How to Celebrate Maha Shivratri at Home; Date, Time, Puja Vidhi
Maha Shivratri is an important Hindu festival celebrated every year in honour of Lord Shiva, the destroyer of evil. Maha Shivratri is celebratedby Hindus across the world on the 13th night of the Hindu month of Phalguna (February/March).
Date & Time: This Year, the festival is celebrated on 18 Feb 2023, Saturday. Usually, the main puja is performes at night time, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM to experience the best positive results.
Maha Shivratri is a time of reverence, devotion and celebration dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the most important Gods in the Hindu religion. On this day, Lord Shiva performed the cosmic dance(Tandav) of destruction and creation.
For anyone who wishes to celebrate Maha Shivratri at home, here are a few tips on how to go about it:
- Clean Up Your Home: It is important to begin the celebration by cleaning up your home and preparing it for the Lord. Get rid of all the clutter and dirt, and make sure your home is spotless before the festivities begin.
- Decorate Your Temple: Decorate the temple or altar with fresh flowers, incense and lamps. You can also light a traditional diya or earthen lamp to create a spiritual atmosphere.
- Offer Prayers to Lord Shiva: Pray to Lord Shiva to seek his blessings. Chant powerful mantras like the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra, or the ‘Shiva Panchakshara Stotram’.
- Wear Traditional Clothes: To show respect and honour the Lord, dress up in traditional attire. Women can choose to wear traditional sarees or salwar kameezes, while men must wear a dhoti-kurta or a loosely fitted shirt with a dhoti.
- Prepare Special Dishes: Prepare special dishes that are dedicated to Lord Shiva. Offer fruits, sweets and other delicacies to the Lord as a token of gratitude.
- Keep a Fast: Many devotees observe a fast on the day of Maha Shivratri to seek the blessings of the Lord.
- Visit a Shiva Temple: If possible, visit a Shiva temple and participate in the special abhishekam (ritualistic bathing of the deity) and puja (offering of obeisance) conducted on the day.
- Organize a Maha Arti: Organize a maha arti for Lord Shiva at home or the temple and seek his blessings. You can also sing bhajans (devotional songs) to honour the Lord.
- Perform the Rudrabhishek Ritual: Perform the Rudrabhishek ritual at home or in a Shiva temple by chanting holy mantras and offering milk, curd and honey to the Lord.
- Distribute Prasad: Collect the prasad from the temple and distribute it among your family, friends and neighbours.
Maha Shivratri Puja Vidhi Process:
The following are the simple steps of the Puja Vidhi Process that you can follow to appease Lord Shiva on the Special day of Maha Shivratri:
- Prepare the puja altar: Place a Shiva Lingam or a picture/idol of Lord Shiva on the puja altar.
- Clean the altar: Clean the altar with holy water and keep a kalash or a brass pot filled with water and mango leaves on the right side of the altar.
- Offer flowers and fruits: Offer flowers, fruits, and other items as an offering to Lord Shiva.
- Wear traditional clothes: Wear traditional clothes for the puja, preferably white or saffron.
- Light the lamps: Light the lamps and incense sticks around the altar.
- Offer milk and water: Offer milk, water and honey as a sign of devotion to Lord Shiva.
- Chant the mantras: Chant the mantras of Lord Shiva and pray for his blessings.
- Offer prasad: Offer prasad to Lord Shiva as a sign of gratitude. 9. Perform aarti: Perform aarti with a lamp and flowers.
- Take a fast: Take a fast as a sign of devotion to Lord Shiva.
You can also select to perform Virtual Rudrabhishekam puja from your home and be blessed with the divine energies of Lord Shiva. We have scheduled a few slots for a devotee of Lord Shiva who wishes to participate in this puja. Please, book your Puja slot Now.
Do Visit our Blog section to read more exciting and knowledgeable articles on different subjects of astrology.
For more content on similar subjects, please visit our YouTube Channel: Click Here to Watch Videos.