Maha Shivratri 2021: Vrat Puja Vidhi, Shubh Mahurat, Vrat Katha, Fasting Rules and How to Worship Shiva
Maha Shivratri, one of the most celebrated Hindu festivals falls on Friday, 21 February 2021. The day is celebrated on the Phalguna month (the eleventh month of Hindu calendar) of Chaturdashi. The festival normally occurs in the month of February or March.
For the uninitiated, Maha Shivratri means the Great night of Shiva. It is considered deeply auspicious to fast on this day of the year, as according to popular beliefs, it is marked as the day when Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married. The day is seen as an auspicious day for unmarried girls who worship Lord Shiva and strongly believe that their wishes will get fulfilled.
Devotees wake up early, take a bath, wear the auspicious green coloured clothes and visit the nearest Shiv temple to pray to the Shiv Linga. It is said that black colour should be completely avoided on the day as Lord Shiva did not like the colour at all. It spurred negative emotions within him. If you can’t wear green, red, white, yellow, orange are also some good colours to wear on the day.
Devotees offer flowers, fruits and prasad to the Shiva Linga. Many even perform abhishekam, which is the process of bathing the Shiva Linga with milk or charnamrit.
Worshippers are supposed to wear cotton clothes as they are considered pure. Men are supposed to wear dhoti while performing prayers.
According to astrology, this Shivratri is a special one and the stars have aligned in this order after almost 59 years. It is being said that everyone can get their wishes fulfilled this day of the year if they follow all the rituals properly.
Fasting ritual
Many devotees follow a nirjala vrat, which is basically going without water the whole day. However, it may not be ideal for everyone, especially if you are pregnant, old or sick. Thereby most people resort to fruit fasting and some even have a light satvik meal.
Seasonal fruits like ber, guava, grapes, banana and apples are considered good. Some people even prepare kheer, srikhand and other sweet dishes for the day. Grains like kuttu ka atta and sabudana are also allowed during the fast – if you don’t want to keep a nirjala fast or falahaar.
Shubh Muhurat
The auspicious time of the puja is 12.09 am to 1 am on 21 February. The total duration is 51 minutes.
Goddess Parvati can be worshipped in the below four slots – 6.15 pm to 9.25 pm; 9.25 pm to 12.45 am; 12.34 to 3.44 and 3.44 to 6.14 am.
Ingredients for puja/ puja samagri
For puja, you need the below items: Ghee, honey, ganga jal, milk, dahi, fruits, jaggery. Apart from this, you need uncooked rice, chandan, flowers, dhature fruit, bel patra.
Devotees play ganesh arti and shiv arti during the puja and also chant Om Namah Shivay.
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