Night of Lord Shiva, ‘Destroyer of Evil’, begins across the nation

Guwahati, March 4, 2019:

The night of the ‘destroyer of evil’ has arrived. Maha Shivratri (the great night of Lord Shiva) is being celebrated all across the country and beyond today as devotees have thronged Shiva temples in droves since the break of dawn in order to pay their respects to the Hindu ‘Lord of Death’.

A highly spiritual occasion, Shiv Ratri is the day when devotees remember the Lord and chant prayers and ‘shlokas’ in his name. Moreover, people all over the state of Assam were seen forming long queues at Shiva temples and people offered bael leaves and milk to the ‘Shiv ling’, which is a symbol of the Hindu God.

The festivities will continue throughout the night and continue until the next morning. It is worth mentioning that the 55-day long ‘Kumbh Mela’ comes to an end during Shiv Ratri.

An interesting custom that can be observed among the devotees of Shiva is their inclination to smoke weed, especially on the occasion of Shiv Ratri. Many shadhus can be witnessed smoking marijuana in earthen tobacco-smoking constructs called ‘chillum’. Moreover, there is a marijuana-smoking trend among the youth on the night of Shiva.

The Chaturdashi Tithi has begun at 4:28 pm today and will last till 7:07 am tomorrow.