One night of each year in the Indian calendar is dedicated to worship of Lord Shiva. This holiday is known as Maha Shivaratri – the great night of Shiva. Maha Shivaratri 2013 falls on Saturday, March 9 in the U.S. and on Sunday, March 10 in India. In the Vedic tradition, there is a trinity […]
Happy Maha Shivaratri
One night of each year in the Indian calendar is dedicated to worship of Lord Shiva. This holiday is known as Maha Shivaratri – the great night of Shiva. This is done on the 14th night of the waning Moon in the Indian lunar calendar in the month of Maagha. Typically, in Vedic astrology, the phase […]
Happy Maha Shivaratri!
One night of each year in the Indian calendar is dedicated to worship of Lord Shiva. Shiva has many names: Nataraj, Mahadeva, Mahesh, Rudra, Ugra, Ardra, Maheshwara, Shambho, Shankara, and the list goes on. Each name describes a specific quality of the lord’s multi-faceted being. Shiva is “Mahadeva” – the great lord. On this auspicious […]
Nine Nights of the Goddess
Tonight is the ninth evening of the Indian holiday of Navaratri (also spelled Navratri). Navaratri marks nine days of celebrating the goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. It is time of celebration, dance, feast, and devotion. Friends and families get together to commemorate these nine nights. They attend large dances, called garbas, where they dance to […]
Honoring Our Ancestors
There are so many holidays these days that you can find on a calendar or for which you can send someone a greeting card or e-card. There are months or weeks to honor different charities or medical causes or ethnicities. And retailers often capitalize on any holiday to get the consumer to shop. All these […]
The Holidays Commence…Navratri 2007
Today marks the first night of Navratri 2007 (pronounced Nuh-vuh-rah-trii (as in bee)) in the Indian calendar. Nav = nine and ratri = night. Thus, it is the night nights that are dedicated to the celebration of the goddess. The first three days/ nights are dedicated to the goddess Durga (pronounced Dour (rhymes with tour) gah […]