Haraom hara Sambho Sankara
'Shiva Ratri[1]' is the holy night for the devotees of Lord Shiva. It is celebrated as his birthday. The title is the holy mantra[2] of Lord Shiva. Gods realises the greatness of Shiva and praises him as 'Hara'. The term has a similar sound for 'Hari' and Shiva feels pleasant when he is praised with this prayer. It is said that Lord Vishnu praised Shiva with this title and was blessed with the Lordess of wealth, Lakshmi Devi.
Meaning of each word in the prayer title:
Harom= Hari + Om.
Om= Sacred sound,
Hari =Lord Vishnu,
Hara=Lord Shiva,
Sambho, Shankara = Alternative names of Lord Shiva.
Summary: There is no difference between the two Lords Hari and Hara.
Reason for selecting night time to pray Lord Shiva:
Humans, like other living beings, are busy in day time in search of food. So, day time is described as the state of hunger. At this stage, one cannot think of praying God. Hence, from ancient times, devotees selects the holy night per year to express their gratitude to God. They spend the precious time of Linga[3] Odbhava[4] Kalam[5] by chanting the names of God. Few interested people offer holy Ganges[6], Bilwa[7] patralu [8] to perform Abishekam [9].
Kindness of Siva:
Shiva can be considered as Lord of lords because of his kindness towards the devotees. To save the universe, he drank the poison released from Kshera[10] Sagaram[11] at the time of Madhanam[12].
Lord Vishnu or Hari is one of the most wise god known for his cleverness. Maa Durga is believed as the sister of Vishnu and wife of Lord Shiva. Maa Durga worried about the evil effects of the poison and asks Vishnu for advise. He stops spreading of poison in the body and restricts it to stay in the neck. Thus the neck of Lord Shiva develops a blue colour that brings a name Neela[13] Kanta[14] to Lord Shiva. Also, on the same day, Brahma [15] realises the greatness of Lord Shiva.
Children prayer for Lord Shiva: Om namah sivaya - siddam nammama.
Meaning:
Om=Sacred sound,
Namah= Greeting,
Sivaya= Lord Shiva,
Siddam= Bless me,
Nammama= Wishes.
Summary:
Oh Lord Shiva! Bless me to fulfil my wishes at this time. It is also written as 'O namaha Sivayyaha Siddam namama', which means same but simple to write.
Importance:
These are the words that are made to write by every child to start the education. The child is made to sit in the lap of parents in front of Lord. A plate full of rice or holy grains are taken into the hands of parents and writing these words on the grains with the fore finger is the excitement of the child to get ready for the schooling.
So, friends, let us make our heart as home for Lord Shiva and pray him to make him happy to make us happy. ఓం నమః శివాయ
[1] Ratri: It means night in Telugu language.
[2] Mantra is considered as a short form of a prayer.
[3] Linga:The structure of statue that represents Shiva
[4] Odbhava: Coming up or growing
[5] Kalam: Time
[6] Ganges: Water of river
[7] Bilwa: Name of a scared leaf of botanical name, Aegle marmelos.
[8] Patralu:Leaves
[9] Abishekam: Process of bathing
[10] Kshera:Milk
[11] Sagaram:Ocean
[12] Madhanam:Churning
[13] Neela:Blue colour
[14] Kanta: Neck
[15] Brahma: God of creation
'Shiva Ratri[1]' is the holy night for the devotees of Lord Shiva. It is celebrated as his birthday. The title is the holy mantra[2] of Lord Shiva. Gods realises the greatness of Shiva and praises him as 'Hara'. The term has a similar sound for 'Hari' and Shiva feels pleasant when he is praised with this prayer. It is said that Lord Vishnu praised Shiva with this title and was blessed with the Lordess of wealth, Lakshmi Devi.
Harom= Hari + Om.
Om= Sacred sound,
Hari =Lord Vishnu,
Hara=Lord Shiva,
Sambho, Shankara = Alternative names of Lord Shiva.
Summary: There is no difference between the two Lords Hari and Hara.
Reason for selecting night time to pray Lord Shiva:
Humans, like other living beings, are busy in day time in search of food. So, day time is described as the state of hunger. At this stage, one cannot think of praying God. Hence, from ancient times, devotees selects the holy night per year to express their gratitude to God. They spend the precious time of Linga[3] Odbhava[4] Kalam[5] by chanting the names of God. Few interested people offer holy Ganges[6], Bilwa[7] patralu [8] to perform Abishekam [9].
Kindness of Siva:
Shiva can be considered as Lord of lords because of his kindness towards the devotees. To save the universe, he drank the poison released from Kshera[10] Sagaram[11] at the time of Madhanam[12].
Lord Vishnu or Hari is one of the most wise god known for his cleverness. Maa Durga is believed as the sister of Vishnu and wife of Lord Shiva. Maa Durga worried about the evil effects of the poison and asks Vishnu for advise. He stops spreading of poison in the body and restricts it to stay in the neck. Thus the neck of Lord Shiva develops a blue colour that brings a name Neela[13] Kanta[14] to Lord Shiva. Also, on the same day, Brahma [15] realises the greatness of Lord Shiva.
Children prayer for Lord Shiva: Om namah sivaya - siddam nammama.
Om=Sacred sound,
Namah= Greeting,
Sivaya= Lord Shiva,
Siddam= Bless me,
Nammama= Wishes.
Summary:
Oh Lord Shiva! Bless me to fulfil my wishes at this time. It is also written as 'O namaha Sivayyaha Siddam namama', which means same but simple to write.
Importance:
These are the words that are made to write by every child to start the education. The child is made to sit in the lap of parents in front of Lord. A plate full of rice or holy grains are taken into the hands of parents and writing these words on the grains with the fore finger is the excitement of the child to get ready for the schooling.
So, friends, let us make our heart as home for Lord Shiva and pray him to make him happy to make us happy. ఓం నమః శివాయ
[1] Ratri: It means night in Telugu language.
[2] Mantra is considered as a short form of a prayer.
[3] Linga:The structure of statue that represents Shiva
[4] Odbhava: Coming up or growing
[5] Kalam: Time
[6] Ganges: Water of river
[7] Bilwa: Name of a scared leaf of botanical name, Aegle marmelos.
[8] Patralu:Leaves
[9] Abishekam: Process of bathing
[10] Kshera:Milk
[11] Sagaram:Ocean
[12] Madhanam:Churning
[13] Neela:Blue colour
[14] Kanta: Neck
[15] Brahma: God of creation
om namah sivayaa.
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