Thank God for #Shivratri on Twitter

At the wise old age of 15, deeply devoted to the idea of Shiva, I decided to fast for the first time on #Shivratri. As I dressed to go to the temple, I asked my senior most aunt (you know, the one who had jagratas, and Satyanarayana ki katha at her home) what Shivratri was about. “Oh,” she said, “jaise janam-ashtmi hoti hai, ram-naumi hoti hai, vaise hi Shivratri hogi.” (Just like janam-ashtami and ram-naumi, it must be Shiva’s birthday). So along with a cousin, I trotted off confidently to the local Shiv mandir, and sang "happy birthday to you". Needless to say I felt quite sheepish the next morning when I read in the newspaper that the marriage of Shiva and Parvati had been celebrated with great pomp the previous day. One of those defining moments when I set my heart on learning #Sanskrit and informing myself independently about tradition. I’m overjoyed to report that Twitter yesterday presented quite the contrary picture. Followers created a rich feed of greetings, images and issues to mark the special day.

#Shivratri celebrates the coming together of Shiva and Parvati, which was engineered by the devas in consultation with Brahma to produce an unsurpassable progeny, who would crush Taraka, an asura who had been tormenting them. All of them combined, including Indra had been unable to vanquish Taraka. It was decided that Shiva would have to be persuaded to abandon his meditation and marry the daughter of the mountain king (Parvati), to bring forth the destined child. The legend of Kumara (also known as Skanda, Subramanya, Muruga, Senthil, Swaminatha, and Guha) has an ancient lineage. Various stories of his birth, upbringing and valour appear in texts like the Atharva Veda, the Taittireya aranyanka, the Chandogya Upanishad, the Mahabharata and the Skanda Purana. He is even mentioned in the Baudhayana Dharmasutra. However, the story of how his birth was facilitated is immortalised in Kalidasa's mahakavya Kumarasambhava (literally, making [the birth of] Kumara possible)

In honour of #Shivratri, #SanskritAppreciationHour translated a collection of nuptial verses from chapter VIII of Kumarasambhava. They focused on the yearning of both Shiva and Parvati to come together, and the restraint Shiva exercises while initiating his innocent and nervous bride into the sacred union. The sophistication and complexity of Kalidasa’s language is more that matched by the intense passion and emotion of the bride and groom which it captures. If you missed the session you can catch up here.

Devotees who prayed at home, as well at temples, and invited us to be part of their ceremonies by sharing pictures and videos. For us in diaspora, these were amazingly intimate gestures, and we didn't feel that we had missed out because we didn't have a temple near us. Tweets about puja and vrata vidhi were swapped, as were messages about how to calculate the muhurata for the abhishekh. 

Maha Shivratri Vrat Special Recipes - As you get ready with the preparations of the Maha Shivratri puja,... http://t.co/hyxLmxDtWy

— Anushka Chopra (@seoanushka) February 17, 2015

#Shivratri, is not just an occasion to pray, fast, and meditate. Devotees also celebrate raucously, colourfully! Shiva's rowdy baratis were recalled joyously by a Twitter follower who shared a song from the 1955 Dev Anand movie Munimji, while another shared pictures of a parade in Mathura. Heartfelt greetings were peppered with private photographs of remote Shiva temples like this one from @gagansarawa which led to an agonised exchange about how the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was neglecting temples.

@blog_supplement shared a rare sculpture of Kumara from Nagaur:

skanda from remains of the rockcut kaumAra shrine, Choti Khatu, Nagaur, an important center of the western gharAMnAya pic.twitter.com/inq0fTIeYk

— manasataramgini (@blog_supplement) February 14, 2015

@Sarvgyani shared pictures from an annual parade in Mathura, which featured Shiva and his baraatis (wedding party).

??? ????? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ? its a annual event @RohiniBakshi #?????????? pic.twitter.com/0js2LXeUwP

— Gopal Chaturvedi (@SarvGyani) February 17, 2015

@anuradhagoyal shared this amazing image which captures 81 poses of Shiva in motion:

@invest_mutual @Mamdhata @suhasm @RohiniBakshi @sudarshanhs 81 poses of #Shiva in 1 sculpture http://t.co/5udq1y9ggS pic.twitter.com/Fu4CD6zzJb

— Anuradha Goyal (@anuradhagoyal) February 16, 2015

While #SanskritAppreciationHour guest lecturer @suhasm, a student of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore composed this verse:

#Shivaratri See pic for a beautiful verse composed by @suhasm That single foot of Nataraja @RohiniBakshi @sudarshanhs pic.twitter.com/XyOE1ycMJl

— Mahesh (@invest_mutual) February 16, 2015

Twitter provided a wonderful platform to connect with well wishers and devotees sans frontieres. We basked in a shower of good wishes and greetings from around the world, including this one from @ShirazHassan, depicting the Katas Raj Temple in the Chakwal district of Punjab, Pakistan, dedicated to Shiva. The temple is said to have existed from the times of the Mahabharata and the Pandavas are said to have spent time during their exile here. Plans are in place to nominate it as a World Heritage Site. Truly it was a celebration sans frontieres.

Happy Mahashivaratri (its on 17th Feb) RT @karachiahab: The Katas Raj Temple Complex in Punjab, Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/4GeDSLyMiY

— Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) February 15, 2015