BACKGROUND
Mahashivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honor of Lord Shiva, and in particular, marks the day of the consummation of marriage of Shiva. There is a Shivaratri in every luni-solar month of the Hindu calendar, on the month’s 13th night/14th day, but once a year in late winter (February/March, or phalgun) and before the arrival of Summer, marks Mahashivaratri which means “the Great Night of Shiva”.
BASICS
Once a year, usually during the 11th month in the Hindu calendar, Mahashivaratri is celebrated. The celebration usually falls in February or March, before the arrival of the spring season. The day is known as the Great Night of Shiva. Mahashivaratri is one of the biggest festivals of Hindus. Devotees offer water, milk, dhatura, bhaang, akwan flowers to Shiva’s idol or Shivalinga and worship the Hindu God of destruction. Shiva is considered the ideal husband and unmarried girls and women pray for a husband like him. In Hindu mythology, every day in the calendar holds some significance and the stories often vary from different regions and communities.
ELABORATION
KATHMANDU, March 5 — Hindus in Nepal celebrated their biggest festival Maha Shivaratri on Monday by offering prayers to Lord Shiva, who is regarded as the God of immense power and destruction.
Shivaratri is celebrated annually in the devotion of Lord Shiva on a new moon day in the Nepali lunar month of Falgun.
Devotees from across Nepal and other countries such as India, Malaysia and Singapore gathered in the holy shrine Pashupatinath Temple, a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in Kathmandu for the special prayers.