Best place to celebrate MahaShivarathri

Which place in India can you witness the grand MahaShivaratri celebration? Is it Varanasi? Rishikesh? Haridwar? The answer is no.

Maha Shivarathri is celebrated in grand manner in the district of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India and it falls on Feb 24th in 2017.

MahaShivratri, the night of the worship of Lord Shiva, occurs on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna. It falls on a moonless February night, when Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of destruction.

Mandi town located on the banks of the Beas River, popularly known as the “cathedral of temples”, is one of the oldest towns of Himachal Pradesh with about 81 temples of different gods and goddesses in its periphery. Mandi town is also called as ‘Varanasi of the Hills’.

The Mandi festival or fair is particularly famous as the special fair transforms Mandi town into a venue of grand celebration when all gods and goddesses, said to be more than 200 deities of the Mandi district assemble here, starting with the day of Shivaratri.

Mandi town, where the festival is held, was ruled by Raja Ajbar Sen who was considered the first great ruler of Mandi State in the sixteenth century. Apart from his palace, he built the temple of Bhootnath (temple for Shiva) at the centre of the Mandi town, which is one of the two focal temples of the festival.Raja Suraj Sen (1664 to 1679), who did not have an heir, built the temple known as “Madhav Rai temple”, dedicated to a form of Lord Vishnu, as protector of Mandi. An elegant silver image of Radha and Krishna was made by his goldsmith Bhima, in the year 1705, which was named “Madho Rai” and deified, and ordained as the King of the State of Mandi thereafter.

The observance of the fair is marked on the Shivaratri day when the village gods are carried in palanquins or rathas (chariots by people) to Mandi to pay homage to Madho Rai and the Raja. It is an accepted practice that every deity that is brought to the festival (decorated with glittering embroidered drapery) visits Madho Rai temple first to pay obeisance to Lord Vishnu and then proceed to the palace in a colourful procession called the Shoba Yatra, known locally as ‘Zareb,’ to honour the ruler (the regent of the Lord Mado Rai). It is said that Madho Rai comes out of his temple only once a year on the MahaShivaratri day and leads the procession. The ruler thereafter pay obeisance to Lord Shiva at the Bhootnath temple where the main festival of Shivaratri is held. The palanquins of the deities are swayed to the drum beats and folk music to indicate their happiness after visiting the temples of Vishnu and Shiva.