 hivaratri
(literally meaning Shiva's night) is a festival of great significance
for Hindus all over the world, especially for those of Kashmir.
Esoterically, it is symbolic of the mystic union of Jiva (individual
soul) with Paramatma (the Supreme Godhead) and it represents the high
state of spiritual realization wherein the world of relativity fades
away and perfect peace and calm prevails. On this phenomenal night, the
seeker remains fully aware of his identity with Shiva, the source of
perennial joy, and thus experiences eternal Truth, Bliss and Beauty. (Satyam, Shivam. Sundaram).
 Close to heart
For centuries, Hindus of Kashmir have been observing Shivaratri
with utmost zeal and devotion. And the age-old traditions with its
elaborate rituals covering three-fourth of the dark half of the lunar
month of Phalguna (Feb-March) are followed even to this day, modified,
of course, to suit the changing times and circumstances.
The
21-day celebrations are marked by the same excitement, exultation and
euphoria as in the days of yore. The way our displaced and uprooted
brethren have been observing Shivaratri in tents and makeshift tenements
for the last 20 years shows how close this festival is to our hearts.
Keeping in view its length and religious-cum-social over-tones, it may
be compared to Durga Puja and Ganapati festivals celebrated with equal devotion and enthusiasm by the Hindus of Bengal and Maharashtra respectively.
Also called Hayrath-Why?
In Kashmir, Shivaratri
is also called Hayrath, which is the corrupt form of hairat, a Persian
word meaning 'utter surprise'. The term, Hayrath, was coined during the
Pathan rule in the valley.
As
the story goes, the Pathan governor of Kashmir, Jabaar Khan by name,
forbade Kashmiri Pandits from celebrating Shivaratri festival in winter
in the lunar month of Phalgun (Feb-March). Instead, the tyrannical ruler forced them to celebrate it in the hottest month of Aashaadh (June-July).
The
perverted ruler knew that heavy snowfall always marked the great event
as is evident from the following refrain of a song usually sung at
Shivaratri time: Suna sheen volun daari daare: Maharaza raaza kumaar hai aav (Flakes of gold snowed slow and steady when prince Shiva arrived to marry princess Uma!).
The
helpless people obeyed, but Lo' and behold, snow did fall in July that
year! The miracle startled everyone, the Pathan ruler, in particular,
who expressed utter surprise, Hairat. Hence the new name for Shivaratri celebrations.
Since
the untimely snowfall resulted in crop failure and famine, the people
of the valley faced untold misery. The forced alteration in the timing
of the festival, therefore, brought innumerable curses upon the ruler.
The people cried out in despair: Wuchton Yi Jabbaar Jandah, Haaras Ti Kurun Wandah! (Look at this wretched Jabaar in rags; he turned summer into winter!).
Shiva Chaturdashi
As Hindus all over India and elsewhere in the world observe Shivaratri on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of the lunar month of Phalgun, a day after its observance by their counterparts in Kashmir, it is also known as Shiva Chaturdashi.
It is believed that Lord Shiva, the 'King of Yogis' and the
'Destroyer-Renovator of the Holy Trinity', manifested on earth on this
day to redeem his devotees. The Hindus of all castes and creeds observe
fast, offer prayers and spend the whole night in worship of Lord Shiva
in homes and temples.
However, Kashmiri Pandits too observe Shiva Chaturdashi, not in the lunar month of Phalgun like
the Hindus elsewhere but a month earlier in the dark fortnight of the
lunar month of Magha (Jan-Feb), when they keep, not just a day’s fast,
but a 3-day fast, and worship Shiva with great devotion. They even avoid
non-vegetarian preparations in their homes on these days.
Puja and its significance
The great Shaiva philosopher Utpaladeva describes Shivaratri thus: “When
the sun, the moon and all the other stars set at the same time, there
arises the radiant light of Shiva spreading a splendor of its own.”
Kashmiri Brahmins perform Shivaratri puja on the 13th (and not on the 14th) day of the dark half of Phalguna. For them, it signifies Lord Shiva's wedding with Uma,
the beautiful daughter of the Himalayas. And in keeping with their
hospitable nature, they offer non-vegetarian food in puja on this day,
ostensibly to entertain Bhairavas who formed the major part of Shiva's baraat.
The divine marriage has a deeper, philosophic connotation. Shiva in His transcendental (para) aspect is inactive in creation. And His union with Shakti (energy or activating power) represented by His 'consorts', Uma, Parvati, Durga and Kali (variously named to signalize particular functions of the Divine Mother) make the infinite enfoldments in the cosmos possible.
According to Kashmir Saivism, Shiva represents the eternal
process of creation and destruction, and His nature has primarily a
two-fold aspect--immanent which pervades the universe and the
transcendental that is beyond the universal manifestation of time, space
and form.
Shivaratri puja is also called Vatuk Puja. Vatuk is a
Kashmiri word meaning 'collection or an assemblage of different
objects'. Since the main puja on Shivaratri day involves collection of a
large number of articles, it is being called by the name Vatuk.
The name could also be traced to the term Vatuk Dev, Lord Shiva's
celibate form. In the fitness of things, Kashmiris worship Shiva in this
form before solemnizing his union with Uma. They also worship Vatuk Bhairav, supposed to be Shiva's most trusted dwarpal (gate-keeper), in a bid to seek his favor for an audience with the Lord.
Preliminary Preparations
Year after year, the three-week celebrations begin on the first day of the dark fortnight of Phalguna (known in popular parlance as hurya ukdoh) and end on the 8th day of the bright half of Phalguna.
Hur in Kashmiri stands for both singing and whitewashing and the word
is used as a prefix to the first nine days of the festivities.
Traditionally, the first 6 days (hurya ukdoh to hurya shiyam)
were normally reserved for cleaning the entire house to give it a
festive look and for collecting the necessary articles like walnuts,
utensils and vatuk samagri for main puja on Shivaratri day. In olden
times, the houses used to be whitewashed with clay and fresh cow-dung.
The subsequent 3 days--hurya sattam, hurya atham and hurya navam (the birthday of goddess Sharika), were devoted to congregational nightlong prayers, preferably in temples at Ganpatyar, Chakreshwar, Pokhribal and Kshirbhawani.
On the 12th, a day before the main puja, a new earthenware,
freshly baked and specially prepared by the potter for the occasion
(now-a-days a pot of steel), is ceremoniously brought to the house and
placed on a small circular seat (aasan) made of grass in the room
traditionally reserved for daily worship (thokur kuth). Called Wagur,
the pot represents the priest who, according to one prevalent belief,
acted as Shiva's messenger to the Himalayas to seek his daughter's hand
and also performed the auspicious wedding ceremony of Shiva with
Parvati.
Ritual Worship
Prior to the start of puja on the main day, Trayodashi, several pots, representing various deities, including the two larger vessels signifying Shiva and Parvati,
are embellished with flower garlands tied round their mouths and dried
walnuts deposited in them nearly to the brim. The smaller vessels,
representing other deities, are similarly readied for formal worship. A
couple of more vessels are also kept ready for lesser deities like the Bhairavas.
The ritual worship begins with formal invocation of Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, followed by sanctification of various vessels representing different deities. Abhishek of the cone-shaped clay model called Saniputul is one of the main attractions. Being empty from inside, Saniputul represents the supreme Godhead that encompasses all the elements in the universe from prithvi tatwa (earth) to shunya tatwa (empty space). Saniputul appears to be the corrupt form of shunya putul (pot/idol).
The ritual worship continues till late into the night and
concludes with the singing of devotional hymns in praise of Lord Shiva
and finally aarti.
Dunya Mavas
Ritualistic Puja of the sanctified vessels reaches its climax on the 15th day called Dunya Mavas
(walnut amavas). On this day all the flower-decked vessels are taken to
a stream or river for immersion just as the images of Durga and Ganesha
are immersed at the close of Durga Puja and Ganapati festivals.
Before immersion, the vessels are emptied of the soaked
walnuts and brought back home after symbolic Puja at the bank of the
river. On reaching home, the ladies would shut the main entrance of the
house and not allow the head of the family to enter till he promised
certain blessings and boons for all members of the family.
The question-answer conversation would run as follows after the head of the family knocks at the door: Q: kus chuva? (Who is there?) ; A: Ram Bror (name of the person); Q: kya heth? (What have you brought?) ; A: anna heth, dhana heth (food, wealth etc).
How romantic and fascinating!
PRASAD
After
the final and concluding puja on Dunya Mavas, the soaked walnuts and
tumul chut (rice-cakes) are distributed as the main prasad among the
family members, friends and close relatives.
The use of dried walnuts for both worship and prasad is
something very unique in the observance of Shivaratri by the people of
Kashmir. Possibly, it has some symbolic purpose inasmuch as dried seeds
when soaked pave the way for renewal of life from objects that are
supposed to be dead.
The process of distribution of prasad continues for a week
till Teela Atham, the 8th day of the bright half of Phalguna when
Hayrath celebratiions formally come to a close. In good old days back
home, a lighted earthen lamp would be placed on ari (seat made of grass)
and allowed to float in the river (reminiscent of a similar scene in
the evenings at the holy Ganges in Haridwar).
On this day of glee and charm, the children used to have had
the last laugh. They would burn unserviceable kangris (fire-pots) in
the evenings, mostly on the banks of river Jehlum. Known as jatun tuun,
in our native language, the festivity was symbolic of the end of severe
winter in Kashmir, very much similar to the festival of Lohri in Punjab.
Social Aspect
Shivaratri
provides a wonderful and meaningful get-together for all members of the
family. Every member of the household is normally in a festive mood. It
is a day of prayer and meditation for the elders and one of fun and
frolic for the youngsters, particularly children in their new colorful
attires. During the entire period of the 3-week celebrations, all the
family members, men, women and children would play with cowries (sea
shells). One and all used to enjoy this fun-filled indoor sport, known
as haara-baaz.
It is customary for the women-folk, the old and young alike, to visit their malyun (parental home) and return to their varyuv (in-laws) with atagat (money in token of love) and kangri
(fire-pot), considered to be a good omen on this occasion. The
newly-wed girls would normally return from their paternal homes on the
eve of the main Shivaratri function, preferably on the 10th day (dhyara
daham), bringing with them, what in Kashmiri we call, hayrach bhog (Shivaratri shagun) in kind and cash.
In the days gone by, it used to be a challenging time for some in the event of their Hayrach Bogh
falling short of the expectations of their mothers-in-law. The
proverbial mother-in-law (not uncommon, perhaps, even now) would heave
cold sighs, beat their foreheads and curse their luck. Karma Khandit Asam, they would say.
Salaam
The day after Maha Shivaratri Puja
is called salaam, a Persian word for greeting. It is a day of fun and
feasting, a sort of Thanksgiving Day when relations, friends and
colleagues would exchange greetings. The singing bards and the poor
would visit Hindu homes and take their share of Shivaratri presents in
cash or kind or both as the case may be.
Hayrath Kharch
On Shivaratri day, the head of the family offers pocket
money to children and other younger members in the family, including the
new brides, sons-in-law and the newly wed daughters. Called hayrath
kharch, it is also sent to nearest relations, including their newborns
and newly married children.
Spirit Of Shivaratri
Though Kashmiri Pandits have now migrated en-masse, at the
point of gun out of their homes and hearths in Kashmir, the spirit of
Shivaratri continues to be still observed, celebrated and contemplated
upon in many foreign lands today. This occasion keeps alive the very
essence of Shiva and the eternal values He embodies, i.e. mutual love,
togetherness, open mindedness, inclusiveness and respect for one and
all.
No wonder, each year Shivaratri becomes the time for new beginnings ~ when old wounds are forgotten and new relationships fostered!
May the spirit of Shivaratri awaken the spirit of Shiva in each and every one of us!
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