{"id":41007,"date":"2017-02-24T16:49:51","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T11:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org\/?p=41007"},"modified":"2017-02-24T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T11:19:51","slug":"10-stunning-pictures-celebrate-beauty-maha-shivratri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/?p=41007","title":{"rendered":"10 Stunning Pictures That Celebrate The Beauty Of Maha Shivratri &#8211; NDTV"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are many legends and stories behind why Maha Shivratri is celebrated. One is that it is celebrated to revere Lord Shiv, who, during the Samudra Manthan, drank the poison churned and saved the world. Another is that it is significant because this is the day that Lord Shiv and Goddess Parvati got married. To mark the occasion of Maha Shivratri, temples across India and Nepal light up and devotees come together to chant &#8216;Om Namah Shivaya&#8217; through the night. The Shiv Lingam is bathed in milk, honey and ghee and holy rituals are performed.<br \/>\nAs the country celebrates this beautiful festival today, we bring to you 10 stunning pictures to mark the occasion:<br \/>\n1. A man, dressed as Lord Shiv, holds a lit candle in his mouth<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_41008\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41008\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" td-modal-image wp-image-41008 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/02\/maha-shivratri-shivaratri_650x400_61487915463.jpg\" width=\"650\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-41008\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: AFP<\/p><\/div><br \/>\n2. A statue of Lord Shiv&#8217;s cosmic dance<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Yakshisharma2\/status\/834973788949348353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/Yakshisharma2\/status\/834973788949348353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n3. Sudarsan Pattnaik&#8217;s sand sculpture at the Puri Beach in Odisha<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My sand art with message &quot;We pray for Peace &quot; on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MahaShivratri?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MahaShivratri<\/a> at Puri beach in Odisha , <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IHQCBumkvU\">pic.twitter.com\/IHQCBumkvU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sudarsansand\/status\/834952956986306560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 24, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n4. A sadhu dresses up ahead of the holy festival<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_41012\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41012\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" td-modal-image wp-image-41012 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/02\/maha-shivratri-shivaratri_2.jpg\" width=\"650\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-41012\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: AFP<\/p><\/div><br \/>\n5. The eight-faced Lord Shiv at Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Chundawat_aki\/status\/834947211590918144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/Chundawat_aki\/status\/834947211590918144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><br \/>\n6. Devotees at the Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal offer prayers<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_41011\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41011\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41011\" src=\"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/02\/maha-shivratri-shivaratri_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-41011\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: AFP<\/p><\/div><br \/>\n7. A decorated Shiv Lingam<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BQ4MpbJlqQc\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BQ4MpbJlqQc\/<\/a><br \/>\n8. A young kid dressed as Lord Shiv takes part in the holy procession<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Happy Maha Shivaratri to my dear frds&#8230;&#8230; bum bum bholeeeee <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u092e\u0939\u093e\u0936\u093f\u0935\u0930\u093e\u0924\u094d\u0930\u093f_\u092a\u0930\u094d\u0935<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JQcBGz72K4\">pic.twitter.com\/JQcBGz72K4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; kitesking (@kitesking9) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kitesking9\/status\/834821546786983936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n9. A sadhu smears his face with coloured paste<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_41010\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41010\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41010\" src=\"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/02\/maha-shivratri-shivaratri_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-41010\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: AFP<\/p><\/div><br \/>\n10. A sadhu adjusts his hair near the Pashupatinath Temple<br \/>\n<div id=\"attachment_41009\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-41009\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41009\" src=\"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/02\/maha-shivratri-shivaratri_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-41009\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: AFP<\/p><\/div><br \/>\nHow are you celebrating the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri? Let us know in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are many legends and stories behind why Maha Shivratri is celebrated. One is that it is celebrated to revere Lord Shiv, who, during the Samudra Manthan, drank the poison churned and saved the world. Another is that it is significant because this is the day that Lord Shiv and Goddess Parvati got married. To [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1993],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41007"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}