Shravan Mahotsava Ki Shubhkamnaye..

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MannMeRamBasale

@DamRyeong

IF-Stunnerz

+ 5

Posted: 12 years ago

Shravan Mahina, or Sawan Month, is one of the holiest Hindu months and is dedicated to Lord Shiva in North India. Shravan month is filled with auspicious days and numerous rituals are observed in the month. The Shravan Month 2011 in traditional Hindu calendar followed in North India begins on July 16 and ending date is August 13. Mondays in Shravan month which is dedicated to Lord Shiva and many people observe the famous Shravan Somvar Vrat.

The auspicious days are

Shravan Somwar ' Monday Fasting dedicated to Lord Shiva

Hariyali Amavasi ' July 30

Hariyali Teej ' August 22

Nag Panchami ' August 4

Tulsi Das Jayanti ' August 5

Raksha Bandan and Purnima ' August 13.

Shravan month is considered highly auspicious and is referred as one of the holiest months in Traditional Hindi Calendar. Shravan Month is also the first month in the Chatur Maas - four holy months.

Each day of Shravan mahina is dedicated to different Gods and Goddesses. Shravan Somvar, each Mondays of this month are especially dedicated in Lord Shiva's worship. These days are considered as the most auspicious time to pray Lord Shiva and also the best time of the year to buy Rudraksha. People fast on these days, visit temples, worship Shiva with flowers, fruits, milk, holy water, incense and bel leaves.

Shravan Mas and the story of Lord Shiva

The myth says that at the time of Samudra Manthan (churning of oceans) that happened in the month of Shravan, fourteen different types of gems came out from the ocean. Thirteen of which were distributed among the Asuras (demons) , except the poison 'Halahal.' Shiva drank this poison and stored it in his throat. Hence the name 'Neelkantha' (neela-blue, kantha-throat)is attributed to Lord Shiva.

In order to combat the strong effect of this deadly poison, Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head and then all the Gods started offering Ganges water to Him to lessen its effect. This is the reason why devotees offer Ganges water to Lord shiva in this month.

It is said that Lord Shiva saved mankind by drinking the poison 'Halahal.' So, since the day of Samudra Manthan, Mondays of Shravan month are especially dedicated to Shiva's worship in compare to other Mondays of other months.

Monday: Monday is dedicated in Lord Shiva's worship.
Tuesday: The day is dedicated in Gauri (Lord Shiva's wife) worship especially by women for the wellbeing of their families.
Wednesday: Wednesday is dedicated in Vithala's (form of Vishnu or Krishna) worship.
Thursday: This day is dedicated in Lord Buddha and Guru's worship.
Friday: The day is dedicated in the worship of Goddess Lakshmi and Tulsi.
Saturday: The day is dedicated to Saturn (Shani).
Sunday: Sunday is dedicated in Sun God's worship.

The belief is that in Shravan month, offering milk to Lord Shiva earns a lot of punya.

Edited by akki-rockstar - 12 years ago

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MannMeRamBasale

@DamRyeong

IF-Stunnerz

+ 5

Posted: 12 years ago

12 holy jyotirlingham of Lord Shiva in India

Shiva Mantra Jaap

This mantra should be recited for 8000 times in a period of forty days. The recitation of 108 mantra for forty days both in the morning and evening covers this requirement. For other purposes larger number of repetitions are advised.

After lighting a lamp and sitting in any yogic posture while facing east. Recite the Maha-mantra 108 times or its multiples in each sitting. This is the greatest work of Maharishi Vashistha. Before commencing the Mahamrityunjaya mantra recite the mantra to the everlasting spirit of the Maharishi vasishtha for his blessings and guidance which is as follows.

Vam Vashistaya Namah

Thereafter, perform Rudrabhishek (Ritual offering of the Panca-Amrita or the five forms of nectar as Honey, Ghee, Curd, Milk and Water) on the Shivalinga.

After this mantra you can start reciting the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

Meaning Of Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra : It is important to understand the meaning of the words as this makes the rucurrence meaningful and brings forth the results.

OM is not spelt out in the Rig-Veda, but has to be added to the beginning of all Mantras as given in an earlier Mantra of the Rig-Veda addressed to Ganapati.

TRYAMBAKKAM refers to the Three eyes of Lord Shiva. 'Trya' means 'Three' and 'Ambakam' means eyes. These three eyes or sources of enlightenment are the three primary deities, namely Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and the three 'AMBA' means Mother or Shakti' are Saraswati, Lakshmi and Gouri. Thus in this word, we are referring to God as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

YAJAMAHE means, "We sing Thy praise".

SUGANDHIM refers to His fragrance of knowledge, presence and strength as being the best and always spreading around. Fragrance refers to the joy that we get on knowing, seeing or feeling His moral deeds.

PUSTIVARDHANAM Pooshan refers to Him as the sustainer of this world and in this manner, He is the Father of all. Pooshan is also the inner impeller of all knowledge and is thus the Sun and also symbolizes Brahma the Creator.

URVAAROKAMEVA 'URVA' means "VISHAL" or big and powerful or deadly. 'AAROOKAM' means 'Disease'. Thus URVAROOKA means deadly and overpowering diseases. The diseases are also of three kinds caused by the influence of the three Guna's and are ignorance, falsehood , and weaknesses.

BANDANAAN means bound down. Thus read with URVAROOKAMEVA, it means 'I am bound down by deadly and overpowering diseases.

MRITYORMOOKSHEYA means to deliver us from death for the sake of Mokshya.

MAAMRITAAT means 'please give me some Amritam to get out of the death inflicting diseases as well as the cycle of re-birth.

Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

Now you are ready to recite the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

some beautiful pictures of Lord Shiva

(next two pix click by me...:D)

@^ statue of shiva in haridwar

@^ credit: uploader...

hey e1..plz share other info here u hv...

thank you!!
-akki:)

Edited by akki-rockstar - 12 years ago

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MannMeRamBasale

@DamRyeong

IF-Stunnerz

+ 5

Posted: 12 years ago

hye guys..as we all know in the mid of this month Shivratri will come..that's one of the most beautiful festival..i just enjoy that day..

this shraavan maas is related to the shiva n haridwar specially when lord shiva promises that he will live in haridwar for whole 1 month..

n thsi fest is related to the shiva-parvati wedding too..

@^ awww...a long time before i had this poster in my poojaroom...😍

Marriage of Shiva and Shakti

The legend of marriage of Shiva and Shakti is one the most important legends related to the festival of Mahashivaratri. The story tells us how Lord Shiva got married a second time to Shakti, his divine consort. According to legend of Shiva and Shakti, the day Lord Shiva got married to Parvati is celebrated as Shivaratri - the Night of Lord Shiva.

The Legend
Legend goes that once Lord Shiva and his wife Sati or Shakti were returning from sage Agastya's ashram after listening to Ram Katha or story of Ram. On their way through a forest, Shiva saw Lord Rama searching for his wife Sita who had been kidnapped by Ravana, the King of Lanka. Lord Shiva bowed his head in reverence to Lord Rama. Sati was surprised by Lord Shiva's behavior and inquired why he was paying obeisance to a mere mortal. Shiva informed Sati that Rama was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Sati, however, was not satisfied with the reply and Lord asked her to go and verify the truth for herself.

Using her power to change forms, Sati took the form of Sita appeared before Rama. Lord Rama immediately recognized the true identity of the Goddess and asked, "Devi, why are you alone, where's Shiva?" At this, Sati realized the truth about Lord Ram. But, Sita was like a mother to Lord Shiva and since Sati took the form of Sita her status had changed. From that time, Shiva detached himself from her as a wife. Sati was sad with the change of attitude of Lord Shiva but she stayed on at Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva.

Later, Sati's father Daksha organised a yagna, but did not invite Sati or Shiva as he had an altercation with Shiva in the court of Brahma. But, Sati who wanted to attend the Yagna, went even though Lord Shiva did not appreciate the idea. To hre great anguish, Daksha ignored her presence and did not even offer Prasad for Shiva. Sati felt humiliated and was struck with profound grief. She jumped into the yagna fire and immolated herself.

Lord Shiva became extremely furious when he heard the news of Sati's immolation. Carrying the body of Sati, Shiva began to perform Rudra Tandava or the dance of destruction and wiped out the kingdom of Daksha. Everybody was terrified as Shiva's Tandava had the power to destroy the entire universe. In order to calm Lord Shiva, Vishnu severed Sati's body into 12 pieces and threw them on earth. It is said that wherever the pieces of Shakti's body fell, there emerged a Shakti Peetha, including the Kamaroopa Kamakhya in Assam and the Vindhyavasini in UP.

Lord Siva was now alone undertook rigorous penance and retired to the Himalayas. Sati took a re-birth as Parvati in the family of God Himalaya. She performed penance to break Shiva's meditation and win his attention. It is said that Parvati, who found it hard to break Shiva's meditation seeked help of Kamadeva - the God of Love and Passion. Kaamadeva asked Parvati to dance in front of Shiva. When Parvati danced, Kaamadeva shot his arrow of passion at Shiva breaking his penance. Shiva became extremely infuriated and opening his third eye that reduced Kaamadeva to ashes. It was only after Kamadeva's wife Rati's pleading that Lord Shiva agreed to revive Kaamadeva.

Later, Parvati undertook severe penance to win over Shiva. Through her devotion and persuasion by sages devas, Parvati, also known as Uma, was finally able to lure Shiva into marriage and away from asceticism. Their marriage was solemnized a day before Amavasya in the month of Phalgun. This day of union of God Shiva and Parvati is celebrated as Mahashivratri every year.

Another Version of the Legend
According to another version of the legend, Goddess Parvati performed tapas and prayers on the auspicious moonless night of Shivaratri to ward off any evil that may befall her husband. Since then, womenfolk began the custom of praying for the well being of their husbands and sons on Shivaratri day. Unmarried women pray for a husband like Shiva, who is considered to be the ideal husband.

Samudra Manthan

This very popular Shivaratri legend from Puranas explains why people stay awake all night on Shivaratri. Besides, it also tells us why Lord Shiva is also known as Neelakantha.

Legend Behind Samudra Manthan
Once Indra - the King of Gods, while riding on an elephant came across Durvasa Muni who offered him a special garland. Indra accepted the garland but put in on the trunk of the elephant. The elephant was irritated by the smell and it threw the garland on the floor. This enraged the sage as the garland was a dwelling of Sri (fortune) and was to be treated as prasada. Durvasa Muni cursed Indra and all devas to be bereft of all strength, energy, and fortune.

In battles that followed this incident, devas were defeated and asuras (demons) led by Bali gained control of the universe. Devas sought help from Lord Vishnu who advised them to treat asuras in a diplomatic manner. Devas formed an alliance with asuras to jointly churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality and to share it among them. Lord Vishu told Devas that we would arrange that they alone obtain the nectar.

The Churning of the Ocean
The churning of the milk - ocean was an elaborate process. Mount Mandara was used as churning rod and Vasuki, the King of Serpents, became the churning rope. Lord Vishnu himself had to intercede in so many ways to aid the Devas. All kinds of herbs were cast into the ocean and many great beings and objects were produced from the ocean and were divided between asuras and gods. It is said that following things emerged from the Samudra Manthan:

Sura or Varuni - Goddess and creator of wine
Apsaras - various divine nymphs
Kaustubha - a rare diamond said to be the most valuable jewel in the world
Uchhaishravas - the divine white horse
Kalpavriksha - the wish-granting tree
Kamadhenu - the wish fulfilling cow
Airavata - the white elephant
Lakshmi - the Goddess of Fortune and Wealth. Vishnu and Her were reunited after having been separated for many ages.

Haalaa-Hala - the Poison
During the Sagar Manthan by the gods and demons, haalaa-hala, a pot of poison also came out of the ocean. This terrified the Gods and demons as the poison was so toxic that it effects would have wiped out the entire creation. On the advice of Lord Vishnu, Gods approached Lord Shiva for help and protection as only he could swallow it without being affected. On the request of gods and out of compassion for living beings, Lord Shiva drank the poison. However, Parvati - Lord Shiva's consort pressed his neck so that the poison does not reach his stomach. Thus, it stayed in his throat neither going up nor going down and Shiva remained unharmed. The poison was so potent that it changed the color of Lord Mahadeva's neck to blue. For this reason, Lord Shiva is also called Neelakantha (the blue-necked one) where 'Neela' means blue and 'Kantha' means neck or throat.

As part of the therapy, doctors advised gods to keep Lord Shiva awake during the night. Thus, Gods kept a vigil in contemplation of Lord Shiva. To amuse Shiva and to keep him awake, the gods took turn performing various dances and playing music. As the day broke out, Lord Shiva, pleased with their devotion blessed them all. Shivaratri is the celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world. Since then, on this day and night - devotees fast, keep vigil, sing glories of Lord and meditate.

Churning Out Divine Nectar
At last, Dhanvantari - the Divine Physician appeared with a pot of Amrita (nectar of immortality) in his skilful hands. Fierce fighting ensued between devas and asuras for the nectar. To protect the nectar from asuras, devas hid the pot of nectar at four places on the earth - Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. At each of these places, a drop of the nectar spilled from the pot and since then, it is believed that these places acquired mystical power. Grand Kumbh Mela is celebrated at the four places after every 12 year for this reason.

Eventually, Lord Vishnu took the form of a beautiful woman, Mohini. While her beauty bewildered the asuras, Mohini seized the nectar and returned it to the Devas, who drank it immediately.

Edited by akki-rockstar - 12 years ago

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Janaki

@RamKiSeeta

IF-Addictz

+ 6

Posted: 12 years ago

Wow, happy Shravan Mahotsava everyone!🥳 Thank you for this thread Swati, all the information you posted is really interesting and the pics are beautiful!

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coolpratz

@coolpratz

IF-Sizzlerz

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

Happy Shravan Mahotsava ...🥳

thnks for the info...they wr really interesting n useful...😊

Edited by coolpratz - 12 years ago

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Aishwarya

@pakhara

IF-Rockerz

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

Wow Swati di!!
Thank you so much for enlightening us on this!
That background story really helped. That explains very well why we do the pujas as we do them.
Great thread di!
Pls keep updating it throughout the month! :D

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Aradhana

@Aradhana87

IF-Dazzler

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Posted: 12 years ago

Thank u very much for sharing :) Hope I can read more info :D

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...PARiNA...

@...PARiNA...

IF-Rockerz

+ 3

Posted: 12 years ago

thanks Swati
one by me on Shravan Mahotsava

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mnx12

@mnx12

Channel Moderator

+ 9

Posted: 12 years ago

This is from me😊

Nataraja Shiva

The Significance of Shiva's Dance:

This cosmic dance of Shiva is called 'Anandatandava,' meaning the Dance of Bliss, and symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death. The dance is a pictorial allegory of the five principle manifestations of eternal energy ' creation, destruction, preservation, salvation, and illusion. According to Coomerswamy, the dance of Shiva also represents his five activities: 'Shrishti' (creation, evolution); 'Sthiti' (preservation, support); 'Samhara' (destruction, evolution); 'Tirobhava' (illusion); and 'Anugraha' (release, emancipation, grace).

The overall temper of the image is paradoxical, uniting the inner tranquility, and outside activity of Shiva.

Mahamryunjaya Shiva

Edited by mnx12 - 12 years ago

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Debipriya

@Debipriya

Senior Member

Posted: 10 years ago

🤗 Lola for reopening it!

Shraavan is such a pious month! Never knew about it before reading this Rich and Detailed thread!! ⭐️ ⭐️ Thanks a lot to all the contributors!! 🤗

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