Sunday, February 19, 2012: The state is all set to celebrate Sivarathri festival with fervour and gaiety tomorrow. Religious rituals, cultural programmes and display of fireworks will be held in temples as part of the festival.Only on the Sivaratri day, women are allowed to pray during day time at the Shreerajarajeshwara Temple at Thaliparambu in Kannur. On other days, women can offer prayers only after the athazha pooja.
Shivarathri is one of most celebrated festivals of India, and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is celebrated in all parts of the country with a lot of verve and devotion by Hindus. It is said that five is a sacred number for Shiva signifying his five syllabic mantra “nama shivaya”.
Generally, devotees of Lord Shiva go through a rigorous fast on this occasion. They are not even supposed to drink water on the day. Many married women worship Lord Shiva for welfare of their husbands and the family, while unmarried women observe fast on this to get an ideal husband.
