The Great Night of Lord Shiva in Mumbai, India
In Mumbai, every day is full of surprises.
On one of my last days before returning to Switzerland, I saw a long line of devotees in front of the Shiva temple near my hotel in Colaba, South Mumbai. The otherwise inconspicuous Hindu temple «Bheed Bhanjan Mahadev Mandir» was beautifully decorated with flower branches. The outer wall was covered with a huge image of the meditating Lord Shiva made of petals.
I came to know that on this day February 18, 2023, Mahashivaratri, the Great Night of Lord Shiva, was being celebrated.
Shiva in a meditating pose. His right hand is raised in a gesture which protects his devotees against evil.
Shiva - unruly and fearsome, but also mild and benevolent
Shiva is one of the most fascinating Hindu gods. He has ancient, pre-Aryan, pre-Vedic roots. He is one of the three main deities of Hinduism. In the Trimurti concept he is the destroyer, Brahma, the creator and Vishnu, the maintainer and preserver. Shiva has many different aspects, unruly, wild, fearsome as well as mild, benevolent. On Mahashivaratri, the focus is on his mild manifestations as an ascetic, as the Great Yogi, as the divine teacher of music.
Mahashivaratri - the Great Night of Shiva - is a quiet, contemplative festival. It is celebrated with praying, chanting, meditating, fasting and the all night vigil.
Shiva - a powerful and complex deity
There are many legends that revolve around the Great Night of Shiva. It is said that this is the night when Lord Shiva got married with Goddess Parvati. Another legend says that on this night Shiva performed the cosmic dance of creation, preservation and destruction, known as Tandava. In a third story it is the night when Shiva drank the poison that got churned out from the ocean and would have destroyed the world. That is why his throat turned blue.
It doesn't stop here. There are many other stories, myths and legends that describe Shiva's complex personality. Also, each of his attributes in this image such as the serpent, the third eye of wisdom on his forehead, the drum, his weapon, the trident, have their meaning and usually not just one but several explanations.
Shiva - the destroyer and renewer
Through the vibrant streetlife of Mumbai I learned about Mahashivaratri - the Great Night of Shiva - and got to know many more facets of this powerful deity. In another blog I will go into more detail about his manifestation as a destroyer and renewer of the universe. I think this aspect of Shiva is very significant in these harsh and chaotic times.
