The Journey of Shiva to Shankar-Maha Shivaratri 2017 and the four prahar puja timings

करपूर गौरम करूणावतारम संसार सारम भुजगेन्द्र हारम |

सदा वसंतम हृदयारविंदे भवम भवानी सहितं नमामि ||

Once upon a time , when the moon was waning in the mysterious nakshatra of Uttara Phalguni, the Universe celebrated one of the most divine wedding, the day on which ash smeared ascetic Shiva transformed into the most handsome man any one could have ever seen 'ChandraShekhar' and domesticated to be Shankar forever, the wedding which everyone waited for so long, the wedding of Shiva and Shakti and from then, this day was celebrated as Maha Shivaratri.

It was the day when every being in this Universe celebrated this event together.

Shiva and Shakti represents the eternal love but this love story was not an easy one. Goddess Parvati did penance to get Shiva's love and attention also Shiva suffered from pain , when he lost her as Sati in her previous birth.

Both of them are incomplete without each other,and there wedding was a blessing to others.

Maha Shivaratri is the best day to meditate and pray to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The Puja is mainly done at the night time. Every Maha Shivratri has four auspicious time periods when you can perform meditation, abhishekam or just pray to lord Shiva.

Four pooja timings for Maha Shivaratri 2017 are as following:-

Chaturdashi Tithi Begins = 21:38 on 24/Feb/2017 Chaturdashi Tithi Ends = 21:20 on 25/Feb/2017

First prahar-- 18:13 to 21:23 (24 Feb)

Second prahar- 21:23 to 00:23 (25 Feb)

Third prahar 24:23 to 03:23 (25 Feb)

Fourth prahar 27:44 to 06:54 (25 Feb)

Puja vidhi-

Lord Shiva's Abhishekam can done using these six materials-

Milk(raw), Honey, Yoghurt , Jaggery , Sugar or Cane Juice and Water

As Lord Shiva is considered as Ideal Husband, unmarried girls can observe a fast on this day to get Lord Shiva's Blessings and get suitable husband.

Meditate as much as you can to get rid of all rajas guna and negative vibes, dedicate this day to lord Shiva with clean mind and heart :)

Photo credits- Devon ke dev mahadev (Life OK Channel)