MahaShiva Ratri - The great night of Lord Shiva

Huge Deity of Lord Shiva at Nageshwar temple

Nageshwar temple

Happy Shivaratri to all my readers. Today is a special and auspicious day of MahaShiva ratri. Actually, the word Shiva means auspiciousness. So there are many references in our Vedic literatures as why this particular day or rather night, that comes in Chaturdashi Tithi during Krishna Paksha in month of Magha is ascribed to Shiva and glorifying him. Because, on this very day aeons ago, Lord Shiva did some amazing things for the welfare of the creation. Shrimad Bhagavatam explains the pastime of churning the ocean by Demigods and Demons, for a pot of nectar of immortality, a devastating and dangerous poison called Halahala emerged which seemed to engulf and destroy the world.  For the welfare of the whole world Lord Shiva drank the whole poison and kept it in his throat without further swallowing it. Thus, his neck became blue and he is therefore called as Neelakanta or the blue throated one. It is said that, Lord Shiva has a beautiful and muscular whitish body. Lord Shiva is an eternally yogi - dresses as an ascetic and smears ash all over His body. Lord Shiva has Vasuki coiled around his neck - the snake is shown curled three times around the neck of the Lord.

Nageshvar Jyotirlinga

While writing this I remembered that, we had some special mercy of Lord Shiva on us i,e During our recent trip to India, we visited Gujarat and had the fortune of visiting 2 important temples or Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva (There are total of 12 Jyotirlingas in India). One of them is the Nageshvar Jyotirlinga in Jamnagar, one of the temples mentioned in the Shiva Purana which is about 10 kms from Beyt Dwaraka in Gujarat. So, we are on our way to Beyt Dwaraka, a small island sitauted at mouth of the Gulf of Kutch situated 3 km off the coast of Okha, Gujarat, India. Our plan was to have a Darshan of Nageshvarji which is on the way to Beyt Dwaraka (Beyt Dwaraka is believed to be the place where the residential palace of Lord Krishna used to be located and it is the place, where Sudama, a childhood friend of Krishna gave a him a Bet or Gift and in turn Krishna reciprocated him with unlimited wealth, opulence etc). Our bus party reached in the afternoon around 4PM and the temple was jam packed with thousands of people waiting in the queue. We decided to comeback for a darshan, on our way back from Beyt Dwaraka. When we returned, it was night around 8:30PM and the temple was almost empty and the best part was that, the Linga which is thousands of years old and which is usually covered with a Silver covering was removed, along with other decorations like garlands etc. We are able to spend some good quality time, going very close. Similarly, we had a wonderful darshan of Lord Shiva at Somnath temple, which is another Jyotirlinga.

Somnath Jyotirlinga

Somnath Jyotirlinga

I am posting some photos that I took during the visit.

I pray to Lord Shiva to help me get rid of my false ego or ahamkara.

Hara Hara Mahadeva Shambu Shankara.

Om Namah Shivaya.

nimna-gānām yathā gangā

devānām acyuto yathā

vaiṣṇavanām yathā śambhuh

purānānām idam tathā

Just as the Gaṅgā is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and Lord Śambhu [Śiva] the greatest of Vaiṣṇavas, so Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the greatest of all Purāṇas. (Srimad Bhagavatham 12.13.16).