MahaShivrathri- why devotees stay awake tonight

Today is Mahashivrathri.. so I think it is only more appropriate that I make this post today. This day is considered to be an auspicious day for the devotees of Lord-Shiva (Nataraja , Shivshankar.. and many other names).Special poojas are performed through out the day and edible-offerings and non-edible offerings (flowers , Vibhuti , tulsi) are distributed among the devotees, More than a religiously important day, .. this days is celebrated as a festival in ardent Shivaite- societies (staunch shiva worshippers).There is dance – drama – singing – dancing at all levels. The idea is to stay awake the whole night and gain his special blessings today. So, why is staying awake at night on this day so very auspicious ..Well.. the Mythological Story goes this way

The Devas (Angels) and the Asuras (demons) are always at war with one-another, trying to outdo each other and establishing their superiority at the slightest pretext. So during one such hard times the Devas were fighting a loosing battle..the Asuras were gaining on them. Lots of Deva- warriors were wounded and their stamina constantly draining.. the Deva-King (Indra) was finding it hard to keep up the morale of his warriors. Perplexed with this worry, he approached Lord Vishnu (the protector) for advice.

Lord Vishnu advised him that they (Devas) churn the Sea-of-Milk (Milky Ocean) , out of which a pot-filled-with-divine-concoction will emerge and whosoever drinks even one ounce of this will obtain eternal-youth (and-hence-never-draining-stamina) .

Armed with such an information, he & his committee goes to take a look at the churn site ..Sea-of-Milk (Milky Ocean). They come to the conclusion due to the enormity of the situation such an act cannot be performed by the Devas alone. So they plan to lure the Asuras in churning the Sea-of-Milk (Milky Ocean) at the same time having a backup plan for how-not-to-let-the-Asuras-partake-the-divine-concoction.

Arriving at the churn-site, it was mutually decided that the Serpent-Vasuki (largest among serpents) will be used at the Rope to churn while the Mandira-Mountain (largest among mountains) shall be used as the churner. The Asuras insisted that they shall holdon to the head-part of Vasuki as they considered it below their dignity to hold on to the tail-end. It was entirely a Team-effort. So many Auspicious things came out of the Sea-of-Milk (Milky Ocean) and was despatched to fitting candidates (its a long list and will require another post)

The time came for the divine-concoction to emerge, by then the Serpent-Vaskui was all exhausted by the constant pulling at both ends and the pain of the mountain constantly brushing against its body while its being churned..(sure.. he was under terrible stress)..All this pain and stress made him edgy and angry and abiding by his Natural instings (Snake-Nature) he started to spit venom all over the Milky Ocean. The fumes arising from the venom was so intense that people were falling unconscious and it was getting impossible to churn those final crucial moments when the divine concoction would arise. All the effort taken till now would go in vain if the churning stops at this juncture. this got the Devas and the Asuras worried alike.

Lord Shiva decides to save the day by gathering all the Venom in his palm and drink it before anyone could even blink. On an impulse Godess Parvathi grabs Lord Shiva’s throat, in an attempt to stop the Venom from going into the stomach..So the Venom is now struck at the throat (hence the name Neel-Khant Neel(blue color of the venom) khant (throat)).

Now, even the Lord is not spared of the effects of the venom..As its struck to the throat it might not be lethal .. but still he as getting dizzy and disoriented. Its was a practice in Ayruveda ( with little knowledge i have.. corrct me if i am wrong ) that on account of snake-bite , after the wound is treated, special care is taken so that the patient doesnot sleep for the next 24 hours.. Only after this crucial-24 hr period has passed , the patient is considered safe.

Lord Shiva was no different, It was necessary to keep him awake this night to ward off the harmful effects of the venom. Hence all the Devas decide to sing his praise, chant his name so loud that he just cannot ignore, Being the Lord of Dance .. they would dance and he would intently watch them..in short make all effort to keep his attention alive.

The Devotees believe that even today the Lord undergoes the same traumatic experience every year on this day,. Hence they sing and dance and chant his name and some even vow to visit certain number of Shiva-temples before the next sunrise.. all in an attempt to help the Lord overcome such a traumatic experience,. So the next day when the harmful effects has worn off, the Lord is jubilant and is so happy that he grants his devotee’s wishes