Maha Shivratri Observance 24 Hours service 6 am Monday, 23rd Feb. – 6 am Tuesday, 24th Feb. Abhishekam every 3 hrs.
Maha Mrityunjaya Homam
Bhajan & Sankirtan
Pravachan
Maha Aarati Maha Shivratri, the night of the worship of Lord Shiva, occurs on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna. It falls on a moonless February night, when Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of destruction. Shivratri (Sanskrit 'ratri' = night) is the night when he is said to have performed the Tandava Nritya or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. Once there was a hunter by the name Suswar, lived near Varanasi. Returning one day from a hunting expedition, he lost his way. He climbed a bel tree where he spent the night. Nervous, he kept plucking the leaves, dropping them down one by one. Beneath the tree was a Shiva lingam. That night happened to be Shivratri. The hunter had unknowingly worshipped Shiva on this auspicious day. So, in his next birth, the hunter was reborn as king Chandrabhanu, who is believed to have evolved all rituals connected with Shiva worship. Shiva is Ashutosh or easy to please; Abdar or bestower of boons; Papkateswar or reliever of sins; Mukteswar or liberator, Hara the destroyer and a preserver. Since destruction in Hinduism implies regeneration, Shiva represents the reproductive power which perpetually restores that which has been destroyed or dissolved.
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