The holy month of Shravan is about to arrive. In this month, Lord Shiva is worshipped in various parts of country. Here are some stories on Lord Shiva and on the month of Shravan.
Lord Shiva’s blue throat
Lord Shiva is also known by the name of “Nilakaṇtha”, which literally means the blue-throated. Once Goddess Parvati learnt that Lord Shiva had swallowed poison, he rushed to hold his neck, so that the poison would not travel neck downwards. That’s how his neck became a deep blue.
Ayyappa was born due to Shiva’s attraction to Mohini
In the Bhagavata Purana, after Vishnu deceived the demons in his female form, Shiva wanted to see the bewildering Mohini again. When Vishnu agreed and revealed his Mohini form, Shiva got lured by Mohini, while the abandoned wife Parvati looked on. Shiva is overcome by Kama (love and desire). His ‘unfailing’ seed escaped and fell on the ground. From these seeds of Shiva, Ayyappa was born.
The story of Shiva Lingam
There are a few versions according to the Puranas of why Shiva is worshiped as a lingam and how this happened, of which I will relate one. There was a great sacrificial ceremony that was going to take place many hundreds of years ago. The great sage Narada Muni was invited to it and asked who would receive the effects of the sacrifice. No one could answer, so the sages who were present asked him who should receive it. Narada said that Sri Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva were all eligible, but they would have to find out which one had the most patience and purity to be the receiver of the sacrifice. So he chose the great sage Brighu to learn the answer.
Brighu had many mystic powers and was able to travel to the domain of the demigods. So first he went to see Lord Brahma, but Brahma was preoccupied and did not notice Brighu’s presence. Feeling insulted, Brighu cursed Brahma, “You are so proud of your power of creation, you did not notice my arrival. For this you shall have no temples on earth.” Thus, there are very few temples of Brahma on earth. Next, Brighu went to see Shiva in Kailash, but Shiva also did not notice Brighu’s arrival. Brighu, again feeling offended, cursed Shiva to be worshiped only as a lingam on earth. This is the reason why Lord Shiva is primarily represented and worshiped as a lingam on this planet.
- The festival of Mahashivaratri
- Haritalika Teej Story
- Mahakal Shringar
- Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga
- Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga – Lord Shiva
- The story of Nageshwar Jyotirlinga – Lord Shiva
- Rameshwaram Jyotirlniga
- Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga – Lord Shiva temple
- Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga – Lord Shiva as Mahakal
- Mallikarjun Jyotirlinga – Lord Shiva’s temple
- Jyotirlinga : Somnath ( Temple of Lord Shiva )
- Lord Shiva as a servant of Poet Vidyapati in form of Ugna
- Kanwar festival or Shravan festival in India
- Interesting story of birth of Lord Ganesha and duel with Shiva
- The story of Baidyanath Jyotirlinga at Deoghar
Also, read about the Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
Hanuman, son of Anjana and Kesari, is actually an avatar of Lord Shiva
It is believed that Lord Hanuman is the eleventh avatar of Lord Shiva. Several texts present him as an incarnation of the god Shiva. Known for his devotion to Lord Rama, the son of Anjana and Kesari, blessed by the Hindu God of wind, Vayu, Hanuman is celebrated for his devotion to Lord Rama.
