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| Om Namah Shivaya |
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The Shivaratri Vrat (the fast on Shiva's night) is considered to be very important. It is believed that if any person keeps this fast, even unknowingly, he is granted great virtues and bliss. The tradition of keeping fast or Vrat on the Shivaratri is very old.
It is said that even Brahma and Vishnu worshipped Shiva on that night. During that fast nothing is eaten or drunk. He, who observes this fast, is blessed with true bliss and salvation. The legend is as follows:
There was a hunter named Gurudruh. He was very cruel and vile. He never hesitated in killing any man or animal. In case a need arose, he would steal a thing or loot a house. In short, he could not make difference between a good deed or a bad deed. Therefore, there was no question of his knowing what Shivaratri fast meant. He always thought of his family only and was ever ready to do anything for them.
Once, it was Shivaratri day. At noon his parents said to him, "O son! It is already late, but we have nothing to eat. Your wife and children also must be feeling hungry. As nothing is left in the house, go and bring something. Even flesh of an animal will do." As desired by his parents, Gurudruh went into the forest to hunt. Till evening, he had not been able to find any animal. What a chance it was!
Gurudruh kept wandering in the forest without any success. At a place he saw a running stream. There was a Bilva tree at the bank of that stream. He climbed up the Bilva tree. In addition to his bow and arrow, he had a pot of water with him.
At sunset, a doe reached the stream to quench her thirst. Under the tree, there was a Shiva-Linga. As Gurudruh saw the doe, he fixed an arrow in his bow and got ready to shoot. While doing so, a few branches of that tree were shaken. As its result, a few leaves fell on the Shiva-Linga. The pot of water was also jolted which spilled some water down on the Shiva-Linga. Thus Gurudruh had performed the ritual of worship to Shiva unknowingly. The doe requested the hunter to let her go home once and then she would come back.
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