On the 14th day of the dark half of Magh the great night of Shiva is celebrated. On this day the devotees of Shiva observe fast.
Once a hunter set out for a hunt. He came near a pond, and for the purpose of hunting he climbed a "bel" tree (sacred to Shiva). Sitting on a branch he waited for the game. But since the leaves obstructed his vision, he began to pluck a few leaves, which by chance fell on a Shiva Linga ("pindi"), which happened to be under that tree. Then a herd of deer came to drink water. The hunter took aim at a hind (female deer). But as she noticed the movement of the hunter, she cried out, "Please, wait a moment, before you shoot let me go home and meet my young ones for the last time. Afterwards you may take my life at your pleasure."
The hunter gave the hind permission to go home and remained sitting on the tree waiting for her to return. Waiting the whole night, he was forced to observe fast. On the Shiva Linga he had inadvertently offered the "bel" leaves. With his mouth he uttered the name of Shiva, thus he fulfilled the conditions needed for the observance of the Maha Shiva Ratra vow. So without knowing how, his heart was changed and he was filled with sentiments of mercy.
Before dawn the mother deer came back with the entire herd. "Now you may take my life at your pleasure," she said. Seeing the hind's honesty, the hunter's heart was further softened, and he completely gave up his thought of killing the hind. Shankar was so pleased that immediately by making all of them sit in a plane he took them to heaven. Both the hind and the hunter can be seen at night in the sky among the stars in the constellation of Orion ("Mrugshirsh nakshatra").
Shiva the "Great God"
"It is probable that, long before the arrival of the Aryans, the 'great god' ('Mahadeva' or 'Maheshvara') was worshipped in India." Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is the abode of Shiva. "The Ganges came down from the heavens because Shiva bore on the matted locks of his head the forceful impact of her falling torrents."
"He creates and destroys, he sustains the world, he at times obscures by his power of illusion (maya), or offers grace to the suffering world. These are the fivefold activities of Siva, symbolised by the five faces of the god (Panchanan). He sees the past, the present and the future (Trilocana). To save the earth he drank poison and his throat became dark-blue (Nilakantha). A moon's crescent round or above his central eye (Chandrasekhara), clad like an ascetic with a tiger-skin, he holds a trident (Pinaka) in his hand; he rides the bull Nandi. Some of his images represent him as a four-armed personage, two of the hands holding a battle-axe (khadga) and a deer, the two other hands in poses signifying assurance of safety and liberality, in some other representations, he carries a bow, a thunderbolt, an axe, a skull-capped staff, a drum."
Shiva's family is composed of his wife Uma (Shakti) and their two sons Ganesh and Kartikeya (Subrahmanya). Their respective mounts are the bull, the lion, the mouse and the peacock.
Shiva Linga
"In the full figure of Shiva the male and female principles are united, and he himself is said to be half man and half woman. The emblem under which he particularly delights to be worshipped is the lingam or phallus, which is always erect. Lingam and yoni (the female organ) represent the totality of his nature and the totality of all created existence."
The stone in its spherical form untouched by the sculptor, is the form nearest to the formless. And the sexual union of male and female is the farthest the human mind can reach to express the creative action of God. This action, as God Himself, remains a mystery to man. All that man can do is to look at nature and see how a new being comes into existence. Since nature is the work of God, it is logical to conclude that both the male and the female principles must be found in God Himself, the sexes being only a manifestation of God's nature. At the level of symbolism, the Shiva Linga or the stone with the semi-spherical top, makes a positive contribution in man's effort to express the Divine Mystery. Nilakantha.
Lord Shiva is the destroyer amongst the Holy Trinity.
Shiva is the remover of all evils and is an ideal of renunciation.
Shivayajur Shloka glorifies Lord Shiva in the highest order.
He is considered as pure as the white lotus.
Shivayajur Shloka
Karpuragauram Karunavataram
Samsasaram Bhujagendraharam
Sadhavasantam Hrdayaravinde
Bhavam Bhavanisahitam Namami
Meaning
The one as pure as camphor, personification of compassion,
and the essence of the world with the serpent as garland.
The one who resides in pure hearts and is accompanied
by Goddess Bhavani. .I bowed down to that Shiva
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