Shivratri is known as the ‘Great night of Lord Shiva’, the night when millions and millions of his devotees dedicate themselves to hisBhakti in order to get rid of their sins and ask for a happy and healthy life for themselves and their families.
Shiva is one of the holy trinity of gods that are known to have created the universe according to the Hindu Mythology.
The 13th or 14th day of the Maghaa or Phalgun month of the Hindu calendar is the day when Shivratri is celebrated all over the country. It is one of the most awaited religious festivals of the year in India especially for the Hindus.
Pouring Milk in Shiv Lingam(Photo: Utah )
The festival involves a day long fasting and an all night vigil with devotees waking up all night to worship the lord, chanting his name in piety. Shiva Lingam is the symbol of the Supreme Absolute Shiva, it represents a form or a part of Him and it is this Lingam that is worshipped all over the country on the night on Shivratri. People wash the Lingam with water and milk, dress it up in flowers and worship sitting around it all night. The festival sees millions of devotees turning up at the temples in order to watch the rituals being performed and ask the Lord for his forgiveness for their sins.
Shiv Lingas ( Photo: Shiva)
Though thousands of Lingams are worshipped all over the world, but there is a group of twelve Lingams known as Jyotilingams which are the most important of all and are situated at various cities in India inside temples, every Shiva devotee wishes to pilgrim to these twelve sites once in his/her life.
Somnath Jyotirlinga (Photo: Kandarp Joshi)
Jyotirlingam
Jyotirlingam ( Kashi Vishwanath, Trimbakeshwar, Nagesha and Vaidyanathan)
Rameshwaram Jyotirlingam
Grishneshwar Jyotirlingam ( Photo: Pritam)
These are Somnath, one of the architectural marvels of ancient India it is the first of the lot. Next is Mallikarjuna, situated in the Kurnool town of Andhra Pradesh, the temple is also rich in architecture. Other such temples include Omkarshwar, Kedarnath, Bhimshankara, Viswanath-it is situated in Varanasi and is the most famous of them all, and Tryambekeshwara, Vaidyanathan, Nagesha, Rameshwara and the last of them is Grishneshwara. All of these temples see attendance in millions at the time Maha Shivratri.
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