Mahashivratri
Every question on the site tagged Mahashivratri, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
Computed for New Delhi. Sunrise decides which tithi a day belongs to, so these can differ elsewhere.
The great night of Shiva, marking his cosmic manifestation as the Agni Linga.
58 notes from our sourcesNotes from our sources
Shiv Navratri: the nine days before Mahashivratri
Just as we keep Navratri for Jagadamba, the speaker says every devi-devata has their own navratra: their special archan begins nine days before their prakatya tithi, which itself differs by kalpa (he gives Baglamukhi's two accounts as an example). For Sadashiv the most special night is Mahashivratri, so Shiv Navratri is the nine days before it — beginning 10 February in the year of this live. If in these nine days one does Sadashiv-related sadhana with true surrender, he says, Mahadev's kripa can give even what is not in one's bhagya, and the janma kundali is left where it lies.
Mahashivratri: the first Jyotirlinga, and Sadashiv's Panchanan form
Everyone knows Mahashivratri as the day of Shiv and Parvati's wedding, the speaker says, but the Vishveshwar Samhita of the Shiv Puran tells more: it is also the tithi on which Sadashiv first appeared as the Jyotirlinga — first took murta form, giving himself the shape of a pillar. By kalpa bhed another account places it on Margashirsha Krishna Tritiya in Ardra nakshatra; neither is wrong. And his first svaroop was not single-faced: Sadashiv's complete form is Panchanan, five-faced — as Kameshwar Mahadev of Kamakhya is also held to be, Kameshwari five-faced and Kamakhya six, with further bhed of name and form in the Shri Vidya dhyana mantras. Know only this, he says: Mahashivratri is exceedingly special, and sadhana through all nine days before it bears special fruit.
Coconut deepdaan on every Purnima and parva kaal
Asked whether the coconut Deepdaan taught for Deepavali may be done on every special parva, the speaker says yes — he has said so. The 108-wick deepdaan in a coconut is overall in its effect: negative energy is destroyed, dhan is obtained, and both the Pitr and the devatas are satisfied. So do it every Purnima and on every parva kaal as it comes — Saraswati Puja and Magh Purnima had just gone; certainly on Mahashivratri as Shiv Navratri comes; then Falgun Amavasya; then Holika night. To "this is Holi, you're telling us a Diwali thing" he says do both, the fruit will be the better. He also mentions sadhikas who do a full Bhairav deepdaan every Krishna Paksha Ashtami — do it fully if you have the means, otherwise a little.
In hardship, enlarge the anushthan of the same deity instead of changing deities
The speaker says: do not change the deity, the murti or the form — do the big anushthans of the same deity in the same form. If five malas a day for ten years seem to bring nothing, increase them. On good parvas — Navratri, Shivratri, the good months where some tithi of the deity is already fixed — do their big anushthans, get them done by calling sadhaks, or learn and do them yourself; it is no rocket science. Do not live in delusion, and do not put deities out of the house. Just as parents cannot be swapped when life brings suffering — one has to serve them — hardship may simply be coming by Prarabdha. He sums up: do not, under the spell of today's "great scholars", throw the deities and pindas worshipped by one's kul out of the house; a clay pinda you dismiss may end up "laying your pinda", and then you will go about giving pind. Home deities must be worshipped daily and remain worshipped generation after generation; only then is there welfare.
Daridra Dahan Shiv Stotra anushthan: purpose, starting day and times of recitation
The speaker says that when daridrata takes hold of a house, the family goes wanting not only for food, wealth and clothing but even for its smallest wishes, and the head of the house cannot meet daily needs; for burning this poverty he prescribes the sadhana and anushthan of Sadashiv's Daridra Dahan Shiv Stotra. It can be begun on any month's masik Shivratri or on a Pradosh, and it is best of all if Mahashivratri is available. The stotra does not need to be made siddh first — it only has to be recited continuously — though a certain vidhan done alongside makes it show effect sooner. It is recited mainly at two times: in the morning before 8 o'clock, or in the evening in godhuli bela, around pradosh kaal.
Month-long nag kesar vidhan of the Daridra Dahan Shiv Stotra anushthan
The speaker's daily vidhan: finish the household's regular puja, take a sankalp to Sadashiv that the daridrata in one's home end and dhan-dhanya grow — adding rog and dukh too, since disease is itself a kind of poverty — then sit on one's asan holding one fistful of nag kesar and recite the Daridra Dahan Stotra at least 8 times, best 16, and tie the nag kesar in a yellow cloth or pouch. Then take a lota of water with a little mishri (milk too if possible), two ghee lamps, flowers and bilva patra, touch the lota to the chaukhat of the house one lives in — even a rented one — and go to a Shiva temple: light both lamps, do abhishek and shringar, pour water over Ganpati, Gauri, Nandi and Skanda (durva for Ganpati, bilva patra and flowers for the rest, a shami leaf on the shivling if found), open the potli, restate the wish and offer all the nag kesar on the shivling. Pick up two or three grains, carry them home and keep them where money is stored; the same cloth is reused every day. This is continued daily from a Shivratri to the next month's masik Shivratri — a full month (Phalgun Mahashivratri to the Chaitra masik Shivratri, for example) — and on the closing day gau vansh are fed according to capacity, even ₹100 worth, best of all stray cattle.
Unintentionally lighting a Shiva temple lamp on Mahashivratri burned away a thief's sins and won him rebirth as Kubera
Gunanidhi, a disgraced Brahmin\'s son banished for theft and gambling, tried to steal Naivedya from a Shiva temple on Mahashivratri night — his sins were burned away by unintentionally lighting the temple lamp and eating Shiva\'s prasadam right before being killed, and he was later reborn as Kubera.
Combining the Vansh Vriddhi Durga Kavach with the Ghushmeshwar Mahadev abhishek vidhi
The speaker says the kavach anushthan is best done alongside the Ghushmeshwar Mahadev Shiva-abhishek vidhi taught on his channel. Then it starts on the same tithi as that puja — Mahashivratri, a monthly Shivratri or a Pradosha — and each day the kavach is recited before the abhishek. In severe trouble the two together bring quick relief; the kavach runs alongside for the month or the 11 days of that anushthan, as one is able. On the last day there is one havan: ahutis with the Ghushmeshwar Mahadev mantra first, then Durga's 108 names or the Jayanti Mangala mantra.
Mahashivratri worship across the four prahars of the night
The speaker says that on Mahashivratri there is a vidhan of worshipping in all four prahars of the night, and that worshipping Sadashiva at the right time within those four prahars brings Shiva's boundless grace and special blessing. What is prescribed is a fast (Vrat, upavas) that day and, in each of the four prahars, puja with Panchopachara or dashopachara as far as one can manage, Aarti, and japa of Shiva's name or mantra or the paath of a stuti. The timings of the four prahars, of the Mahanishitha kaal and of the Paran were shown on screen in the video rather than spoken.
What Mahashivratri marks: Panchanan, the Panchakshari and the Gayatri
The speaker says that on the day Shiva gave Brahma his boon, many other boons were given too: the Panchanana form of Mahadev came into being, the Panchakshari Mantra was taught and given in diksha, the Pranava Gayatri was taught, and the Tripada Gayatri appeared. All of this, he says, happened on the tithi of Phalgun Krishna Paksha Trayodashi joined with Chaturdashi, and that is what is called Mahashivratri. On that day Shiva bestows grace on everyone in a special way. So Mahashivratri marks these events, not Shiva's first appearance as the pillar of fire.
What is the Panchakshari mantra, and where did it come from?
The speaker says Bhagwan Shiva's most famous mantra is the Panchakshari Mantra, whose mahatmya fills the Shiv Mahapuran. When Shiva first manifested his sakar, five-faced form, the Gayatri appeared from his five mouths and with it the Pranav; Pranav has two forms — the subtle one is Omkar, and the gross, direct one is this Panchakshari, born of the five swaroops Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha and the rest. So a sadhak who does its japa gains the grace of all five mahaswaroops, their tattvas come to dwell in his Aura, and all four Purusharthas are accomplished — which is why it is a mahamantra. The Shiv Mahapuran also says, he adds, that at the most divine time of Mahashivratri, Shiva as guru and Jagdamba as guru-mata gave the Diksha of this very mantra to Vishnu and Brahma. He opens by saying that a human birth in which one does no Purashcharana of any mantra and gains no mahashakti's grace is wasted — even if only trouble drives us to it.
Remedy for prolonged financial distress: a Shivling at home, daily water and the Rudrashtakam
For someone who has been in severe financial trouble for some twenty years, the speaker says the most solid remedy, if one is able, is to have a Rudrabhishek done at night at Shivratri. If one cannot afford that and wants something simple, keep a Shivling at home if possible — it can be done at home — and regularly offer water to it while reciting the Rudrashtakam; even that much will be a great deal. He does not prescribe more without knowing what the person already does, and invites them to describe their situation in the Telegram group for closer guidance.
Why is the Kumbh time exceptional, especially for those staying at home?
He takes up the chief subject for those who are not going and are at home. The first thing, he says, is like the parva of Mahashivratri: as we see at Mahashivratri, as we see in the mahanisha of Holika, at the Ashtami tithi, the Chaitra Ashtami, the Chaitra Navami, the Chaitra Purnima, and whatever other tithis of the ten Mahavidyas come, which are times of mahanisha, and the Navratri time of the mahashaktis.
Where do the shaktis go on the divine tithis, and where do Datta's sevaks go on Mahashivratri?
The first point, he says, is that whatever divine tithis there are, or times of a divine parva, at such times the mahashaktis and mahasiddhas connected with that shakti, who remain in her service, wherever their station may be, certainly come from their own station towards the divine kshetras, towards the tirtha kshetras. As an example: at the time of Mahashivratri, whatever sevaks and sadhaks of Bhagwan Mahaguru Dattatreya there are will all go to the Girnar kshetra for the parikrama, will go to Girnar ji, will go to the Vindhya kshetra where the sthan is, to the place in the Kashi kshetra, to the Chakra Pushkarni tirtha and the rest.
The state runs at the pitch of a single Shivratri for forty-five days, twenty-four hours a day
It is not a matter of one day, he says, but of the whole forty-five days. That is, the capacity we obtain in one Shivratri — which at the time of Shivratri we obtain by doing the puja of all four prahars through the night — if at the time of the Kumbh, this mahaparva now running, it will remain endowed with that same divinity twenty-four hours. Because at Mahashivratri shaktis come from the other loka for one night only; here the coming and going will go on always, according to the tithi.
Which parvas fall within these forty-five days?
And in this interval, he says, if you go to the Prayag kshetra, or bathe anywhere in Ganga ji, or by the niyam of the Magh kshetra bathe in any river or lake, go to a tirtha kshetra, do a havan and so on — because much is going to fall in between. There is Shakambhari Purnima; after that Mauni Amavasya; then the Gupt Navratri of Magh; after that Maghi Purnima, on which day is the jayanti of Lalita Amba, the jayanti of Maa Bhagavati Maha Tripura Sundari; on this side the jayanti of Bhagavati Shakambhari is falling; and after that the Navratri of Shiva ji begins again, and Mahashivratri will fall.
What is guaranteed to someone who keeps five hundred malas for the full period?
So we cannot go, he says, but Bhagavati can come. So if someone sits and does this much — that we will do it, do it at home itself, five hundred malas of japa — if someone does it saying we will do five hundred, continuously for the full forty-five days, a month and a quarter, then brother, that here the siddhi of the mantra should not happen, that the deity should not do kripa, that Bhagavati should not do kripa, is simply not possible; it is bound to happen. And then at the Kumbh's 26th, which is Mahashivratri, the day the Kumbh is to be completed — what kripa will come at Mahashivratri will be understood by those who do it.
How should the Rudrashtakam be recited to remove deva dosha?
Asked how the paath is done, the speaker says to begin on any monthly Shivratri, on Mahashivratri, or on any day of Shravan, with a Sankalpa spoken in these words: for the pacifying of every kind of daivik dosha and the anger of every kind of deity and Upadevata, I take the sankalp to recite the Rudrashtakam. After each of the eight mantras one Akshat is offered to Shiva, so eight grains in all, on a Shivling, a photo or a Vigreh at home. The recitation is done in the morning or at Godhuli Bela with one lamp lit and in one's ordinary puja clothes; even one paath counts, and more than one, up to five, is best, which he says should be done if the suffering is intense. He adds that if one never learns whether a deva-dosha exists, whatever is written must still be endured, but this recitation will lessen the deva dosha and the deities' anger.
Until when is the broom not to be used after a night vigil?
Confirming a listener who recalls being told at Shivratri that the broom is not to be used until twelve o'clock, the speaker says: absolutely — whenever you perform the mahanisha pujan and keep the night vigil, do not sweep with the broom early in the morning, up to the midday period.
The Vidyeshwar Samhita, carrying the complete vidhi-vidhan of Shiva pujan, was covered earlier in the series
The Vidyeshwar Samhita, which carries the complete vidhi-vidhan of Shiva pujan, has already been heard. The speaker says many listeners performed those vidhans at Shivratri and, for the first time in their lives, kept the Mahashivratri vrat awake through the whole night in ratri jagran.
What did Sati do on the Phalgun Krishna Chaturdashi?
The Phalgun Krishna Paksha Chaturdashi is the Mahashivratri that has just passed. On it she stayed awake through the whole night and, in every prahar, performed a special pujan of Shiva with bilva patra and bilva phal.
The diksha vidhan is done only on a purnamasi, or in the parva kaal of Shivratri and Navratri; the japa runs purnima to purnima.
The japa is to be done from purnima to purnima. This vidhan, the diksha vidhan, the speaker says, you should do only on the day of the purnamasi of any month; or else you may do this vidhan in the special times, the special days of Shivratri and Navratri, which are divine kaal and parva kaal.
Mahashivratri anushthan of Shri Samba Shivaya Namah: timing and daily counts
The speaker says the mantra's effect is very intense and very quick. To make it siddha at Mahashivratri (February-March): Mahadev's Navratri begins on the Chaturthi tithi nine days before Mahashivratri, which itself falls at the junction of Trayodashi and Chaturdashi; find that Chaturthi, nine or ten days earlier, and begin the japa on it. If one can sit long enough to complete sava lakh within the ten days, one does 125 Malas (12,500 japa) daily; otherwise at least 108 malas in all between Chaturthi and Chaturdashi, i.e. a minimum of 11 a day. Choose 11, 21, 27, 108 or 125 malas a day by capacity and finish within ten days.
Daily temple jalabhishek during the Shri Samba Shivaya anushthan
The speaker says that from the first day to Mahashivratri one goes daily, after the home japa, to a Sadashiv temple for jalabhishek, and one small addition makes the mantra far more intense and brings its grace across lifetimes: a separate panchmukhi Rudraksha bead, a piece of broken rock Mishri and four or five strands of Kesar in the lota of water — only these three. At the temple: first lamps (one for Shiva, or five for the Shiv parivar) with wicks in pairs; then the abhishek, pouring while chanting this very mantra; then flowers, Bilva or Shami; kishmish Naivedya beside, not on, the Shivling; camphor Aarti; the lota left upside down and picked up only at the end. Kesar that stops on the jalhari goes on one's own forehead — woman or man — never lifted off the shivling; kesar left in the lota goes back onto Shiva. At Shivratri itself belpatra, shami, aak flower and fruit are also offered.
After Mahashivratri: lifelong daily japa and ajapa jap of the mantra
When Mahashivratri is complete, the speaker says, one should contribute something to the Shiv-Parvati vivah being celebrated at whichever temple. From the next day, chant the mantra on the mala daily according to capacity — five malas or 21 — as a lifelong rule. Mala japa is compulsory, but beyond it one may also do Ajapa Jap of this mantra while walking about and even while going to sleep, seating the mantra in one's body, life, mind and prana; with these two mantras, he says, a whole life passes and whatever is wanted is obtained, if done with such niyam and nishtha.
What does offering lamps to Shiva give?
If a lamp of ghee or of til oil is offered in the name of Shiv ji, one becomes free of all kinds of papa and all kamanas are fulfilled.
One purashcharan completed in a divine kaal — Navratri, Mahashivratri, a grahan — leaves the mantra awake, whether or not we understand it.
It is an entirely ordinary prayoga, he says: you do stuti, you do paath. If you have performed a purashcharan even once — whether in Navratri, at Mahashivratri or the like, in some divine kaal, in a grahan — then the mantra is awake. That is clear. Whether we understand it or not, it is awake.
Which is more important, Shiva Trayodashi or Chaturdashi?
Asked which of Shiva Trayodashi and Chaturdashi has greater importance, he says the Chaturdashi vrat has been heard of, and that Trayodashi is Pradosh — Trayodashi and Chaturdashi are vrats related to Bhagwan Shiva. Whichever of them you have shraddha toward, becoming dedicated to them, you can keep the vrat of that tithi. There is also a calculation in it, which he says he would have to see and tell — how many ghati and pal should be reckoned when and how; the whole vidhi-vidhan should be known and only then should it be done.
What should be done when the mind will not settle in puja?
He tells a listener whose Kamakhya kavach is producing swapna dosh not to do their main kavach in that way if they have not been able to obtain the kavach properly. To one whose mind does not settle in paath despite much effort, on account of Chandra, he says that on the day of Masik Shivratri a silver chandra should be offered upon Shiva ji with a sankalp: as soon as it becomes calm, the effect of uchchatan will lessen and the mind will settle in puja-paath.
Is the Deoghar Shakti Peeth jagrit?
He answers Abhishek Tomar ji sharply: you say you live in Deoghar and you do not even know whether it is jagrit — what are we to say in this. It is called a hriday peeth of Bhagavati: the spandan of Mai's heart, the chief arteries of the heart, fell there. At Ambaji the heart, and here the arteries of the heart — on account of which Bhagavan had to establish his own atmalinga. This same Baijnath Dham, where in the Mahakal of Shivratri the gathbandhan of these two was first performed, on account of which the whole world takes it that Shiv and Parvati ji were married on Shivratri — whereas the truth is that no marriage happened that day; on that day the gathbandhan of Baijnath Mahadev and Bhagavati Jai Durga was performed. It is a symbol of when Sati abandoned her body.
What does a chamatkar mean for a new sadhak?
He says chamatkar is a separate subject, but for new sadhaks the miracle is simply this: that you get an experience of something connected with your own life, and especially that knowledge is obtained. If the buddhi begins to open and sadbuddhi begins to be received, that is the greatest thing.
What are scholars now claiming about Mahashivratri?
That the wedding of Shiva and Parvati did not happen on Mahashivratri and is described in no Purana; and, from others, that Shiva appeared for the first time as a Jyotirlinga that night. The speaker says the second group is speaking wrongly too, because he did not appear on that day either.
Listeners who kept Mahashivratri must clear the doubt at once, or the fruit of their gathbandhan puja is lost.
Because his listeners kept Mahashivratri the previous day and performed the gathbandhan puja of Shiva and Jagadamba. If a doubt now sits in the mind about it, he asks, how will the fruit of that puja be obtained at all? The doubt must be removed, so he places the subject before them.
When did Shiva first appear as a Jyotirlinga?
On the Tritiya tithi of the Krishna Paksha of the month of Margashirsha, he says — which they had already learned in the opening Vishveshvara Samhita while listening to the Shiv Mahapuran katha — and not on Mahashivratri.
What happened on the night of Mahashivratri?
On the night of Mahashivratri, he says, Shiva appeared before Brahma and Vishnu in an embodied form, in the Panchanan swaroop. The Pranav, the Gayatri and the Panchakshari mantra — all three — arose that day from the mouth of Shiva, and the guru diksha of these three was received by Brahma and Vishnu.
Brahma and Vishnu became the first disciples of Shiva and Parvati, and Shiva gave the boon that the night would be famed as Mahashivratri.
Having taken diksha they became the first disciples of Shiva and Maa Parvati, and both of them then performed the puja of Shiva. Shiva gave the boon of Mahashivratri by saying that this night would become famous by the name of Mahashivratri.
What happened on the Phalgun Krishna Chaturdashi night at Vaidyanath?
After many kalpas and yugas, he says, Bhagavati Sati in the form of Jaya Durga and Shiva met there and their gathbandhan was performed, Brahma and Vishnu conducting it. That night is called the Phalgun Krishna Chaturdashi night, and that is Mahashivratri; and the blessing given there was that whoever performs the gathbandhan of Bhagavati and Bhagavan on that day — in that manner a wedding took place there.
When is Vaidyanath Jayanti kept?
The wedding of Bhagavan Vaidyanath and Maa Jaya Durga took place, he says plainly, on the Phalgun Krishna Paksha Chaturdashi night of Mahashivratri. Vaidyanath Jayanti is kept on that same day, and on that same day the wedding of the two of them — that is, the punarmilan — took place, and the establishment of that region was made complete.
Those who call the Mahashivratri wedding false have never read the pramaan standing at the Ravaneshwar Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga kshetra.
He tells listeners not to bring the doubt into their minds because people say it is wrong. Those who say so, he says, have never read anything about Baba Vaidyanath; let them go to the Ravaneshwar Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga kshetra and see all the pramaan there, and read about Baba Vaidyanath Jayanti. He says he will put the written proofs on the channel once his puja-path is complete.
No sindoor daan is described in the Vaidyanath account; what is found there is the punarmilan in symbolic form.
If you go looking there for whether a sindoor daan took place, he says, that itself is a wrong thing to do — a description of it will be found nowhere. What you will obtain is everything that happened in a symbolic form, the punarmilan; and that is not a wrong thing. For that reason, on that day, the full vaivahik mahotsav of Maa and Baba is kept and vaivahik varshgaanth ki shubhkaamnaayein is said.
Denying the Mahashivratri wedding would mean denying the wedding of Khandoba and Malsa and every other form Shiva took.
Nothing wrong is being said, he argues: Hari is infinite and Hari katha is infinite; Shiva took so many avatars and so many forms — did Shiva take no avatar in which a marriage happened? Was Khandoba and Malsa's marriage not performed? Jagadamba took avatar there in two forms as well. If you will not accept that, will you then say that on that day the vaivahik varshgaanth greeting is not for Mahadev but for Khandoba and Malsa, and that they are not Parvati and Shiva?
The night carries a doubled importance because Parameshwar had his milan with Prakriti upon an already established Mahashivratri.
Because Mahashivratri already existed and was already in currency, its importance became doubled. On that day, he says, the param satta was seated there in the form of the heart, and that Parameshwar had his milan with Prakriti — Prakriti and the Param Purusha met on that day, in Mahashivratri, and their gathbandhan and full pujan took place.
When is gathbandhan not performed at Baba Vaidyanath?
Only in the one or two days immediately before Mahashivratri does the work of gathbandhan stop there, because on those days the whole cleaning and preparation is going on and the sankalp pujan and the rest is in hand. Otherwise, he says, for the full 365 days gathbandhan is performed there for those who go.
The four-prahar puja must be made a yearly rule, for the body is not eternal and it is this one night's puja that will be of use.
Now every year, he says, it must be made regular. The body is not eternal. This puja that you are doing, this puja of one night — it is this that will be of use, brother.
How should an ordinary person keep Mahashivratri?
An ordinary man should keep Mahashivratri in the beginner's way, he says. Do not take yourself into the idea that Mahashivratri has a great scientific importance, and that one should stay awake that night playing the veena and dancing, doing the big disco dancing of the foundation people. Those people have become jeevan mukt and a great deal of money has come to them. You should do the abhishek of Shiva in the four prahars and the path of the Sahasranama, seated near him in solitude.
What does keeping a ratri jagran for the first time mean?
A listener says that for the first time in his life he kept the ratri jagran, and by his grace did the Shri pujan well for the first time. It is Bhagavati's will and kripa, he answers, and the mahima of Shiva, that you were able to keep the ratri jagran. And upon the many people who kept a ratri jagran for the first time, kripa has certainly been present.
He prescribes only what he has done himself, having kept the four prahars with the same bodily pain as anyone else.
We say only what we do, he says; what we do not do, we do not say. If we had you perform the four-prahar puja, then whatever our own state may have been, we too made the attempt — we are no yoga-endowed divine person, he says, but low, base, shudra, maha-shudra, fallen. We too attempted the four-prahar puja in the ordinary way. Our own state also becomes bad; our waist aches too, our legs ache. One can do it up to a limit, and after that one understands — and therefore we can understand your suffering.
How much fruit does jap on Mahashivratri give?
Asked how many times the fruit is given by what is done on Mahashivratri, he says the questioner is stuck in this multiplication and division — if you knew it, what calculation would you make? It has been told: it gives 365 times the fruit. It brings the fruit of a whole year in a single day, and to that one infinite times the fruit is going to be received.
Had Shiva willed the four-prahar jagran through another medium, it would have reached the listeners by that medium instead.
They made him a medium, he says. If Shiva was to have your four-prahar jagran performed on Shivratri, then you would have heard of it by some other medium, would have known it by some other medium — but you had to do the four-prahar puja. It was had done. And if he had not wished to have it done by you, then even if Shiva himself had come from here and explained it to you, it still would not have been done by you.
What should a woman do in place of the Gayatri mantra?
To a listener he says it is a very good thing that she is not doing the Gayatri mantra: you are a woman, so in place of the Gayatri mantra you should do the Panchakshari mantra, as has been said again and again. The Panchakshari, the Gayatri and the Pranav — all three appeared on one and the same day and at one and the same time, from Shiva, on Mahashivratri, as they discussed today. First the Pranav, then the Panchanan swaroop, and then from the four-faced swaroop the Tripada Gayatri appeared.
Should a decorative shivling in the house be worshipped in Savan?
In the month of Savan, no object of the shape of a shivling in the house should be unworshipped. By any object he means that if you have placed a decorative item that is a shivling and do not worship it, then at the very least show it dhoop and deep. Mahashivratri and Savan have great mahatmya and must never be allowed to go to waste.
Those who did large Panchakshari counts before should reduce it and add a Mahamrityunjay text
Last year many people did five lakh of Panchakshari, some three lakh, some up to six lakh. Then at Mahashivratri too, many did up to fifty thousand japa in a single night, and screenshots of several were shared in the group. If you have done that much japa of Panchakshari, he says, then this time reduce the Panchakshari number a little and along with it accomplish one of the Mahamrityunjay namavali, stuti or stotra — you will move up one rung and one more thing will be added to your level.
After an eleven-hundred sankalp, eleven recitations daily through the pause keep the krama unbroken
As, you recite the Sankatnashan 108 times daily and have made a sankalp of 1100 recitations; taking an eleven-day sankalp, yours is complete. Then if you stop for two or three days, in those two or three days go on doing eleven recitations daily, so that the krama will remain. Then take sankalp again and do 1100 again. In this same manner, see that Shivratri is coming — so before Shivratri your whole 1100 should be completed. After that do Shivratri, and one or two days after it, begin again. Doing each sadhana in this way, if you have to go somewhere in between or some work arises, that too will be managed and there will be no difficulty. Householders should do it in this way.
Can a bhagat who sits on a gaddi be taken as one's guru?
Asked by Ranjeet Kevat ji whether it is proper to take the ishta mantra or guru mantra from a bhagat who holds a baithak or gaddi, the speaker says you may take it — in a satvik way, in a grihastha way. If they are sadhaks of a tamasik bent, or perform tamasik sadhana, then he would forbid it.
Where is the Daridra Dukh Dahan Shiv Stotra covered, and where is the Shiv Kavach video?
Asked how to use the path of the Daridra Dukh Dahan Shiv Stotra, he says he told this around Shivratri and there will be a video. Told that the Shiv Kavach video is not to be found, he says it now seems it is unlisted, and that he will look.
On which days is the mantra worship performed?
The night of Mahashivratri; the night of Chaitra Shukla Ashtami and Navami; the Chaturdashi of Diwali; Bhagavan Dattatreya's Jayanti on the Purnima. Sharad Purnima and Magh Purnima are also accepted. And Guru Purnima, the seventh, is the most distinctive of all.
What should be done in Navratri and other parva kaals for protection?
When it is Navratri, when it is Shivratri, or whatever parva kaal comes — especially those connected with the tantra kaal — we must protect ourselves and protect the family too. Along with that, the anushthans done before this should be continued: those who have been doing Kalika Yogini sadhana all year should keep doing exactly Kalika Yogini and not abandon it now.
Does the mere effort of keeping a vigil please the deity?
He says the best thing this time was that on the night of Shivratri a great many people stayed awake, some setting alarm after alarm to get up and do pujan. They made the effort, he says, and seeing that effort Mahadev will be pleased — that my child made the effort to please me — and on these nights he will certainly give kripa. That much bhava should be there: if sleep comes, then set alarms and rise.
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