Maha Shivaratri - The Merger of Shiva and Parvati in one form.

 

Maha Shivaratri - The Merger of Shiva and Parvati in one form.

In the Devi Mahabhagwatam, it is said Ma Parvati was conscious of the events of Daksha Yagna and the consequences which kept Lord Shiva in seclusion from the material world. She wanted to marry him but when she saw him in intense states of samadhi, she understood he has no intention left to interact with the dualistic world of desires and consequences. Even when the God of desire, Kamadeva tried to interfere here, he was burned to ashes by Shiva.

Devi is the mother principle of existence, she even mothered time, space and all which exists as matter or non-matter. The creation is an outcome of her desire, and she desired to merge Shiva, the father principle which mostly remains static within her to make him dynamic once again. She worshipped him, sang songs in her melodious voice and danced in lasya to woo his heart. After observing his unshakable intensity in the state of samadhi, she decided to become more intense than him. Samadhi means total dissolution of one's self in consciousness, and here Mahadeva was sitting in front of her in a form but had dissolved all associations of his form within his consciousness, which made him inert.

Ma Parvati then performed penance of her own, her intensity was releasing intense shock waves in the cosmos. Unable to bear the heat of her intense samadhi, the heavenly deities prayed to her and Shiva for protection otherwise all which exists as dual will merge within the non-dual aspect of Devi. Her intense energy shock waves were also hitting Shiva and he woke up and realised the play/Leela of Devi.

Shiva then approached the meditating Devi and acknowledged her love. He merged within her and she merged within him and were known as Ardhanarishwara. As formless Parabramha, they are always in the union, only to demonstrate the significance of this union to mortals they've appeared in separate forms of Shankara and Parvati. In union, all dualities, uproars and unawareness are silenced and only the oneness of Shakti (endless play of universal energy) with Shiva (the forever conscious one) remains.

Jai Shankar Parvati Namah! Happy Maha Shivaratri Divine Souls!