Day of Shiva

Festivals evolve over times, and not always in desirable ways. Take the holi, which falls later this month. Holi, like many other Hindu festivals, is celebrated as a victory of good over evil: in this case the miraculous escape of Praladh from the clutches of Holika, the devil daughter of Hiranyakasyapu. But remarkably, holi has come to symbolize all the undesirables in our society: every year, many women lose their sight and hearing to the thump of water- (often mud-) filled balloons. Thus the women have come to approach the festival more with dread than anticipation. Youngsters zip around in their remodeled bikes, four to a vehicle, sans helmets, and addled on bhang, sometimes to deadly consequences. Spray-painting face with grease is another bizarre holi novelty. No less remarkable has been the evolution of Shivaratri, another important Hindu festival, over the years.



There are multiple legends behind the Day of the Shiva. The most famous is that his wife Parvati meditated to ward off evils that might befall her husband on this dark day (which falls on the Krishna Pakshya, or the waning 15 days of the moon on Hindu lunar calendar). Another is that on this day Shiva consumed the poison emanating from the ocean during the tussle between the Gods and Demons, thereby saving the world from its inevitable destruction. Traditionally, to observe Shivaratri, women fast for the whole day, with the expectation that they too might luck out like Parvati and get a great husband like Shiva, or, for the married women, that their husbands will live long and happy lives. Men too fast to hasten their march towards mokshya. But now, more than the pious, it is the young and the restless who eagerly await the annual festival.  



This is one day of the year when they can easily get their hands on ‘top-notch’ marijuana from the many visiting Naga babas. The notorious antics of some Naga babas, high on ganja, is also a matter of great curiosity. Of course, there are many devotees of Shiva who observe the day in earnest. Pashupatinath, the most sacred temple of Lord Shiva in the world, this year expects a crowd of 800,000 on the holy day. No doubt, the majority of them are genuine devotees.



The temple authorities have announced special provisions to ensure that the devotees get darshan of Shivalinga housed in the main temple without many hassles. If the authorities can pull that off, it would indeed be a wonderful tribute to Lord Shiva (and a matter of huge relief for his devotees). Our only hope is that this holiest of the holy days in the Hindu calendar is observed in its true spirit. Ganja and exhibitionism are surely not true emblems of piety.

Related story

PHOTOS: Last Monday of Shrawan in Shankharapur