Om Namashivaya

Maha Shivarathri Festival

Maathaacha Parvathi Devi Pitha Devo Mageshwaraha I
Bhandhavaanaam Shiva Bhaktacha Swadeso Bhuvanathrayam II

Meaning: Lord Shiva and His consort, Goddess Parvati are the Father & Mother
of the entire universe! Lord Shiva s devotees are our friends & relatives! All the
three worlds created by the Lord belong to us & we belong to them!
Page 1 of 16

Page 2 of 16
Introduction
Mahashivaratri Festival or the The Grand Night of Shiva is celebrated in
honor of Lord Shiva, one of the foremost deities of Hindu Trinity, namely, Lord
Shiva,
Maha Vishnu & Brahma. Shivaratri falls on the night of Charthurdasi Thithi [14th
night
previous night to New Moon Day] in Krishna Paksha [the fortnight of the waning
moon] in the Hindu month of Phalgun [Magha], which corresponds to the month of
February - March in English Calendar. Celebrating the festival of Shivaratri dev
otees
observe day and night fast and perform ritual worship of Shiva Lingam to appease
Lord Shiva with extra-ordinary, seen-to-believed devotion and religious fervor.
Legends of Mahashivarathri
There are five major interesting legends associated with the festival of Maha
Shivaratri that make it extremely auspicious and it is believed that it is on
Mahashivarathri Day the following legends, rather, milestones in the Life-histor
y of
Lord Shiva took place:
1. Arunachala Lingorbhava
Manifestation of Lord Shiva as Linga in Arunachala
[Tiruvannamalai, Tamil nadu].
2. The wedding Day of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati
3. The auspicious night on which Ananda Thandava - the Cosmic Dance of Lord Shiv
a
[the dance of the primal creation, preservation and destruction] took place.
4. The Legend of Lubdhaka and story of Chitrabhanu.
5. Legend of Ganga.
1. Arunachala Lingothbhava
Once Brahma, the God of Creation, was visiting the worlds he created one after
one. In the process, he came to Bhooloka. There saw a person sleeping soundly.
He was sure he never created him & hence was taken aback. He woke him up
violently & the Inquiry began. The sleepy man replied that he was Mahavishnu who
created him & so, there is nothing to get confused. Brahma immediately concluded
that the other person is lying & his sole aim is to gain ownership of worlds Bra
hma

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created. He started a big, violent fight to
of
Gods were engaged in a fight to the finish,
miseries. Horrified at the intensity of the
o
intervene. Unable to be a silent witness to

finish Mahavishnu. When two biggest

the entire universe suffered untold
battle, the other gods asked Shiva t
all this, Lord Shiva appeared as big

Column of Fire with a great thunder, penetrating all the worlds from top to bott
om.
Both Brahma & Mahavishnu stopped their bitter fight when they heard the big
thunder which drew their attention to the Column of Fire. Both were stunned at t
his
new phenomenon which both accepted that they did not create & hence wanted to
find out its nature. Brahma said he would go up & find the beginning whereas
Mahavishnu undertook to go to the bottom to find the roots. It was agreed betwee
n
them that whoever accomplishes the mission undertaken would be accepted as the
winner of the battle they fought so ferociously.
Incidentally, manifestation of Lord Shiva as Column of Fire took place on the
full moon [Pournami] night [this is also the longest night in a year] in the Tam
il month
of Margazhi (Dec January) on the Arudra Nakshatra Day. This Day is celebrated as
Arudra Darshan Day and is one of the most important festivals in Hindu calendar.
Lord Brahma took the form of a swan and went upwards while Lord Vishnu
assumed the form of Varaha - a boar and went into the earth towards nether land.

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Both searched for thousands of miles but neither
e
bottom of the Column of Fire.
On his journey upward, Brahma came across Ketaki
bewildered with his search to find the uppermost
ade
Ketaki assent to lie that he had seen the top of

could find either the top or th

flower. Exhausted and
limit of fiery column, Brahma m
the column where the flower had

previously resided. Accompanied by his accomplice, Brahma confronted Vishnu and

asserted that he had indeed discovered the origin of the cosmic column.
At this point, the central part of the pillar split open and Shiva revealed hims
elf
in his full glory. He plucked the head that told the lie out of the five heads t
hat
Brahma had. Overawed, both Brahma and Vishnu bowed before him accepted Lord
Shiva s supremacy. Brahma pleaded that he be spared with the remaining four
heads which Lord Shiva, a little pacified now, granted. Thus Brahma became
Chadurmukh. He is described as Chadurmukh in all the 18 puranas [never
Panchamuhk] & hence, it is reasonable to assume that Lord Shiva s manifestation as
the big Column of Fire is the oldest happening in Indian mythology.
Lord Shiva explained to Brahma and Vishnu that both of them were born out
of him and that the three were then separated out into three different aspects o
f
divinity i.e. Creation, Protection & Destruction.
However, Lord Shiva was angry with Brahma for making a false claim. The
Lord cursed Brahma that no one would ever pray to him. This legend explains as t
o
why there is hardly any Brahma temple of significance in India. Lord Shiva also
punished the Ketaki flower for testifying falsely and banned her from being used
as
an offering for any worship.
He also said that Mahavishnu, being the personification of Truth & Purity, [as
he was the first to admit plain-heartedly that he did not see the bottom & was a
bout
to accept Brahma s supremacy over him] should be treated on par with him. He
bestowed upon Mahhavishnu the ultimate in Spirituality, i.e. Sayujya Mukti.
He, further, declared that He & Lord Mahavishnu are, thereafter, one & same.
All worships as per Agama Sastra, should be accorded to Mahavishnu in equal

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measure as being offered to Him. For this out of the way generosity, Lord Shiva
was
praised as Sankaranarayana, Harihara etc.
Mahavishnu, realizing the magnitude of the favour he got and the power &
might of Lord Shiva, started to worship Lord Shiva with 1000 flowers. At the end
of it,
one flower was missing. Unwilling to break the puja, Mahavishnu, plucked out one
of
his eyes & completed the Puja. Extremely pleased with this unusual act, Lord Shi
va
gave back the eye & more so, Sudarshan, the chakra, using which He killed
Jalandarasura earlier. Thus Sudharsan became the primary weapon of Mahavishnu.
Then Mahavishnu prayed to Lord Shiva that he should cool himself to a big
mountain of Grace so that all could benefit. Acceding to this request, Lord Shiv
a
became the Arunachala Hill that we all see today at Tiruvannamalai.
Again Mahavishnu requested Lord Shiva to become a miniature Arunachala
so that all humans could worship & pray. Since Arunachala was in Linga form, Lor
d
Shiva assumed the form of Linga in a small size & in due course of time, a big
temple arose around that Linga which is now known as Sri Arunachalewara Temple
worship to Saivism, he being the
of Tiruvanamalai. Thus Mahavishnu gave Linga
first worshipper at the temple.
Not to be left behind, Brahma wanted another Linga for his exclusive worship,
beseeching Lord Shiva not to drop him like a hot potato. Forgiving Brahma s shortc
omings,
Lord Shiva took a similar small-sized Linga form exactly on the opposite
side to the present Arunachaleswara Temple around which another small temple had
spring about. This temple is on the Giripradakshana Road in Adi Annaamalai villa
ge,
about 8km from Tiruvannamalai town on Giripradakshana Road. It is better for all
those who go all the way to Tiruvannamalai to proceed further to this temple als
o
and derive the benefit of worshipping the Lord who was worshipped by Brahma.
Thus it was on the 14th day in the dark fortnight of waning moon [Krishna
Paksha] in the month of Phalguna [Margazhi] that Lord Shiva first manifested him
self
in the form of a mighty Pillar of Fire & then as Arunachala Hill Linga and again
as a
small miniature Linga in the temple at Tiruvannamalai & Adi Annamalai.

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Hence this day is extremely auspicious and all 330 million Devas, Asuras,
Rishis, Sages & people of different worlds like Kinnaras, Gandharvas etc worship
ped
Lord Shiva throughout that night that is now celebrated as Mahashivaratri. Thus
began the tradition of worship on Mahashivarathri Day. It is obvious that the fo
ur
legends that follow had happened on subsequent Mahashivarathri Days.
2. The wedding Day or the great convergence of of Lord Shiva and
Goddess Parvati
Once Lord Shiva and his wife Sati or Shakti were returning from sage
Agastya s ashram after listening to Ram Katha or story of Ram. On their way throug
h
a forest, Shiva saw Lord Rama searching for his wife Sita who had been kidnapped
by Ravana, the King of Lanka. Lord Shiva bowed his head in reverence to Lord
Rama. Sati was surprised by Lord Shiva s behaviour and inquired why he was
paying obeisance to a mere mortal. Shiva informed Sati that Rama was an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Since Sati was not satisfied with the reply, Lord as
ked
her to go and verify the truth for herself.
Using her power to change forms, Sati took the form of Sita appeared before
Rama. Lord Rama immediately recognized the true identity of the Goddess and
asked, "Devi, why are you alone, where's Shiva?" At this, Sati realized the trut
h
about Lord Ram. But, Sita was like a mother to Lord Shiva and since Sati took th
e
form of Sita, her status changed. From that time, Shiva detached himself from he
r as
a wife. Sati was sad with the change of attitude of Lord Shiva but she stayed on
at
Mount Kailas, the abode of Lord Shiva.
Later, Sati s father Daksha organised a yagna, but did not invite Sati or Shiva
as he had an altercation with Shiva in the court of Brahma. But, Sati who wanted
to
attend the Yagna, went even though Lord Shiva did not appreciate the idea. To he
r
great anguish, Daksha ignored her totallly and did not even offer Havis [Prasad
from
Yagna- the first portion should be offered to Lord Shiva which is the usual prac
tice]
to Shiva. Sati felt humiliated and was struck with profound grief. She sat in
yogicposition & soon was engulfed by yogic fire & got immolated herself.
Lord Shiva became extremely furious when he heard the news of Sati s
immolation. Carrying the body of Sati, Shiva began to perform Rudra Tandava or t
he

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dance of destruction and wiped out the kingdom of Daksha. Everybody was terrifie
d
as Shiva s Tandava had the power to destroy the entire universe. In order to calm
Lord Shiva, Vishnu severed Sati's body into 12 pieces and threw them on earth. I
t is
said that wherever the pieces of Shakti s body fell, there emerged a Shakti Peetha
,
including the Kamaroopa Kamakhya in Assam and the Vindhyavasini in UP.
Lord Siva was now alone undertook rigorous penance and retired to the
Himalayas. Sati took a re-birth as Parvati in the family of Himavaan whose form
is
Mount Himalayas. Goddess Parvati was also called Haimavati i.e daughter of
Himavaan.
It was during this period, Soorapadma, an Asura, ruled the Devaloka usurping
the throne from Indra. Soorapadma got a a boon from Lord Shiva that only He or a
member of His family can kill him. Devas planned that the Tapas by Lord Shiva ha
d
to be broken & sent Manmada to break Shiva s meditation. The Lord, on being
disturbed, opened his third eye that reduced Manmada to ashes. It was only after
Kamadeva s wife Rati s pleading that Lord Shiva agreed to revive Kaamadeva.
Later, Parvati undertook severe penance to win over Shiva. Through her
devotion and persuasion by sages & devas, Parvati was finally able to obtain Lor
d
Shiva s consent for marriage. Their marriage was solemnized a day before
Amavasya in the month of Phalgun which happened to be day of Mahashivratri.
Acccording to another legend, Goddess Parvati performed tapas and prayers on the
auspicious night of Mahashivaratri to ward off any evil that may befall her husb
and.
Since then, womenfolk began the custom of praying for the well being of their

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husbands and sons on Mahashivaratri day. Unmarried women pray for a husband
like Shiva, who is considered to be the ideal husband.
The beneficial effect of this reunion of Shiva & Parvati was that Lord Muruga wa
s
born & He annihilated Soorapadma later on.
3. The auspicious night on which Ananda Thandava - the Cosmic
Dance of Lord Shiva [the dance of the primal creation, preservation and
destruction] took place.
Once Indra - the King of Gods, while riding on an elephant came across Durvasa
Muni who offered him a special garland. Indra accepted the garland but put in on
the
trunk of the elephant. The elephant was irritated by the smell and it threw the
garland
on the floor. This enraged the sage as the garland was a dwelling of Sri (fortun
e) and
was to be treated as prasada. Durvasa Muni cursed Indra and all devas to be bere
ft
of all strength, energy, and fortune.
In battles that followed this incident, devas were defeated and asuras (demons)
led by Bali gained control of the universe. Devas sought help from Lord Vishnu w
ho
advised them to treat asuras in a diplomatic manner. Devas formed an alliance wi
th
asuras to jointly churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality and to share it
among
them.
Churning of the milk - ocean was an elaborate process. Mount Mandara was used
as churning rod and Vasuki, the King of Serpents, became the churning rope. Lord
Vishnu himself had to intercede in so many ways to aid the Devas. All kinds of h
erbs

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were cast into the ocean and many great beings and objects were produced from th
e
ocean and were divided between asuras and gods. It is said that following things
emerged from the Samudra Manthan:
Sura or Varuni - Goddess and creator of wine
Apsaras - various divine nymphs
Kaustubha - a rare diamond said to be the most valuable jewel in the world
Uchhaishravas - the divine white horse
Kalpavriksha - the wish-granting tree
Kamadhenu - the wish fulfilling cow
Airavata - the white elephant
Lakshmi - the Goddess of Fortune and Wealth. Vishnu accepted her as his
consort.
Haalaa-Hala - the Poison
During the Sagar Manthan by the gods and demons, haalaa-hala, a pot of poison
also came out of the ocean. This terrified the Gods and demons as the poison was
so toxic that it would have wiped out the entire creation. On the advice of Lord
Vishnu, Gods approached Lord Shiva for protection. On the request of gods and ou
t
of compassion for living beings, Lord Shiva drank the poison. However, Goddess
Parvati pressed his neck so that the poison does not reach his stomach. Thus, it
stayed in his throat neither going up nor going down and Shiva remained unharmed
.
The poison was so potent that it changed the color of Lord Mahadeva s neck to blue
.
For this reason, Lord Shiva is also called Neelakantha (the blue-necked one) whe
re
Neela means blue and Kantha means neck or throat.
As part of the therapy, doctors advised gods to keep Lord Shiva awake during the
night. Gods took turn performing various dances and playing music throughout tha
t
night. As the day broke out, Lord Shiva, pleased with their devotion, blessed th
em
by joining them in their revelry. He gave on that day His best performance in th
e art
of Dance that is known as Ananda Thandavam. Mahashivaratri is the celebration of
this event by which Shiva saved the world. Since then, on this day and night devotees fast, keep vigil, sing glories of Lord and meditate.

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Churning Out the milk-ocean continued
At last, Dhanvantari - the Divine Physician appeared with a pot of Amrita
(nectar of immortality) in his skilful hands. Fierce fighting ensued between dev
as and
asuras for the nectar. To protect the nectar from asuras, devas hid the pot of n
ectar
at four places on the earth - Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. At
each
of these places, a drop of the nectar spilled from the pot and since then, it is
believed
that these places acquired mystical power. Grand Kumbh Mela is celebrated at the
four places after every 12 year for this reason.
Eventually, Lord Vishnu took the form of a beautiful woman, Mohini. While her
beauty bewildered asuras, Mohini seized the nectar and served it only to the Dev
as.
4. The Legend of Lubdhaka and story of Chitrabhanu.
The legend of Lubdhaka is deeply related to Mahashivaratri and explains the
popular custom of all-night worship of Lord Shiva on the festival. As a traditio
n,
devotees recite the legend of Lubdhaka while they observe fast in worship of Lor
d
Shiva on Mahashivaratri. And, it is only after observing an all night fast that
devotees
eat the prasad offered to Shiva.

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There is yet another version of this legend, which is popular as the legend of K
ing
Chitrabhanu. This legend has been narrated by Bhishma in Shanti Parva of the
Mahabharata and has been discussed next in this article.
Story of Lubdhaka
Lubdhaka - a poor tribal man and a devout worshipper of Lord Shiva once
went into the deep forests to collect firewood. As the darkness engulfed the jun
gle,
Lubdhaka lost his way and could not find his way home. He became extremely
terrified as deep growls of animals began to fill the jungle. Seeking protection
till
daybreak, Lubdhaka climbed the nearest bael [Bilva] tree and sought safety and
shelter in its branches. Since Lubdhaka was perched on the branch of a tree he w
as
afraid that if he dozed he might fall off from the tree. To keep himself awake a
ll night,
Lubdhaka decided to pluck one leaf [Bilva Patra] from the bael tree and drop it
while
chanting the name of Shiva. By sunrise, the devout tribal realized that he had
dropped thousands of leaves on to a Shiva Lingam, which he had not seen in the
darkness. Lubdhaka s all night worship pleased Lord Shiva and by his divine grace,
he obtained Shiva Saayujya Mukti. Thus, Lubdhaka not only survived but was also
rewarded with divine bliss.
According to Puranas, ever since that day, the story of the tribal Lubdhaka
has been recited every year on the night of Mahashivaratri. This popular legend
also
forms the basis of the popular custom of offering bael (Aegle marmelos) leaves t
o
Lord Shiva on Mahashivaratri.
Different Version of the Legend - Story of King Chitrabhanu
Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, talks about the legend of King Chitrabhanu
observing the festival. The story, as told by Bhishma while resting on the bed o
f
arrows and discoursing on Dharmaputra, says that once King Chitrabhanu of the
Ikshvaku dynasty who ruled over the whole of Jambudvipa was observing a fast wit
h
his wife, it being the day of Maha Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a vis
it to
the court of the king and inquired the king about reasons for keeping a fast.
Answering the sage s query, King Chitrabhanu who had the gift of
remembering the incidents from his previous birth said that in the past birth he
was a
hunter in Varanasi and his name was Suswara. His livelihood was to kill and sell
birds and animals. One day while he was roaming through the woods in search of

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animals, he was overtaken by the darkness of the night. To seek shelter from wil
d
animals, Suswarna took shelter in the branches of nearest tree, which happened t
o a
bael. Suswarna has also shot a deer that day but had no time to take it to home.
So
he bundled it up and tied it to a branch on the tree. Hunger and thirst tormente
d
Suswarna and kept him awake all night. Feeling sad that his poor wife and childr
en
were starving and must be anxiously waiting for his return, Suswarna began to sh
ed
profuse tears. To pass away time, Suswarna engaged himself in plucking bael
leaves and dropping them down onto the ground. It happened to be Mahashivarathri
Day.
Having passed the night thus, next morning, Suswarna sold the deer and
bought some food for himself and his family. But, the moment he was about to bre
ak
his fast, a stranger came to him begging for food. Humbly, Suswarna served food
to
stranger first and then had his own.
Later, at the time of his death, Suswarna saw two messengers of Lord Shiva
who were sent down to conduct his soul to the abode of Lord Shiva. It was then t
hat
Suswarna learnt the great merit he had earned by the unconscious worship of Lord
Shiva during the night of Mahashivarathri. The divine messengers told Suswarna
that there was a Lingam at the bottom of the tree on which he spent the night. T
he
leaves he dropped therefore fell on the Lingam. While his tears, which he had sh
ed
out of sorrow for his family, fell on the lingam and washed it. Besides, he had
observed a fast all day and all night. Thus, Suswarna had unconsciously worshipe
d
the Lord Shiva in accordance with rules of worship on a Mahashivarathri Day.
Concluding the story, the King said that he lived in the abode of the Lord and
enjoyed divine bliss for long ages. Now, he has reborn as Chitrabhanu.

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Legend of Ganga
Ganga s descent from the heavens into the earth has been narrated in the
epic, Ramayana. The legend explains the popular custom of giving bath to Shiva
Linga on Mahashivarathri festival.
Once King Sagara - the ruler of Ayodhya and an ancestor of Lord Rama
successfully performed the Ashwamedha Yagya for 99 times. Each time, he sent the
horse around the earth it returned to the kingdom unchallenged. However, Indra the
King of God s became jealous of King Sagara s success because, once King Sagara
completes the 100th Ashwamedha Yagna, he will attain Indrahood & would replace
the present Indra. So when King Sagar performed the sacrifice for 100th time, In
dra
intervened & kidnapped and hid the Yagya horse in the hermitage of Kapila Muni.

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In search of the horse, sixty thousand princes from Ayodhya reached Kapila
Muni s hermitage. They mistook the sage to be the abductor and attacked him.
Kapila Muni, by mere glance, burnt the 60,000 princes to ashes. King Sagara had
a
son by name, Asamanja from one of his queens, by name, Kesini. He was a born
Gnani & one day he disappeared into the forest leaving his son, Amsuman. King
Sagara ordered Amsuman to find the Yagna horse which he did after great efforts.
Instead of taking away the horse, he, with all humility, bowed to Sage Kapila &
sought his blessings. Pleased with him, the sage said that if he could bring Gan
ga to
that place and if her waters touch the ashes, all his 60,000 uncles would attain
Mukti.
Amsuman spent the rest of his life doing penance but before he could achieve
anything significant, he passed away. His son was Dileepan too made great effort
s
but could nort achieve anything concrete. His son, King Bhagiratha, on hearing t
he
plight of his father and uncles, left his kingdom and began to meditate for the
salvation of the souls of his ancestors. Bhagirath observed a penance to Ganga
Mata requesting her to come down to earth from heaven and wash over his
ancestor's ashes to release them from the curse and allow them to go to heaven.
Pleased with the devotion, Ganga Mata agreed to do so but expressed her
reservations that Mother Earth would not be able to hold the force of her flow &
she
may pierce Earth & go down to Rasadhalam, a world below Earth. Bhagirath then
started the most difficult penance to please Lord Shiva as he strongly felt that
He
only could find a solution to this problem.
Appreciating unmatchable, superhuman efforts of King Bhagarath, Lord Shiva
agreed to hold Ganga in his matted hair & release her to the extent Mother Earth
could withstand. Accordingly, Lord Shiva held out his thick matted hair to catch
the
river as she descended. The meandering through Shiva s lock softened Ganga s
journey to the earth and the holy waters of river Ganga thus washed away the ash
es
as well as the sins of Bhagirath s ancestors. A modified version of the legend say
s,
what reached the earth were just sprinkles from Lord Shiva s hair. The Ganga, thus
,
became an attribute of Shiva. This manifestation of Shiva is known as Gangadhara
.
The legend is re-enacted by devotees of Lord Shiva as they give a bath to the
linga during worship. And for this reason, many devotees prefer to take a dip in
the
holy water of river Ganga on Mahashivaratri Day.

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Lord Shiva's Assurance
The legend of Lord Shiva s assurance explains the popularity of
Mahashivaratri festival amongst the devotees. Besides, it also tells us why we
observe fast in the name of the Lord and perform ceremonial baths on that day.
The Legend
After creation was complete, Lord Shiva began to live on top of Mount Kailas
with his consort Parvati. One day, Goddess Parvati asked the Lord that his devot
ees
perform many rituals to please the Lord, but which one pleases him most. To this
,
Lord Shiva replied that the 14th night of the new moon, during the month of Phal
gun
is his favorite day i.e. Mahashivaratri Day. On this day, devotees observe stric
t
spiritual discipline and worship Shiva in four different forms during each of th
e four
successive three-hour periods of the night. Lord further said that the devotees
offer
him bael leaves on the day and that those leaves were precious to him than the
precious jewels and flowers. Explaining the right way of worshipping to Shiva, t
he
Lord said, devotees should bathe me in the milk during the first period, in curd
at the
second, in clarified butter in the third and in honey in the fourth and the last
period.
Lord Shiva further added that next morning devotees must feed the Brahmins first
and only after following the prescribed ritual must break the fast. Lord further
told
Parvati that rituals of Mahashivarathri could not be compared with any other.

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Goddess Parvati became deeply impressed with Lord Shiva s speech and she
narrated it to her friends. Through them, the word spread all over the creation.
Hence, Shiva devotees began to celebrate Mahashivaratri by fasting and by
performing the ceremonial baths and making an offering of bael leaves.
Immediately after Mahashivaratri, almost like a miracle, the trees are full of
flowers as if to announce that after winter, the fertility of the earth has been
rejuvenated. And this perhaps is the reason why the Linga is worshipped througho
ut
India as a symbol of fertility.
Mahashivaratri is thus not only a ritual but also a cosmic definition of the
Hindu universe. It dispels ignorance, emanates the light of knowledge, makes one
aware of the universe, ushers in the spring after the cold and dry winter, and i
nvokes
the supreme power to take cognizance of the beings that were created by him
Let us all pray Lord Shiva on Mahashivarathri Day,
The Day on which He is most pleased by our worship
And get our ignorance dispelled.
Anaayasena Maranam Vina dainyena Jeevanam I
Dehime Krupaya Shambo Thvai Bhakthi Asanchalam II
Death devoid of suffering & strain,
Life devoid of poverty,
Devotion devoid of oscillation;
These I beseech;
O! Lord! Please grant me these humble prayers!
Om Sri Shivarpanamastu