Lord Shiva is one of the most important gods in Hinduism, who is a member of the holy trinity (trimurti) and is believed to be the destroyer or the transformer along with Lord Brahma- the creator and Lord Vishnu – the preserver. He is nothing, yet everything. The adiyogi, neelkanth, bholenath all are different faces of Lord Shiva in different phases. He is the first Yogi who had described Vedas. He is very much known as the Lord for salvation. It is believed in Hinduism that human beings take rebirth again and again until he achieves the state of salvation (moksha). It is must for every person to reach redemption and for this Lord Shiva is worshipped with full faith and devotion.
Shiva also known as Bholenath, is easily pleased by the disciples, and does not need anything special to serve him. Shiv pooja includes simple water, belpatra or bael leaves (Aegle marmelos), or ashes. Lord Shiv can still be pleased with just your prayers offered wholeheartedly. When we look towards our Vedas, all the Vedic chants are important and each chant has its own meaning and importance, like in Rudrabhishek as described below.
Lord Shiv is also known as Rudra and Rudrabhishek – the holy bath of the Shiv Lingam with the Vedic mantras, is performed to please Lord Shiv. Devotees even visit holy shrines of Lord Shiv at Amarnath and Somnath Temple with great spirituality and trust. On the day of Mahashivratri all the shiv temples are decorated with flowers, diyas, rudraksh, and the great chanting of ‘Aum’ and ‘Aum Namah Shivay’ will bring peace to one’s mind and soul. In many temples the shivling or lingam is made of Ghee on the evening before the day of Mahashivratri. Some temples also use mud and snow to make the lingam. After the most spiritual pooja and Rudrabhishek, 108 diyas are enlightened at 12.00 AM. Then aarti is performed in the end and Prasad is distributed among the devotees. All of these Pooja and Rudrabhishek are done by chanting the Vedic mantras. Rudrabhishek is one of the main steps to perform shiv puja.
Rudrabhishek bring in peace, prosperity, and happiness in one’s life. It is a way to eliminate all the negative powers around you and brings in the required positive energy. Rudrabhishek is done by continuously pouring of water on shivling. It is also done using milk, honey, curd (yogurt), sugarcane juice, belpatra, black sesame seeds and ghee. Rudrabhishek is a very powerful way to get rid of your problems and fight those evil effects from various doshas in one’s horoscope. Each thing used in doing the Rudrabhishek has its own meaning and importance. Following are some ways to perform the Rudrabhishek.
1. If anyone is worried about his children then to please Lord Shiv, Rudrabhishek is done with milk.
2. Rudrabhishek done with honey is considered good for wealth.
3. Sugarcane juice is used to perform the Rudrabhishek then it is considered good for Lakshmi.
4. Person in trouble performs the Rudrabhishek with water.
5. To free from any of your enemy, Lord Shiv is please with Mustard oil abhishek.
6. Abhishek with ghee is done for fulfilling wishes.
7. To attain moksha (salvation), Rudrabhishek performed with the holy water of river Ganga is used.
Generally this abhisheks are done with milk on Mondays as it is the day of moon. These are also performed on other days of the week to get more impact of abhishek and mantra with the different pouring ingredients, like:
1. On Monday it is performed with sugarcane juice for wealth.
2. On Tuesday, to grow business honey is used to pour over the lingam.
3. On Wednesday green coconut water or orange juice is used to get relief from pain or get rid of any illness.
4. Ghee abhishek is done on Thursday for fulfilling anyone’s wish.
5. To stay healthy bijora (Citron) juice is used on Friday.
6. On Saturday abhishek is done with honey and sandalwood to stay away from shani panauti.
7. On Sunday, using red sandalwood and curd one can stay away from the court issues.
Rudrabhishek when performed with full faith and devotion, then Lord Shiva will always be there to find ways to solve our problems and help us in any situation. All the things which are dear to Lord Shiv are used to perform the Rudrabhishek, but most of us are hardly aware of these things. People only know about water, milk and honey which are commonly used in abhishek. Also, worshiping Lord Shiv with the belpatra is considered as good, as it is believed to be the most favorite of Lord Shiva.
Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra :
“Om Tryambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushti-Vardhanam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanan Mrityormokshiya Mamritat!”
Importance: ‘We worship the Three-eyed (Tryambakam) Lord; who is fragrant (Sugandhim) and who nourishes (Pushti) and nurtures (Vardhanam) all beings. As is the ripened cucumber (Urvarukamiva) is freed from its bondage (Bandhanan), may he liberate us (mokshiya) from death (Mrityo) for the sake of immortality (Mamritat).’
Different shlokas and Vedic mantras are chanted when offering the prayers to Lord Shiv. Chanting of the powerful healing mantra like ‘AUM’ while meditation, ‘Aum Namah Shivaay’, or the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra brings peace to inner self, increases your concentration, brings in positive energy, and brings prosperity and happiness to oneself.
