Shivaratri

Shivaratri By Sri Swami Sivananda

Introduction

The Story of King Chitrabhanu

Spiritual Significance of the Ritual

Lord Shiva's Assuarance

Introduction

This falls on the 13th (or 14th) day of the dark half of Phalgun

(February-March). The name means "the night of Shiva". The ceremonies take

place chiefly at night. This is a festival observed in honour of Lord Shiva.

Shiva was married to Parvati on this day.

People observe a strict fast on this day. Some devotees do not even take a

drop of water. They keep vigil all night. The Shiva Lingam is worshipped

throughout the night by washing it every three hours with milk, curd, honey,

rose water, etc., whilst the chanting of the Mantra Om Namah Shivaya

continues. Offerings of bael leaves are made to the Lingam. Bael leaves are

very sacred as, it is said, Lakshmi resides in them.

Hymns in praise of Lord Shiva, such as the Shiva Mahimna Stotra of

Pushpadanta or Ravana's Shiva Tandava Stotra are sung with great fervour and

devotion. People repeat the Panchakshara Mantra, Om Namah Shivaya. He who

utters the Names of Shiva during Shivaratri, with perfect devotion and

concentration, is freed from all sins. He reaches the abode of Shiva and

lives there happily. He is liberated from the wheel of births and deaths.

Many pilgrims flock to the places where there are Shiva temples.

The Story of King Chitrabhanu

In the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhishma, whilst resting on the bed

of arrows and discoursing on Dharma, refers to the observance of Maha

Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The story goes as follows.

Once upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku dynasty, who ruled over

the whole of Jambudvipa, was observing a fast with his wife, it being the

day of Maha Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit to the court of

the king.

The sage asked, "O king! why are you observing a fast today?"

King Chitrabhanu explained why. He had the gift of remembering the incidents

of his previous birth.

The king said to the sage: "In my past birth I was a hunter in Varanasi. My

name was Suswara. My livelihood was to kill and sell birds and animals. One

day I was roaming the forests in search of animals. I was overtaken by the

darkness of night. Unable to return home, I climbed a tree for shelter. It

happened to be a bael tree. I had shot a deer that day but I had no time to

take it home. I bundled it up and tied it to a branch on the tree. As I was

tormented by hunger and thirst, I kept awake throughout the night. I shed

profuse tears when I thought of my poor wife and children who were starving

and anxiously awaiting my return. To pass away the time that night I engaged

myself in plucking the bael leaves and dropping them down onto the ground.

"The day dawned. I returned home and sold the deer. I bought some food for

myself and for my family. I was about to break my fast when a stranger came

to me, begging for food. I served him first and then took my food.

"At the time of death, I saw two messengers of Lord Shiva. They were sent

down to conduct my soul to the abode of Lord Shiva. I learnt then for the

first time of the great merit I had earned by the unconscious worship of

Lord Shiva during the night of Shivaratri. They told me that there was a

Lingam at the bottom of the tree. The leaves I dropped fell on the Lingam.

My tears which I had shed out of pure sorrow for my family fell onto the

Lingam and washed it. And I had fasted all day and all night. Thus did I

unconsciously worship the Lord.

"I lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed divine bliss for long ages. I

am now reborn as Chitrabhanu."

Spiritual Significance of the Ritual

The Scriptures record the following dialogue between Sastri and Atmanathan,

giving the inner meaning of the above story.

Sastri: It is an allegory. The wild animals that the hunter fought with are

lust, anger, greed, infatuation, jealousy and hatred. The jungle is the

fourfold mind, consisting of the subconscious mind, the intellect, the ego

and the conscious mind. It is in the mind that these "wild animals" roam

about freely. They must be killed. Our hunter was pursuing them because he

was a Yogi. If you want to be a real Yogi you have to conquer these evil

tendencies. Do you remember the name of the hunter in the story?

Atmanathan: Yes, he was called Suswara.

Sastri: That's right. It means "melodious". The hunter had a pleasant

melodious voice. If a person practices Yama and Niyama and is ever

conquering his evil tendencies, he will develop certain external marks of a

Yogi. The first marks are lightness of the body, health, steadiness,

clearness of countenance and a pleasant voice. This stage has been spoken of

in detail in the Swetaswatara Upanishad. The hunter or the Yogi had for many

years practised Yoga and had reached the first stage. So he is given the

name Suswara. Do you remember where he was born?

Atmanathan: Yes, his birthplace is Varanasi.

Sastri: Now, the Yogis call the Ajna Chakra by the name Varanasi. This is

the point midway between the eyebrows. It is regarded as the meeting place

of the three nerve currents (Nadis), namely, the Ida, Pingala and the

Sushumna. An aspirant is instructed to concentrate on that point. That helps

him to conquer his desires and evil qualities like anger and so on. It is

there that he gets a vision of the Divine Light within.

Atmanathan: Very interesting! But how do you explain his climbing up the

bael tree and all the other details of the worship?

Sastri: Have you ever seen a bael leaf?

Atmanathan: It has three leaves on one stalk.

Sastri: True. The tree represents the spinal column. The leaves are

threefold. They represent the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna Nadis, which are the

regions for the activity of the moon, the sun and fire respectively, or

which may be thought of as the three eyes of Shiva. The climbing of the tree

is meant to represent the ascension of the Kundalini Shakti, the serpentine

power, from the lowest nerve centre called the Muladhara to the Ajna Chakra.

That is the work of the Yogi.

Atmanathan: Yes, I have heard of the Kundalini and the various psychic

centres in the body. Please go on further; I am very interested to know

more.

Sastri: Good. The Yogi was in the waking state when he began his meditation.

He bundled up the birds and the animals he had slain and, tying them on a

branch of the tree, he rested there. That means he had fully conquered his

thoughts and rendered them inactive. He had gone through the steps of Yama,

Niyama, Pratyahara, etc. On the tree he was practising concentration and

meditation. When he felt sleepy, it means that he was about to lose

consciousness and go into deep sleep. So he determined to keep awake.

Atmanathan: That is now clear to me; you certainly do explain it very well.

But why did he weep for his wife and children?

Sastri: His wife and children are none other than the world. One who seeks

the Grace of God must become an embodiment of love. He must have an

all-embracing sympathy. His shedding of tears is symbolical of his universal

love. In Yoga also, one cannot have illumination without Divine Grace.

Without practising universal love, one cannot win that Grace. One must

perceive one's own Self everywhere. The preliminary stage is to identify

one's own mind with the minds of all created beings. That is fellow-feeling

or sympathy. Then one must rise above the limitations of the mind and merge

it in the Self. That happens only in the stage of Samadhi, not earlier.

Atmanathan: Why did he pluck and drop the bael leaves?

Sastri: That is mentioned in the story only to show that he had no

extraneous thoughts. He was not even conscious of what he was doing. All his

activity was confined to the three Nadis. The leaves, I have said before,

represent the three Nadis. He was in fact in the second state, namely, the

dream state, before he passed into the deep sleep state.

Atmanathan: He kept vigil the whole night, it is said.

Sastri: Yes, that means that he passed through the deep sleep state

successfully. The dawning of day symbolises the entrance into the Fourth

state called Turiya or superconsciousness.

Atmanathan: It is said that he came down and saw the Lingam. What does that

mean?

Sastri: That means that in the Turiya state he saw the Shiva Lingam or the

mark of Shiva in the form of the inner lights. In other words, he had the

vision of the Lord. That was an indication to him that he would realise the

supreme, eternal abode of Lord Shiva in course of time.

Atmanathan: So it appears from what you say that the sight of the lights is

not the final stage?

Sastri: Oh no! That is only one step, albeit a difficult one. Now think of

how the story continues. He goes home and feeds a stranger. A stranger is

one whom you have not seen before. The stranger is no other than the hunter

himself, transformed into a new person. The food was the likes and dislikes

which he had killed the previous