Shiva Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Festivals == {{Main|Maha Shivaratri}} {{multiple image | direction = vertical | width = 250 | footer = Maha Shivaratri festival is observed in the night, usually in lighted temples or special ''prabha'' (above). | image2 = Prabha 09.jpg | image1 = Kotappakonda.jpg }} There is a ''Shivaratri'' in every lunar month on its 13th night/14th day,<ref name="Raj2012p152">{{cite book|author=Karen Pechilis|editor=Selva J. Raj|title=Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h80yOTwlAUcC&pg=PA152 |year=2012|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0791482001|pages=152β153}}</ref> but once a year in late winter (February/March) and before the arrival of spring, marks ''Maha Shivaratri'' which means "the Great Night of Shiva".{{sfnm|Dalal|2010|1pp=137, 186|2a1=Jones|2a2=Ryan|2y=2006|2p=269}} Maha Shivaratri is a major Hindu festival, but one that is solemn and theologically marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world,{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=269}} and meditation about the polarities of existence, of Shiva and a devotion to humankind.<ref name="Raj2012p152" /> It is observed by reciting Shiva-related poems, chanting prayers, remembering Shiva, fasting, doing [[Yoga]] and meditating on ethics and virtues such as self-restraint, honesty, noninjury to others, forgiveness, introspection, self-repentance and the discovery of Shiva.{{sfnm|1a1=Jones|1a2=Ryan|1y=2006|1p=269|Long|1982|2pp=189β217}} The ardent devotees keep awake all night. Others visit one of the Shiva temples or go on pilgrimage to [[Jyotirlingam]] shrines. Those who visit temples, offer milk, fruits, flowers, fresh leaves and sweets to the lingam.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|pp=137, 186}} Some communities organize special dance events, to mark Shiva as the lord of dance, with individual and group performances.<ref>{{cite book|author=Cath Senker|title=My Hindu Year|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGZ5dWKRw5EC&pg=PA12|year=2007|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1404237315|pages=12β13}}</ref> According to Jones and Ryan, Maha Sivaratri is an ancient Hindu festival which probably originated around the 5th-century.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=269}} Another major festival involving Shiva worship is [[Kartik Purnima]], commemorating [[Tripurantaka|Shiva's victory]] over the three demons known as [[Tripurasura]]. Across India, various Shiva temples are illuminated throughout the night. Shiva icons are carried in procession in some places.<ref>{{cite book|author=Muriel Marion Underhill|title=The Hindu Religious Year|year=1991|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=8120605233| pages=95β96}}</ref> [[Thiruvathira]] is a festival observed in Kerala dedicated to Shiva. It is believed that on this day, Parvati met Shiva after her long penance and Shiva took her as his wife.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/tubers-are-the-veggies-of-the-day-to-celebrate-thiruvathira-in-kerala/article30522721.ece|title=Tubers are the veggies of choice to celebrate Thiruvathira|access-date=6 March 2020|archive-date=10 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110145431/https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/tubers-are-the-veggies-of-the-day-to-celebrate-thiruvathira-in-kerala/article30522721.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> On this day Hindu women performs the Thiruvathirakali accompanied by Thiruvathira paattu (folk songs about Parvati and her longing and penance for Shiva's affection).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travel.manoramaonline.com/travel/essential-kerala/thiruvathira-and-its-unique-traditions.html|title=Thiruvathira β Kerala's own version of Karva Chauth|publisher=Manorama|access-date=6 March 2020|archive-date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207112618/http://travel.manoramaonline.com/travel/essential-kerala/thiruvathira-and-its-unique-traditions.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Regional festivals dedicated to Shiva include the [[Chithirai festival]] in [[Madurai]] around April/May, one of the largest festivals in South India, celebrating the wedding of [[Minakshi]] (Parvati) and Shiva. The festival is one where both the Vaishnava and Shaiva communities join the celebrations, because Vishnu gives away his sister Minakshi in marriage to Shiva.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|pp=112β113}} Some Shaktism-related festivals revere Shiva along with the goddess considered primary and Supreme. These include festivals dedicated to [[Annapurna (goddess)|Annapurna]] such as ''Annakuta'' and those related to Durga.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|pp=39, 140}} In [[Himalayas|Himalayan regions]] such as [[Nepal]], as well as in northern, central and western India, the festival of [[Teej]] is celebrated by girls and women in the monsoon season, in honor of goddess Parvati, with group singing, dancing and by offering prayers in Parvati-Shiva temples.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Manju Bhatnagar| title=The Monsoon Festival Teej in Rajasthan| year=1988|volume=47|number=1| jstor=1178252| journal=Asian Folklore Studies|pages=63β72| doi=10.2307/1178252}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Skinner | first1=Debra | last2=Holland | first2=Dorothy | last3=Adhikari | first3=G. B. | title=The Songs of Tij: A Genre of Critical Commentary for Women in Nepal | journal=Asian Folklore Studies | volume=53 | issue=2 | year=1994 | pages=259β305 | doi=10.2307/1178647 | jstor=1178647 }}</ref> The ascetic, Vedic and Tantric sub-traditions related to Shiva, such as those that became [[Sannyasa#Warrior ascetics|ascetic warriors]] during the Islamic rule period of India,<ref name=david>David N. Lorenzen (1978), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/600151 Warrior Ascetics in Indian History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105162150/https://www.jstor.org/stable/600151 |date=5 November 2020 }}, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 98(1): 61β75</ref><ref name=pinch>William Pinch (2012), Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-1107406377}}</ref> celebrate the [[Kumbha Mela]] festival.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=301}} This festival cycles every 12 years, in four pilgrimage sites within India, with the event moving to the next site after a gap of three years. The biggest is in [[Allahabad|Prayaga]] (renamed Allahabad during the Mughal rule era), where millions of Hindus of different traditions gather at the confluence of rivers [[Ganges]] and [[Yamuna]]. In the Hindu tradition, the Shiva-linked ascetic warriors (''Nagas'') get the honor of starting the event by entering the ''Sangam'' first for bathing and prayers.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=301}} In [[Pakistan]], major Shivaratri celebration occurs at the [[Umarkot Shiv Mandir]] in the [[Umerkot District|Umarkot]]. The three-day [[Shivarathri]] celebration at the temple is attended by around 250,000 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1392074 |title=The thriving Shiva festival in Umarkot is a reminder of Sindh's Hindu heritage |date=27 February 2018 |first1=Zulfiqar Ali |last1=Kalhoro |work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] |access-date=5 August 2020 |archive-date=16 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516110256/https://www.dawn.com/news/1392074 |url-status=live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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