Monday’s of Shravan are very special

Shravan is the month of Mahadev. It starts from 6 July to 3 August of this year(2020) in North India & from 23 July to 19 August of this year in South & West India. But in Nepal still a week is left for the month of Shravan according to Nepali calender.

Monday’s of Shravan are very special, Why ?
Monday’s of Shravan month are considered highly auspicious. All Mondays are devoted to the worship of Shiva as this day is sacred to Lord Shiva. No other Mondays of other months are so greatly honoured. Whole month is considered very auspicious to seek blessings of Lord Shiva. The main Shravan Puja is the worship of Shivling with Gangajal.

According to the Legend, the “Samudra Manthan” or churning of oceans took place in the month of Shravan. During the churning of the ocean , the deadly poison came out, and was consumed by Lord Shiva which he stored in his throat, subsequently turning his throat blue, and hence Shiva is attributed to the name Neelkanth.

To reduce the poison’s impact, Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head. To lessen the effect of the poison the Gods and Devas started offering the water from holy Ganga to Lord Shiva. So performing Abhishek on Shivling with gangajal became a ritual since then. Many Shiva devotees observe strict fast for the whole month of Shravan and many observe only on Mondays.

Many people observe different vows during the month like having only vegetarian food, or reading a particular Holy Scripture whole month.Read Shiva Purana, Wear Rudraksha, offer Gangajal to Lord Shiva and feel the energy of Shiva and Shakti in yourself. Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Shivling and the prayer therefore starts with worshipping Shivling and offering it Abhishek with milk, water, curd, ghee, honey or sugar, and Ganga jal.

Bilva leaves, flowers and dhub/durva grass is offered to Lord Shiva to please him. In the end, Bhang, Dhatoora, and Shriphal are offered to the lord in the form of prasad. Lord Brahma in an ancient tale told saints that Lord Shiva is highly pleased with Bela Patra and one Belpatra is considered equal to 1,000 Neelkamal flowers.

Why girls do fasting in Monday’s of Shravan Month?
According to the belief of Hindu religion, any person can get blessings of Lord Shiva by fasting on every Monday in the month of Shravan. It is believed that this month is most dear to Lord Shiva. In this context, you will also get to hear many mythological stories. Among these stories, one story which is most popular.

According to the story, in the month of Shravan, Maa Parvati had fasted for many years, without eating anything to get Lord Shiva as her husband. Pleased with the same harsh penance of Maa Parvati, Lord Shiva married her while blessing her. Therefore, on every Monday in this month, to get a husband like Lord Shiva, girls keep fasting.