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On this day, devotees from around the world, on this day, offer a flower named Aak, Belpatra, and Bhang to Lord Shiva.
Updated : Mar 01, 2022, 03:00 PM IST | Edited by : Riddhima Kanetkar
Maha Shivratri is celebrated in honour of Lord Shiva and his wife Goddess Parvati. Maha Shivratri is celebrated as the night of their marriage. Devotees from around the world, on this day, offer a flower named Aak, Belpatra, and Bhang to Lord Shiva. What sets Lord Shiva apart is that he does not like divine ornaments and clothes but ashes i.e. 'Bhasma'.
Lord Shiva only applies ash on his body and the ashes are his ornament.
Why does Lord Shiva like to put Ash on his body? Find out
Lord Shiva keeps on applying ash all over his body. Shiva devotees apply tilak of ashes on their foreheads. A very interesting story about this can be found in the 'Shiv Purana'. According to the legend, there was a monk who had become powerful by doing a lot of penance. He ate only fruits and green leaves, so his name was 'Pranad'. Through his penance, that monk had established control over all the animals of the forest. Once the monk was cutting wood to repair his hut when his finger was cut. The monk saw that instead of bleeding from the finger, the sap of the plant was coming out.
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The monk felt that he had become so pure that his body was filled with sap from plants, not blood. He was very happy about that and was filled with pride. Following this incident, the monk started considering himself as the holiest person in the world. When Lord Shiva saw this, he assumed the form of an old man and reached there. Lord Shiva disguised as an old man asked the monk 'why he was so happy?' The monk told the reason. Knowing everything, Lord asked him that it is only the juice of plants and fruits, but when trees and plants get burnt, they also become ashes. In the end, only ashes remain.
Taking the form of an old man, Lord Shiva immediately cut his finger and showed it, and ash came out of it. The monk realised that God himself was standing in front of him. The monk apologized for his ignorance. It is said that since then Lord Shiva started applying ash on his body so that his devotees would always remember this thing. Do not be arrogant about physical beauty, always remember the ultimate truth.