ST LOUIS: Mahashivaratri was celebrated with great devotion and religious fervor by the Gujarati community at Mahatma Gandhi Community Center on Sunday March 10 in honor of Lord Shiva.
The festival falls on the moonless, 14th night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun. On this day devotees observe day and night fast and worship Shiva Lingam, to appease Lord Shiva. Many interesting legends have been related to the festival of Mahashivaratri.
The program started with Shiva Pooja and was followed by bhajans by devotees for three hours. Delicious Gujarati food was served to all devotees. Over 300 Gujarati members attended this event.
According to one of the most popular legends, Shivaratri is the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati. It is also believed that Lord Shiva performed Tandava, the dance of the primal creation, preservation and destruction on this auspicious night of Shivaratri.
According to another popular legend, described in Linga Purana, it was on Shivaratri that Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of a Linga for the first time. Since then, the day is considered to be extremely auspicious by the devotees of Shiva and they celebrate it as Maha Shivaratri, the grand night of Shiva.
Ashwin Patel
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