concept further highlights the basic fundamentals of the Universe that states that anything that is created is also destroyed for the process of evolution to continue. Enthusiasts of Hindu mythology also opine that the ‘Trimurti’ in Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are not separated, but one unified form of energy, but the mythological tales and account on each of them in a distinct manner show that the powers and traits that they possess make them a subject matter to be individually studied and analysed. Interestingly in the recent times, a lot has been discussed about the destroyer i.e. Lord Shiva and it won’t be wrong to comment that more and more people have been attracted to the mysticism of Lord Shiva, which has ultimately turned them into devotees of Lord Shiva.

Amidst discussion on Lord Shiva, a statement that is often found to be amongst the devotees is, “Shiva has neither a beginning or an end but he is the Universe itself.” Lord Shiva is also known as ‘Mahakaal’ which symbolizes that he is nothing but the time itself. The past, present and further reside upon him and he is even beyond it. That is the reason it is believed that one can never understand Lord Shiva, his mysticism and philosophies and even if one believes he has completely understood him, maybe he has to re-start understanding him from the very beginning itself. This can be related by taking into consideration the character of Lord Shiva as portrayed in Hindu Mythology. Lord Shiva is believed to be a Bairagi, who covers himself with the skin of a tiger, has a snake around his neck, has the moon on his head, the poisonous Halahal in his throat, a musical instrument in the form of Dumbaru, and the trident, and he himself remains in deep meditation. As such, it often becomes impossible for mortal beings to understand how Lord Shiva could hold calmness in the form of Moon and something as deadly as Halahal together. That is the reason why Lord Shiva is also known as Devo ke Dev Mahadev. Another trait that is associated with Lord Shiva is his desire to fulfill the wishes of his devotees. There are many instances according to Indian Mythology where Lord Shiva granted blessings of whatever kind to his devotees without even thinking of the consequences. For instance, mythology says that once Lord Shiva granted a boon to Vashmasur that on the head of any person on whom he puts his hand to shall turn into ashes and later the same Vashmasur taking the advantage of Lord Shiva’s blessing decided to turn Lord Shiva into ashes and there are many instances as such. However, it is the same Lord Shiva who asked his incarnation Veervadhara to destroy King Daksha after the incident of Sati Dahan. As such Lord Shiva is a mystic figure of calmness as well rage and wrath, almost impossible to understand entirely.

The month of Sawan and the night of Mahashivratri are considered to be really auspicious and both these events are related to worshipping and praying to Lord Shiva. In this regard, the night of Mahashivratri is considered to be really powerful and Mythology states there are many events related to celebrating this night. One of the very common accounts related to celebrating Mahashivratri is the union of Lord Shiva and his consort Devi Parvati. It is believed that on the night of Mahashivratri, Lord Shiva tied his nuptial knot with his spouse. However, in the realm of spirituality, the night of Mahashivratri has a deeper meaning as it goes beyond the notion of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. Lord Shiva represents mindfulness, while Devi Parvati is considered to be nature herself, as such the union signifies the confluence of mindfulness and energy, which not only is believed to be the source of creation but also play a pivotal role in balancing the cosmos.

One of the accounts of mythology also states that Mahashivratri is celebrated so as to mark the day, when Lord Shiva destroyed the ego and pride of Lord Brahma. Once when a fight erupted between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu as to who was the most powerful and the best, Shiva appeared in the form of a Shiva linga and asked Lord Brahma to find the uppermost point of the Linga and Lord Vishnu to find the endpoint of it, and accordingly who would report to Lord Shiva at the earliest by finding the start point or end point of it respectively, shall be declared as the most powerful amongst the two. Lord Vishnu came and told Lord Shiva that he couldn’t find the endpoint but Lord Brahma in a deceitful way told Lord Shiva that he could find the start point of it and also brought Keteki flower as the witness. Lord Shiva punished Lord Brahma by beheading one of his heads and also cursed him by saying that in the years to come people shall not pray before him like they shall pray to Lord Vishnu. Further he also cursed the Keteki flower for falsely testifying Brahma’s cause of action by saying that the same flower shall not be used as offering in any kind of worship. It is believed that Mahashivratri is also celebrated to mark the day when this event happened.

Another account of Mythology narrates that Mahashivratri is also celebrated to mark the day when Lord Shiva drank the poisonous ‘Halahal Bish’ that came out during Samudra Manthan. Lord Shiva drank the poison and held it on his throat, for which his throat turned blue. As a result of which, Lord Shiva is also known as ‘Neelkantha’. The other god and demigod who were present tried to keep him awake by performing various songs and dances and in a way also to offer their prayers to Lord Shiva. It is also believed that Mahashivratri is celebrated to mark this day. As such, Mahashivratri is believed to be a very powerful night by the devotees of Lord Shiva and they also believe that on this night, the devotees get whatever they desire from Lord Shiva if they pray before him wholeheartedly and it is also the night where one can easily please Lord Shiva by his devotion.