Maha Shivratri celebration in Memphis Indian Cultural Center and Temple

Indian Cultural Center and Temple (ICCT) in Memphis, Tennessee has been serving the

Hindu

community in Mid-South region of the United States since its inception in 1994. It’s the only temple adhering to the Agama tradition in the worship of

Lord Vishnu

and Shiva. It has been a pioneer in the performance of festivals and yagnas on a large scale. ICCT stepped into its 24th year for performing the 5-day long Maha Shivratri celebration annually since 1995. This year, it fell on Monday, March 4 and ICCT preformed various rituals between March 2-7.


Maha Shivaratri or the ‘The Night of Shiva’ celebrated with devotion and religious fervour in honour of

Lord Shiva

. It is a Hindu festival, celebrated in India by Hindus around the world on the 13th night of the waning moon in the month of February or March. Some of the rituals that were performed during the 5-day long period are homa (yagna or havan), abhishekha (anoiting), vahana sevas, rathotsava, dolotsava and trishula snan. The rich old traditions of ICCT were religiously carried out with sincere devotion and dedication by temple priests.

On the night of Maha Shivaratri, the Shivalinga was worshipped with full ceremonial rites by bathing it (known as abhishekha) and decorating the Shivalinga. To the chanting hymns, the priests poured one offering after another of milk, yogurt, honey and turmeric on the Shivalinga. Between each offering, the priests rinsed the image of Shiva completely with abundant streams of water. At the end of the long ritual, the door is closed while the priests adorn the Shivalinga with the most elegant ornamentation of flowers and then open the door gate and present Lord Shiva in his most beautiful form for worship.

The Hindu community of Memphis flocked in large numbers to the temple to worship and seek blessings of Shiva, most commonly worshipped in Linga form. The evening was more enchanted with a Bharatnatyam performance. The dance was in honour of Lord Shiva, wherein dancers approached the altar and gracefully dropped flowers at Shiva’s feet. On the day of Shivaratri, devotees observed full-day fast, pledged for self-determination throughout the fasting period and sought blessings of Lord Shiva.