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Lord Shiva wedded mother Parvati on the fourteenth day of a dark fortnight in the month of Falgoon. The marriage was at night. So, it is called Mahashivaratri. It is the marriage anniversary of Lord Shiva and Maa Uma (Parvati).

Parvati performed years of tapasya (Sadhna) to have Shiva as her husband. So she had lived on leaves. She was called Aparna. At Kanyakumari, she had done tapasya on one leg. The footprint of one leg is on the rock. As Parvati performed tapasya as a virgin girl, the place is called Kanyakumari. This rock is holy and spiritually vibrant. Swami Vivekananda received enlightenment on this rock. Now the rock is being called Swami Vivekananda Memorial rock. Three oceans meet at this place. During the period of this Sadhana, Parvati was persuaded by the great wandering saint Narad not to marry lord Shiva as he had no possession, lived in a Snow Mountain, had a serpent around the neck, was dressed in lion skin and so on. Marrying Shiva would mean that she would have a life of suffering beyond measure. She should get married with Lord Vishnu, who had all affluence, abundance and dressed royally. Her parents had also persuaded Parvati not to marry Lord Shankar. But Parvati was determined. She was the reincarnation of Lord Shankar’s first wife Sati. 

The marriage ceremony was attended by Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, all Gods and the Goddesses, semi Gods – entire universe. Lord Shiva was amazingly dressed. Lord Vishnu was smiling. Seeing her son in law so differently and wonderfully dressed, mother of Parvati had become senseless. Lord Shiva was beaming with joy. He would get his wife. He was alone. He had gone in deep meditation for years. He had total renunciation. His mediation was disturbed by the Lord of Lust (Kamdev) who had done so for the benefit of Devtas, (semigod) by sacrificing his life.

How beautifully Swami Vivekananda wrote the poem —

Shiva in Ecstasy

There Shiva dances, striking both his cheeks;

 and they resound, Ba-Ba-boom!

Dimi-dimi-dimai! sounds His tabor; a garland 

of skulls from His neck is hanging!

In His matted locks the Ganga roars; fire shoots 

from His mighty trident!

Round His waist a serpent glitters, and on his 

brow the moon is shinning!

The Dance of Shiva

Lo, the Great God is dancing 

- Shiva the all-destroyer and Lord of creation 

The Master of Yoga and the wielder of Pinaka.

His flaming locks have filled the sky,

Seven worlds play the rhythm

As the trembling earth sways almost to dissolution,

Lo, the Great God Shiva is dancing.

Source :  ‘In search of God by Swami Vivekananda

Devotees are amused at the family of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati. Maa Parvati is always well dressed rather than royally dressed. Her two sons are too dressed decently. The family has verities and contrasts yet all live happily, sharing peace and harmony.

Lord Shiva has no possession and no abundance. He lives like a Fakir (a man having nothing). He is a renuncient yet he is all powerful. When he is pleased he grants boons - what one asked for without caring for the consequences. Ravana after getting his boon from Shiva, attempted to pull down Kailasha in order to place it in his kingdom so that he may not have to go to Kailasha to worship everyday. At this, Shiva moved the tip of his toe and Ravana was thrown away from heaven to the nether world. However Shiva lifted him due to the love he shared for his devotee. Shiva drank poison to save the Gods and demons and the entire universe not caring the consequences of poison on his own body. Snake around the neck of Shiva, is the food for peacock, the chariot of Kartika (son of Shiva). Shiva has his chariot bull called Nandi - all powerful. Nandi had alone destroyed the yagan when the first wife Sati of Shiva sacrificed herself in a fury sequence to the absence of a seat for Shiva. Mother Parvati has lion as her chariot - symbol of total strength. Ganesha has rat as his chariot. Rat, such a small creature carries bulky Ganesha. But rat is the most intelligent creature. It has all instinct. It can reach any difficult place, even making hole in rocks. All have to

learn the lessons from the family of Shiva for living in harmony, peace, happiness, simplicity, love sacrifice, care with super strength to reign the brutes. For all these infinite virtues, all members of Shiva’s family are worshipped in priority of all Gods and Goddesses.  Lord Vishnu worshipped Lord Shiva daily with thousand lotuses. One day Shiva, in order to test the devotion of Hari removed one lotus out of one thousand lotuses. Finding one lotus short, Vishnu plucked one of his eyes and offered that with the flowers. Pleased with such great devotion, Shiva gave Vishnu the discus, called Sudarshana. Rama had worshipped Lord Shiva at the place near the seashore which is called Rameswaram.

I reverence the sovereign Lord, the embodiment of salvation, the omnipotent and all-pervading Absolute, manifest in the form of the Vedas! I worship the self-contained, the unqualified, undifferentiated, desireless, intelligence, the heavens themselves, wearing the heavens as his garment!

I bow to the supreme Lord, who is formless, source of the sacred syllable (Om) symbolizing Brahma, the noumenal Self of creatures which transcends all conditions and states, beyond all speech, understanding or sense-perception, terrible yet gracious, the ruler of Kailasa, the devourer even of Death, the almighty, the abode of virtues, immortal!

I worship Shankara, solemn and white as the snowclad Himalaya, radiant with the beauty of a myriad Loves, with the fair rippling Ganga sparkling out from his matted locks, the crescent moon adorning his brow and snakes coiling round his neck; who is the beloved Lord of all, with tremulous pendants hanging from his ear-lobes, beauteous eyebrows and large eyes, who is pitiful, with a cheerful countenance and a blue speck on his throat, a lion-skin wrapped round his waist and necklace of skulls round his neck!

I worship Shankara, Bhavani’s spouse, the fierce, the exalted, the luminous, the Supreme Lord, the indivisible, unbegotten, brilliand with the radiance of a myriad suns; tearing up by the root the threefold pains, trident in hand, accessible only to love. O you who are without parts, ever blessed, cause of universal destruction at the end of each round of creation, a source of perpetual delight to the virtuous, slayer of the demon Tripura, intelligence and bliss personified, dispeller of delusion, have mercy, O my Lord, have mercy, O foe of Love.

O lord of Uma, so long as men worship not your lotus feet, neigher in this world nor in the next is there any happiness for them, nor peace of mind, nor cessation of their miseries. Have mercy, Lord, who dwell in the hearts of all creatures and are the abode of all!

Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas Krishna had incarnated in Vrindaban, Lord Shiva visited in disguise of a Gopi to have a glimpse of child Krishna. He was then called Gopeshwar.  There is teamwork among the trinity of Gods - Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Bramha. Vishnu worships Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva meditated on Lord Vishnu. Shiva is benevolence. He grants boon to devotee even at His peril. Vishnu protects Shiva by finding intelligent means to destroy the egoistic devotee. We worship the Three eyed One with intense love and devotion. 

By meditating on Shiva, one will have the experience of going beyond death and a stream of joy starts flowing in ones heart and feel a union with Him. Heart sings and dances in ecstasy. Shiva is the inspiration of all virtues He is omnipotent, embodiment of truth and bliss. Mother Parvati is called Annapurna. She feeds the entire universe. Parvati, beloved of Shiva, is omnipotent, and is the manifestation of the universe. She is the Ida, Pingla and Sushumna, nerves present in the physical body. Parvati is Shiva’s beloved and Shiva is the dearest of Parvati. Shiva is persuaded by Parvati and Parvati by Shiva. Let us worship united form of Shiva and Parvati.

Let us give due respect and position to wife as Shiva has given half of his body to Parvati not because of  Parvati’s beauty but out of real love for his wife. Reverence to Parvati and Shankara is the embodiment of faith and trust without which even adepts cannot perceive God who dwells within them.