how MAHASHIVARATRI is celebrated in different part of ASIA?

MAHA SHIVARATRI IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF ASIA

• There are several stories and beliefs associated with this auspicious event.

Samudra Manthan:

• It is believed that on this particular day Lord Shiva gulped the Halahala produced during Samudra manthan and beheld it in his neck which bruised and turned blue, after which he was named as Neel Kanth.

• It is also believed that the famous Neelkanth Mahadev Temple is the place where this incident took place or where Lord Shiva consumed the poison as Dark matter and saved the universe.

Celebration of MahaShivaratri In Nepal:

• Maha Shivaratri is a National Holiday in Nepal and celebrated widely in temples all over the country, but especially in the Pashupatinath temple. Thousands of devotees visit the famous Shiva Shakti Peetham nearby as well. Holy rituals are performed all over the nation. 

• Artists from various classical music and dance forms perform through the night. On Maha Shivaratri, married women pray for the well being of their husbands, while unmarried women pray for a husband like Shiva, considered as the ideal husband. Shiva is also worshipped as the Adi Guru (first teacher) from whom the divine wisdom originates.

Celebration of MahaShivaratri in Pakistan:

• Hindus in pakistan visit Shiva temples during Shivrathri. The most important is the three day Shivrathri festival in the Umarkot Shiv Mandir.It is one the biggest religious festivals in the country. It is attended by around 250,000 people. 

•  All the expenses were borne by the Pakistan Hindu Panchayat. Shivrathri Celebrations also occur in the Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple,which is attended by 200,000 pilgrims.

• Hindus cremate the dead and ashes are preserved till Shivratri for immersion in the into holy water in Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple. 

Celebration of MahaShivaratri outside the SouthAsia:

• Maha Shivaratri is the main Hindu festival among the Shaiva Hindu diaspora from Nepal and India. In Indo-Caribbean communities, thousands of Hindus spend the beautiful night in over four hundred temples across the country, offering special jhalls (an offering of milk and curd, flowers, sugarcane and sweets) to Lord Shiva. In Mauritius, Hindus go on pilgrimage to Ganga Talao, a crater-lake.

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