Essay on “Maha Shivratri” Festival
Maha Shivratri is celebrated during the month of Phalgun. Lord Shiva, the great Hindu god, is known as the destroyer of the universe. On this day, Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati are worshipped by young girls and even men, in the hope of getting a perfect mate for themselves.
Mythologically, a hunter having failed to find any prey in a forest, climbed a bel tree towards the evening to spend the night. While drinking some water he dropped some of it on the ‘Shiva Lingam’ hidden beneath some bushes below the tree. Suddenly, a doe came to the spring to drink water, and the hunter took aim. But seeing the mutual love for each other in the doc’s family he let the whole family go. In the morning, Lord Shiva appeared before him and blessed him, saying that when he had sprinkled water on the Shiva Lingam and thrown ‘bel leaves’ on it, he had unwittingly worshipped him and Lord Shiva bestowed wealth and prosperity on him. From that day, the ‘Shiva Lingam’ is worshipped on the day which has come to be known as Maha Shivratri.
