Maha Shivarathri - The night for Shiva

Maha Shivaratri, which literally translates to "The Great Night of Shiva" is a Hindu festival largely celebrated by Indians. The day is celebrated to Lord Shiva, an important deity in Hindu culture. It is celebrated with devotion and religious fervor in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of Hindu Trinity.

Lord Shiva

The Hindu Trinity Lord ;
Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva

Significance of Shivaratri

Festival of Mahashivaratri has tremendous significance in Hinduism. According to sacred scriptures, ritual worship of Lord Shiva on Shivaratri festival that falls on the dark fortnight (Ammavasai) in the month of Maasi (according Tamil month Calendar) pleases Lord Shiva the most.
People often fast on the night of Shivaratri and sing hymns and praises in the name of Lord Shiva. Hindu temples across the world are decorated with lights and colorful decorations and people can be seen offering night long prayers to Shiva Lingam. Vilvam leaves, sugarcane juice, cold water, honey and milk are offered to the Shiva Lingam on this day as they are believed to be Lord Shiva's favorite.

It is believed that the people who fast on this night and offer prayers to Lord Shiva bring good luck into their life.
Shivaratri is considered auspicious especially for women. Married women pray for the well being of their husbands and sons, while unmarried women pray for an ideal husband like Shiva, who is the spouse of Parvati.
But generally it is believed that anyone who utters the name of Shiva during Shivaratri with pure devotion is freed from all sins. He or she reaches the abode of Shiva and is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.


Legends of Maha Shivarathri

There are many mythological legends associated with this day. According to a popular legend, when a hunter was chased by a tiger and could not find any way to escape from the lion in a forest. He waited on the branch of a Vilvam tree till the lion walk away.

Unfortunately the lion waited for him to get down. In order to stay awake he started throwing the leaves of the tree on the ground, unaware that there was a Shiva Lingam beneath the tree. At the same time the hunter was having a container filled with honey which also poured without his knowledge. With this Lord Shiva pleased with the Vilvam leaves with honey and the patience of the hunter, it is believed that Lord Shiva appeared in front of the hunter and blessed him with wisdom. From that day onwards, the hunter stopped eating meat and became Shiva's devotees.

Hunter who stayed all night long
and been blessed by Lord Shiva

Another legend has it that after the Earth was faced with an imminent destruction, Goddess Parvati pledged with Lord Shiva to save the world. Pleased with her prayers, Lord Shiva agreed to save the world and the people of the Earth would have to worship him with dedication and passion. From that day onwards, the night came to be known as Maha Shivaratri and people began worshipping Shiva with a great enthusiasm. Women who pray to Lord Shiva for the husband well being will be blessed by Him as he was pleased with Goddess Parvathi.

According to the Puranas, during the great mythical churning of the ocean called Samudra Manthan, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. The gods and the demons were terrified as it could destroy the entire world. They ran to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva, in order to protect the world, drank the deadly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. This turned his throat blue, and since then this came to be known for Shivaratri where it is celebrated as  Lord Shiva saved the world from poisoning.


Traditions and Customs of Shivaratri

Devotees observe strict fast in honor of Lord Shiva. They strongly believe that sincere worship of Lord Shiva on the auspicious day of Shivaratri, purifies a person of sins and liberates him from the cycle of birth and death. To mark the Shivaratri festival, devotees wake up early and take a ritual bath, after wearing fresh clothes devotees visit the nearest Shiva temple to give ritual bath to the Shiva Lingam with milk, honey, water etc.

On Shivaratri, worship of Lord Shiva continues all through the day and night. At night of the celebration, every three hours priests perform ritual pooja of Shiva Lingam by bathing it with milk, yoghurt, honey, ghee, sugar and water amidst the chanting of 'Om Namah Shivaya’ and ringing of temple bells. Night long vigil is also observed in Shiva temples where large number of devotees spend the night singing hymns and devotional songs in praise of Lord Shiva. Devotees chants and sing the popular Lord Shiva's Thiruvasagam - Sivapuranam and The Shiva Mantram of Om Nama Shivaya. It is only on the following morning that devotee break their fast by taking prasad offered to the deity. The devotees who observe the right ritual and fast, Lord Shiva will bless them.


With LOVE,
Kanushavik <3

Lord Muruga's 6 Hill Temples

Lord Murugan is Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi's second son after Lord Ganapathi. Lord Murugan is said to be Tamil God by ancient Hindu legends. Lord Murugan have 6 significant hills. These six hills have its prominent incidences or events that make it as Lord Muruga's "houses"

Lord Murugan in Batu Caves, Malaysia. One of Malaysia's landmark.

Lord Murugan's 6 "houses" (Aarupadai Veedu) literaly, which has a definition of his places were some distinguished and significant events occurred. The six houses were arranged accordingly and it has its own rationale.  

1. Thiruparangkundram - He married to Devayanai, who is Lord Indran's daughter. 

2. Thiruchendur - He killed Surapatman, a demon who tortures the mankind. The motive of incarnation of Lord Murugan took place.

3. Pazhani - He fought with his parents (Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi) and his brother (Lord Ganapathi) for a mango fruit that is said to be "nyana pazham" (fruit of wise and knowledge) given by Naradar to Lord Shiva. In anger and jealousy went to Pazhani Hill and stand in "Aandi" which means 
like a beggar. He also called Kozhanthai Velan or Baby Velan in translation.

4. Swamimalai - He had a small argument with Lord Brahman (four headed God who does the creating job) where Lord Muruga asked Him what is the meaning of the first word or Mantram (pranavamantram) "Aum" in vedas and Lord Brahman stammered and so Lord Muruga arrested Lord Brahman. Lord Muruga's mother, Goddess Parvathi insisted him to release Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva called Lord Muruga for enquiry. At the moment, Lord Muruga taught his father (Lord Shiva) the vedas. This incidence known as "Thagappan'ke paadam sonna Suppiah" which means Suppiah (other name for Lord Murugan) taught a lesson to his father.

5. Thiruthani - He married to Valli, who is a Korathi said to be a lower caste.

6. Pazhamuthir cholai - He pacify both Devayanai and Valli to stay together happily without hatred.


Usually we would rank Pazhani to be first as His house and followed by Swamimalai, Thiruchendur, Thiruparangkundram, Thiruthani and lastly Pazhamuthir Cholai but there are rationale why it is ranked in such way (as I stated earlier). Here is the rationale of these arrangements ;

1. Thiruparangkundram - As a man he must fulfilled his responsibilities at a certain age where he suppose to marry and build a family. 

2. Thiruchendur - After building a good family, as a head of family he have to get rid of the bad and the demon characters from the family and protect the family which symbolizes the killing of Surapatman, a demon who tortures the mankind.

3. Pazhani - Lord Murugan tries to explain that every single man should not have the emotions that lead to destructions, such as anger, jealousy, revenge, and etc. He stands in "Aandi" because he banished all the bad habits and unwanted emotions.

4. Swamimalai - Here Lord Murugan meant good lesson or advices can be given by anyone at any age. Goodness may come in many ways and good piece of advice can be taken from anyone. Even if someone is younger in age it doesn't mean the advice or lesson that given by them will never be a good ones. Right ?

5. Thiruthani - He married to Valli who is Korathi shows that He looks equal on all the people despite the caste, skin colour, religion and etc. He explains the situation as Equal on all human without bias.

6. Pazhamuthir Cholai - He shows to the world how to live a happy life by staying together with family and creates a good environment. Here Lord Murugan doesn't meant man need to marry twice, but he wanted to say family has problem and need to overcome with smartness, love and care among family members. Besides having no jealousy, anger and sadness.


See, every action and event of God will have a reason and rationale behind it, but man tend to exploit it and spread a different stories.



Valli and Devayanai 

Legendary story says Valli and Devayanai was sister during their previous birth and they prayed towards Lord Murugan and passionated to marry him. Devayanai never stops to think of Lord Murugan and always chanting his name. While Valli, she finishes all her jobs and chores before she starts her prayers towards Lord Murugan. Therefore, due to the deepest love and affection, Devayanai who is a daughter of Lord Indra easily and earlier got married to Lord Murugan and Valli who is Korathi have to overcome hurdles to marry Lord Murugan.

Lord Muruga with his wifes, Devayani and Valli

With LOVE,

Kanushavik <3

Pongal - Indian cultural celebrations

Hello readers ! First of all, I want to wish all the Indians Happy Pongal.  I am sorry because I was quite busy with Pongal celebration where I cannot do my bloggie entry. Wondering what is Pongal or never heard of it. Maybe you know it but have not know the significance of Pongal. Nothing to worry, I will help you. Okay, Pongal festival is usually celebrated by South Indians.

Pongal means "boiling over" or "overflow". Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with milk and sugar which is ritually consumed on this day. Symbolically, pongal signifies the overflowing of goodness, wealth, health and all the abundance and prosperity. This is a festival of thanksgiving to nature. There is also a belief in the Hindus that the harvest festival will bring great wealth and goodness to their homes.

Pongal Pot that is overflowing

Pongal is a four day festival which usually been celebrated from January 13 to 16 in the Gregorian calendar. Its the last day of the Tamil month Margazhi to the third day of Tamil month Thai. Thai Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamil people at the end of the harvest season. It is held to honor the Sun, for a harvest. Families gather to rejoice and share their joy and their harvests with others. The Sun God is offered a "Pongal" of rice and milk.

Preparations for this festival start early and the first thing that is always found in Hindu homes is the 'kolam'. This is a pattern that is made with rice flour and is usually drawn on the floor outside the door. Sometimes Indians do Rangoli Kolam (colorful rice and powders). The kolams serve as a symbol of welcoming guests to the entrance of the house. The houses are cleaned and decorated to prepare for Pongal.

In spite of immense urbanization, the traditions and customs attached to the harvest festival of Pongal has not diminished. The nature of these tradition and customs has changed, the glitter of this festival has not dimmed. The fast changing times certain things do not change. The way we celebrate the festivals, for instance. The festival of Pongal captures the quintessence of south Indian culture entirety and traditional practices and customs continue to hold their own even today.

The spirit is alive and Pongal is still treated as a time to discard the old and welcome the new. The new crop that is harvested is cooked and offered to the Almighty.

Okay, lets precisely look on Pongal festival. As I told earlier Pongal festival is celebrated four days :

Bhogi Pongal

This is the first day of Pongal celebration. On the day people discard old things and focus on new belongings. The people assemble at dawn to light a bonfire to discard old used possessions. The house is cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. This first day is celebrated in honor of Lord Indra, the supreme ruler of clouds that give rains. According to Hindu legendary story Bhogi is celebrated to throw away and diminished the bad habit that we have such as Anger, Ego, Jealousy, Heavy-Headed Arrogant, and many internal emotional behaviour that are classified as evil.

A legendary story of Lord Indra and Lord Krishna as an evidences of Bhogi celebrations. It is said when Lord Krishna were in his childhood, he decided to teach a lesson to Lord Indra who became arrogant after becoming the king of all deities. Lord Krishna asked all the cowherds to stop worshiping Lord Indra. This angered Lord Indra and sent forth his clouds for thunder-storms and 3 days continuous rains. Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan hill to save all the humans. Later, Lord Indra realized his mistake and divine power of Krishna. There after he changed himself.

Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill to protect the
villagers from tunders, lighting and heavy rain

Thai Pongal

Thai Pongal is also said Surya (Sun) Pongal as it is mainly celebrated to convey the appreciation and thankfulness to the Sun God as it act as the primary energy behind agriculture and a good harvest.

Basava, (Lord Shiva's bull) to go to the earth and deliver a message to the human to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Inadvertently, Basava announced that everyone should eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. This mistake enraged Lord Shiva who then cursed Basava, banishing him to live on the earth forever. He would have to plough the fields and help people produce more food. Therefore the Thai Pongal is celebrated in order to thank the Sun God for helping in the agriculture by giving good sunlight to produce more crops for harvest. This story is also said to be an evidence story of third pongal.

Pongal rice - sweetened rice cooked with milk,
sugar, ghee and fried cashew and raisins.

Mattu Pongal

The same legendary story associates with the third day of Pongal which is Mattu Pongal which an honour for cows and cattle. It is dedicated to the cows and cattle as cowherds and shepherds pay thanks to their cows and bulls. They paint their horns and cover them with shining metal caps. They are decorated with tinkling bells tied around their neck. Many activities with cows are hled. Cow races are conducted and it's called 'Manji Virattu' where groups of young men chase running bulls. Bull fights called 'Jallikattu' are also arranged at some places where young men have to take the money bags tied to the horns of ferocious bulls single-handedly and without the use of arms.

Coloured horn for Mattu Pongal celebration

Kaanum Pongal

The fourth day is Kaanum Pongal. On this day, people travel to see other family members. On this day, the younger members of the family pay homage to the elders, and the elders thank them by giving token money. People also do leave food out on banana leaves for birds especially crows to take. Old Hindu Mythology says crows and birds are said to be our past lineage, as if there are our grandparents.

At some other places, this day is celebrated as Kanni Pongal when girls feed colored balls of cooked rice and certain poojas. This is done as they pray for their brothers' happiness and that they always remember them. This traditions was taken up in recent years as they are similar to Raksha Bhandan that been done by North Indian where they ties Rakhi Band on their brothers' hand.

Raksha Bandhan ceremony done by North Indians,
sisters tying Rakhi on brothers' hand

Well, I guess that's it for now. I have explained in details about Pongal. If you have any add on information or if you felt this information have fault do let me know. Just leave a comment below. But if you felt this is a good article, don't forget to share to your social network. Thanks till we meet again on my next bloggie :)


With LOVE,
Kanushavik <3

Why Hindu Pierce Their Nose ?

This new year, I had pierced my nose. I was very ambitious to pierce my nose as its kinda trend for girls my age. So I stand strong with my dad to have one. My dad usually old-schooled so he will not allow me to do something to the trend (so-called). Hahaa

But, as an Indian, girls usually will have their nose piercing when they reach their age of married. So those girls will pierce their nose according to their religion.  People says North Indian pierces on the right side of the nose and South Indian vice versa. Being a South Indian girl, I pierced mine on the right (because my mum and my granma also had theirs on the right. (Haha) 

But why ? Why do Hindu pierce their nose ? Ever thought of it ? I did. And I did some "Google-ing", researches and I asked my granny and people her age. Hurmmm.... let me take your time and explain something what I got. Ready ?


Indian girls get their noses pierced as early as 5 years old. It is said the culture of piercing in Indian Hindu began in the 16th century when Moghul Emperors introduced the practice. But there is no exact manuscripts or explanations of why piercing of nose is done in Hindu Culture. Okay, let's see ;

Piercing in Girls
Girls as young as 5 years old get nose piercings depending on local custom. Nose piercings are generally marks of beauty and social standing and/or to honor the goddess Parvathi. Some says it will enhance the beauty of a girl. As it uplift the face and makes them looks pretty. Besides old people says nose can describe a person character and attitude.

Health
In Ayurvedic medicine, piercing the nose is believed to help women during menstruation periods/cycle. They suffers from heavy pain during menstruation this can reduce the pain. It also said to help women during child birth which also make ease in delivering the baby through normal vaginal delivery and reduces the pain too. Hurmmm...

Wedding Day
On a woman's wedding day, the nose piercing becomes a significant indicator of this major life event. The nose stud is replaced with a nose ring, or a stud, which is hooked by a chain to the bride's ear or hair or sometimes they don't.

Wedding Night
On a woman's wedding night, the groom removes the nose stud as a symbol of the woman's ending virginity. I'm not so sure about this but my granny told me olden days they did this rituals. Even some modern women will often wear a clip-on stud or ring for the wedding ceremony and its ritualistic removal.

The Widow
A married Hindu woman will often wear a nose piercing of some kind until she is a widow. Once her husband dies, she permanently removes the jewelry. But most nowadays women still wear them because there is culture of women must wear at least a small ornament on them. As I told earlier nose stud or ring when been worn on nose it makes someone's face uplift and make them looks pleasant. But some old women still


Nose piercing will generally take 3 weeks fully to heal, there will be hardly any redness surrounding the piercing and only a small amount of discharge mainly from the inside of the nose. Just clean the affected area with clean cold water and use cotton to wipe. Do not use any force or pressure which might cause swelling. It is advisable to use gold, diamond or any gems because expert says silver may oxidized and can cause irritation and inflammations. So just avoid if it causes you any allergic. If not continue using according to your wish. 

HAHAHA ! Human body in itself is a mystery!  No one can say for sure that one has  fully control and knowledge of one's own body.

Okay ! I guess we are almost done. Hahaa I need to thank all the sources for helping me. If you guys have any doubt or ideas/suggestions do comment me below. And don't forget to share this to your social medias and make a highlight for this article. 

See you soon, guys ! Till we meet again on next article

With LOVE,

Kanushavik <3 

Hye !

Hye guys,

Im Kanushavik, I am writing this blog to share my identity as a Hindu.

Join me with exploration of many interesting things and what I love to do. You also may give me some ideas of what I should write in my blog. Keep joining me guys ~

With LOVE,
Kanushavik <3