Shivaratri Festival of India

Mahashivratri is the night of Shiva, and this festival is celebrated all over India. It is a very important festival for the Hindus. Lord Shiva is worshipped on this auspicious day. According to Hindu calendars, this year (2012) Maha Shivratri Festival is celebrated on 20th of February.

Lord Shiva is worshipped in 108 names. Some of them are Neelakanta, Shankar, Nataraja, Pashupathi, Maheswar etc. The devotees of Lord Shiva observe this festival with great devotion. Fasting and prayers are the more important parts of this festival. They observe fasting the whole day and the night, visiting Shiva temples and chanting the names of Lord Shiva .

According to legends, Lord Shiva performed Thandava Nrithya on the Maha Shivaratri night. It is believed that Goddess Parvati performed tapas and prayers on the auspicious moonless night of Shivaratri to ward off any evil that may befall her husband. Hence, on this auspicious day, the married women pray for the health and happiness of their husbands and the unmarried girls pray for getting good husband like Shiva, the ideal husband of Parvathi.

People also send Mahashivaratri greeting cards to their loved ones. The devotees offer coconut, Bilva leaves, fruits and naivedhyam (special food prepared for the occasion) to Lord Shiva.

It is believed that Lord Shiva appeared in the form of light or fire, which are called Jyothir Lingas, in twelve holy places in India.

1) Somnath Temple, Gujarat
2) Mallikarjuna Temple, Andhra Pradesh
3) Mahakaleshwara Temple, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
4) Omkareshwar Temple, Madhya Pradesh
5) Vaidyanath Temple, Deogarh, Bihar
6) Bhimashankar Temple near Pune in Maharashtra
7) Rameshwaram Temple, Tamil Nadu
8) Nageshwar Temple, Dwarka, Gujarat
9) Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
10) Trimbakeshwar Temple, Nasik, Maharashtra
11) Kedarnath Temple, Himalayas
12) Grishneshwar Temple, Daulatabad, Maharashtra

It is believed that those who chant the Jyotir Linga Stotram on this day will attain salvation.

In Kerala, Shivaratri is celebrated with great pomp in Shiva Temple at Aluva, on the bank of River Periyar. In Andhra Pradesh, devotees of Lord Shiva throng Sri Kalahasteshwara Temple at Kalahasti and the Bharamarambha Malikarjunaswamy Temple at Srisailam. In Tamil Nadu, Shivaratri celebration is famous in Chidambaram temple and Rameshwaram Temple. In Karnataka, the Srikanteshwara temple in Nanjangud and Someshwara Temple in Bangalore attract devotees in large numbers.