SHIVARATRI AND PUJA FOR THE HOME

• June 22, 2017
• Pt. Telluckram Maharaj

Mahashivaratri is a night-time festival: ratri meaning night. The night of Mahashivaratri is divided into 4 sections each of 3 hours duration. Each 3-hour section is called a Parhara. On each of the praharas, puja is performed and the Shiva Lingam is bathed with auspicious articles such as milk, dahie, ghee and honey. A devotee usually spends the entire night in prayer, worship and meditation to Lord Shiva. The day leading up to the festival is spent in fasting as a way of preparing for the ceremonies.

These two aspects of Mahashivaratri, fasting during the day and prayer throughout the night, make this one of the holiest of all festivals. Fasting involves the control of all the senses and dedication of all work and activity to The Lord, so this is a way of transcending the Rajasic tendencies of the mind. Staying awake in prayer throughout the night overcomes the Tamasic nature of the personality. Therefore, when both the Tamas and Rajas natures are overcome then Satwic predominates, making it easier to focus on The Lord.

In most formal ceremonies in the temples, the night of Mahashivaratri begins at 6:00 pm with puja, kirtan, jaap and abishekam of the Shiva Lingam. Abishekam is the ceremonial bathing of the Lingam with the auspicious articles (milk, dahie, ghee, honey, coconut water, sugar cane juice, etc.), and also water, accompanied by the chanting of mantras. This procedure is repeated at 9:00 pm, 12:00 am, 3:00 am with the ceremonies ending at 6:00 am or sunrise. The time between the pujas and abishekam is spent in bhajans or reading of the scriptures, etc.

The following is a simplified procedure that can be followed at home with basic preparation and materials. A Shiva Lingam is set up in a thali or tray and the puja and abishekam done on the Lingam with the thali or tray preventing spills, etc. The puja can be as simple as offering the 5 basic puja articles – gandh or perfume, pusph or flowers, dhoop or incense, deep or arti and naivedya or prasad. This is called panch upchar puja or puja with 5 steps or offerings. The mantras accompanying each offering can also be a very simple single line mantra.

1ST PRAHARA -6:00 PM.
Puja to Lord Shiva
Offer perfume to the Lingam with the prayer:
Om Namaha Shivaaya Gandham Samarpayaami.

Offer flowers with the prayer:
Om Namaha Shivaaya Pushpam Samarpayaami.

Offer incense with the prayer:
Om Namaha Shivaaya Dhoopam Samarpayaami.

Offer arti with the prayer:
Om Namaha Shivaaya Deepam Samarpayaami.

Offer prasad with the prayer:
Om Namaha Shivaaya Naivedyam Samarpayaami

After this 5-step puja process, the abishekam of the Lingam with milk is done by pouring a lota of milk in a slow continuous stream over the Lingam with the recitation of: OM HOUM ISHAANAAYA NAMAHA. Then the Lingam is bathed with pure water using the mantra: OM SHIVARATRI VRATAM DEVA PUJA JAPA PARAAYANA, KAROMI VIDHIWAT DATAM GRIHAAN ARGYAM MAHESHWARA. OM NAMAHA SHIVAAYA.

After the abishekam, using a japa mala 108 recitations of the Panchashri mantra, Om Namaha Shivaaya, can be done.

2nd PRAHARA -9:00 PM
Panch upchar puja is repeated as before.
Abishekam with dahie using the mantra: OM HOUM AGHORAAYA NAMAHA.
Then the Lingam is bathed with water using the mantra as above.
Jaap of Panchaashari mantra is done again.

3rd PRAHARA – 12:00 AM
Panch upchar puja
Abishekam with ghee using the mantra: OM HOUM VAAMADEVAAYA NAMAHA.
The Lingam is bathed with water using the above mantra.
Jaap of Panchaashari mantra is done.

4th PRAHARA – 3:00 AM.
Panch upchar puja.
Abishekam using honey with the mantra:OM HOUM SADHYO JAATAAYA NAMAHA.
The Lingam is bathed with water as before.
Jaap of Panchaashari is done.

The ceremony can be concluded at sunrise or 6:00 am with a simple havan and final arti for the murtis and Lingam.

The abishekam using the 4 articles described here is done in a specific order: milk, dahie, ghee then honey as the last offering. The symbolism here is that milk is the least purified of the three articles and so is first. Dahie is formed by a little preparation and purification of the milk but the ghee is made by an even greater degree of purification. Hence the order of milk, dahie then ghee represents the gradual but increasing purification of the devotee as the night progresses. Finally honey is offered representing the Amrit of immortality.

The greatness of the worship during Mahashivaratri is given in several kathas of the Puranas. One of the most popular describes Parvati Devi asking Lord Shiva which of the many ceremonies in His honor does he cherish the most. Lord Shiva replied: the 14th. night of the dark half of the month of Phalgun (Feb/March), is my most favorite time. The devotee pleases more by mere fasting than by ceremonial baths and rituals, etc.

Once upon a time, a hunter named Suswara lived in the town of Varanasi. He was returning home one evening from the forest with the birds he had killed but nightfall came before he arrived home. He tied his dead birds in a bundle at the base of a tree and fearing for his safety, climbed up the tree to spend the night. Unknown to the hunter the tree happened to be Lord Shiva’s favorite tree, the Bilva tree, and there was a Lingam at the base of the tree. To keep from falling asleep the hunter passed the time by plucking leaves off the tree and absent-mindedly dropping them to the Lingam below. The dew trickled down his body and also fell on the Lingam. Therefore the hunter spent the entire night involuntarily and unconsciously worshiping Lord Shiva. The day dawned and the hunter returned home.

At the time of the hunter’s death, the messengers of Yama came to take his soul to hell for the sins of his lifetime. They found that Lord Shiva’s messengers had already arrived to escort the soul of the hunter to Shiva Loka due to the benefit of his worship of the Shiva Lingam, involuntary though it may have been.

Parvati Devi was greatly impressed with this narration of Lord Shiva and she related it to her friends and so the greatness of the worship of God on this night is known to all mankind.

The philosopical basis of this story has been explored in several scriptures. The name of the hunter is Suswara which is indicative of good qualities or virtues. He works in the forest – i.e., the world. He kills wild animals which is symbolic of the destruction of evil tendencies of the mind. He climbs the bilwa tree which represents spiritual progress. His unconscious and involuntary worship shows the state of development where every act is an offering to God. He lives in Varanasi – the spiritual centre not only of the country but in the human body it represents the spiritual eye of wisdom. Therefore the description by Lord Shiva of a hunter in the forest really represents the life of a yogi in the world.

May we enjoy the blessing of Lord Shiva on this auspicious day.