Maha Sivaratri for moksha – The Hindu

Everyone seeks hacks in order to render every task easier. However, the best shortcut (hack) to atone for one’s misdeeds and attain moksha is to fast on Sivaratri. As the popular adage goes, ‘life without worship of Siva is a waste.’ Applying holy ash on forehead and visiting Siva temples, especially on Sivaratri after observing vrat (fasting), is highly efficacious. While somavara vrat, Tiruvadhirai vrat, Uma Maheswara vrat, Kedara vrat, Kalyana vrat, sula vrat, rishabha vrat, and Maha Sivaratri vrat are the fasts recommended by Kanda Purana, observance of the Maha Sivaratri vrat is considered to be supreme, said P. Swaminathan.

Celebrated on the chaturdasi tithi in the Tamil month of Masi when it is the waning phase of the moon, Maha Sivaratri is the one day on which a devotee can seek recompense for his misdeeds, deliberate or accidental. Maha Sivaratri, also known as granting of salvation by the Lord, is best observed by undertaking a daylong fast, listening to discourses, visiting a Siva temple with offerings, and being a part of the pujas done in four phases that day. Those who cannot afford expensive offerings can submit bael leaves: anything offered with reverence will please the Lord.

The story of Angulan, a hunter, is a case in point. One day, Angulan failed to gather anything from his hunt. Unwilling to return home empty-handed to his family, he decided to stay on after dark, hoping to trap some animal that came to drink water in the lake nearby. As evening turned to night, there was no sign of any animal or even a bird. Not wanting to fall asleep on the tree he was crouched upon, Angulan kept plucking leaves from the tree and dropping them. Occasionally, when he took a sip of water from his waterskin, a few droplets fell below.

At dawn, he came down the tree and to his surprise found that the leaves he dropped had adorned a Siva lingam on the tree trunk. The Lord Himself appeared before the hunter, pleased with the devotee’s night-long vigil and offering of bael leaves. Siva blessed the hunter and his family and offered moksha to the hunter.