Maha
Shivaratri, (Sanskrit: "Great Night of Shiva") is being celebrated
this year on 8 March.
Maha
Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the deity
Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the
festival is celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start
with darkness - waning) of the lunar month of Phalguna. The festival
commemorates the wedding of Shiva and Parvati and the occasion that Shiva
performs his divine dance, called the Tandava.
It is a
notable festival in Hinduism, marking a remembrance of "overcoming
darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. It is observed by
remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating on ethics and
virtues such as honesty, non-injury to others, charity, forgiveness, and the
discovery of Shiva. Ardent devotees stay awake throughout the night. Others
visit one of the Shiva temples or go on a pilgrimage to the Jyotirlingams. The
festival is believed to have originated in 5th century BCE.
In Kashmir
Shaivism, the festival is called Har-ratri or phonetically simpler Haerath or
Herath by Shiva devotees of the Kashmir region.
