Tryambakaya Trinetraya Trishulbar dharine
kandarpaya sutashaya namo vai paramaatmane

What is the story behind Shivratri? Our Shastras and Puranas narrate the story of a cruel hunter, who unknowingly stayed awake on the night of Chaturdashi of the Krishnapaksha in the month of Falgun, and offered water and bael leaves to Lord Shiva. By worshipping Lord Shiva on this auspicious night, the hunter was freed from all his sins and received the blessings of Lord Shiva, and became the lord of the state and later in his life served Lord Rama during his exile. The story has been elaborated below. 

In the age of the Puranas, once a few rishis, munis, tapasvis visited the ashram of the great sage Suta. Mahamuni Suta cordially welcomed them all to his ashram and asked them the purpose behind their sudden visit. Mahamuni Suta asked them “O great rishis, tapasvis, may I know the cause of your arrival to my humble abode”. On hearing the kind words of Mahamuni Suta, the rishis and tapasvis said, “Mahamuni Suta, you are learned in all the shastras. We have come to you to know the story behind Shivratri. How did the celebration of Shivratri begin? We would be highly obliged if you kindly share your precious knowledge in this regard”. Mahamuni Suta was pleased on hearing their request. He asked all the rishis and tapasvis to take their seats and said, “It is my great fortune that all of you have to me to know about the story of Shivratri, to know about the great Devadidev Mahadev Shiva, who is the basis of all creation and destruction, who is worshipped by all living creatures. I will surely tell you the story behind Shivratri. Shivratri is said to be the greatest of all spiritual occasions, and by piously observing the rituals of Shivratri, one is absolved of all sins”.

Shivratri is said to be the greatest of all spiritual occasions, and by piously observing the rituals of Shivratri, one is absolved of all sins. – Mahamuni Suta

In the Treta Yuga, there lived a hunter by the name ‘Bhilla’. He was a very cruel, impatient and short-tempered person. His only job was to hunt deer and sell their meat. And sometimes he even used to hunt without any reason. As a result, he had accumulated a lot of sins in his life. Once, the family members of the hunter informed him that there was no food left in the house, and he must go and hunt some animal only then will they all get to eat. Hearing this the hunter went to the forest with his bow and arrow. He roamed around the entire forest the whole day but couldn’t find a single animal to kill. Tired and dejected the hunter reached a pond in the middle of the forest. On seeing the water body, the hunter thought to himself ‘I should wait near this pond because when the sun will set, all animals will come here to drink water and then I will easily hunt them”. The hunter then collected some water, in case he felt thirsty and climbed a nearby bael tree (wood apple tree). Slowly time passed by and it was the first quarter (pratham prahar) of the night when the hunter suddenly saw a deer approaching the pond. As the hunter began to take aim, his body shook, and some bael leaves and some water from his sack fell on a Shivalinga just below the tree. Ashutosh Mahadev Shiva was pleased and accepted the offering of bael leaves and water from the hunter, and as Mahadeva was content by the inadvertent offering of the hunter, the hunter was absolved of all his sins. The deer saw the tree shake and spotted the hunter taking aim and thought “Today my death is certain at the hands of this hunter”. Just before the hunter could let loose the arrow, the deer cried out loudly in a human voice, “Oh hunter, why are you going to kill me?” The hunter was absolutely astonished to hear the deer speak. The hunter replied “My family is starving back at home. I will kill you and then my family can satisfy their hunger with your meat”. The deer was extremely happy on hearing the words of the hunter and said, “This is such an honor, that my meat will be of use to some humans. I couldn’t be any happier. But oh, hunter please give me some time, I will drink some water, go back to meet my family, and then will come back to you. I have my husband, sister, and two children back at home, I need to see them once and then I will come back to you, after which do kill me and feed your family”. The hunter laughed out loud and said, “If I let you go you will never come back here again”. The deer sternly replied “The mountains, rivers, gods are the embodiments of truth and relentlessly fulfill their duties, I too will do so. If I don’t, I will be burdened by a great sin, equal to the sin committed by a wife when she disobeys her husband, equal to the sin committed by a person when he becomes ungrateful, when he doesn’t worship the great lord Hari, and when he causes harm to others. I will be burdened by all these sins then”. On listening to the words of the deer, the hunter was assured that the deer will come back to him as promised. The hunter then said to the deer “okay you can go meet your family, but you must come back to me then”. The deer was delighted and thanked the huntsman and left to meet her family. In this way, the pratham prahar (first quarter) of the night passed. On letting the deer go, the hunter was freed from hatred and malice in his heart.

The cruel hunter who had come to kill a deer in order to feed his family, surprisingly forgot his cruel violent nature and so easily allowed the deer to take leave! Such is the significance of shiv puja in Shivratri.

In the pratham prahar or first quarter of the night, if a person, be it willingly or inadvertently offers water and bael patra (bael leaves) to Shiva, then the person is freed from anger, jealousy, malice, and the person can then worship Shiva in a calm pure enlightened mind. In this way, if any person worships Shiva in the first quarter of the night of Shivratri, then the person will surely be benefitted.

The first quarter of the night was now over, and the hunter still waited atop the bael tree after the deer left. After some time, the sister of the deer came to the pond in her search. The hunter shook in joy as he saw the deer coming. And again, the tree shook, and some bael leaves fell on the Shivalinga below, and some water from the hunter’s pouch fell on the shivalinga. In this way, the shiv puja in the second prahar (quarter) of the night was completed unknowingly. The deer now noticed the hunter taking aim at her and knew her death was certain. She cried out loudly, “Oh hunter, why are you killing me?” The hunter told the deer about the state of her family, and how her meat will appease their hunger. On hearing the words of the hunter, the deer was delighted but asked the hunter for some time as she had to visit her family once, after which she will surely come back to the hunter. The hunter was not pleased, “If I let you go, you will not come back. Another deer had said the same thing and left, and she did not come back again. No, I will not let you go”. The deer then said, “believe me, o hunter, I will come back to you. I swear on it. If I don’t come back then I will bear the burden of sin equalling the sin caused by a husband who leaves his devoted wife and is attracted to other women, the sin of a person who talks of Lord Shiva while being a devotee of Vishnu, and the sin caused by a person who does not offer memorial services to parents. Oh, hunter if I don’t keep my word, I will be burdened by all these sins”. On hearing the words of the deer, the hunter let the deer go.

In this way, the second prahar or the second quarter of the night passed. After some time, a stout deer was seen approaching the pond. He was the husband of the first deer and was in search of his wife and sister-in-law. On seeing the stout and healthy deer approaching the pond, the hunter set his arrow and took aim, determined to kill the deer this time, but as the hunter moved to set his arrow, the branch shook and some bael leaves and water fell on the Shivalinga below, and so unknowingly the hunter offered puja to Lord Shiva in the third prahar of the night. The deer now noticed the hunter sitting atop the tree, and said, “I know you are going to kill me and that my death is now certain, but why?” The hunter told the deer how his family had no food back at home, and by killing a deer he intended to satiate their hunger. The deer too was delighted on hearing the hunter’s story and was happy knowing his meat would fulfill the hunger of humans, but he asked for some time from the hunter to meet his family once. The hunter was not willing to let the deer go this time as he was sure that the deer, like the other two before him, would not come back. The deer then said, “oh hunter, a person who doesn’t live up to his words is a liar, and a liar is a great sinner. If I don’t live up to my words, I will bear the sin of a person who copulates in the evening, the sin of not fasting on Shivratri, the sin of person who bears false witness, the sin of stealing others wealth, the sin caused by a brahman who doesn’t worship in the evening, the sin of taking what doesn’t belong to you. Oh hunter, if I don’t come back, I will bear all these sins. Believe me, I will come back”. And so, the hunter let this deer go.

Back at the house of the deer, one by one, all the three deers arrived and shared their stories. The first deer said, “I must be the one to go the hunter, as I was the first to give my word”. She turned towards her sister and said, “take care of my children in my absence”. Her sister said, “I will take care of your children, but I have no experience of taking care of young ones. So, you should stay for the sake of your children, and instead, I will go back to the hunter”. The third deer, who was the head of the family, then said, “listen I have no experience of taking care of children, and the children cannot stay without their mother. So, I should be the one to go”. The whole family was engulfed in grief and it was impossible for them to decide who should go back to the hunter. So, they decided that all three of them will go back to the hunter, keeping the children in the custody of their neighbors.

The three deer again made their way back to the pond where the hunter was anxiously waiting for his kill. On seeing three deer coming back to him, he couldn’t believe his eyes, his delight had no bounds. Shaking with delight the hunter prepared his weapon of kill, and as he did so, the tree shook, and again a few bael leaves and some water fell on the Shivalinga below. In this way, the hunter unknowingly offered puja in all the four prahars of Shivratri, and in an instant, all his sins were washed away, and he received the blessings of Lord Shiva. Now, as he saw the three deer approaching the pond, his mind was filled with repentance. He thought to himself ‘I have committed such heinous sins my whole life! And on the other hand, these simple animals are filled with compunction, self-sacrifice, and kindness. All my life I have thought only about myself without caring for anyone else. Shame on me! I will not kill animals anymore’. The hunter asked the three deer to return back to their home and began to repent for his sins. At that point in time, the hunter’s mind was free from malice. Suddenly lord Shiva emerged from the Shivalinga and appeared in front of him. Lord Shiva said to the hunter, “I am pleased by your puja. You have stayed awake in the four prahar of the night and worshipped me with water and bael leaves. I am pleased by your offerings, and I will grant you whatever boon you may wish for”. The hunter said, “O dear Lord. On receiving your darshan, on seeing you standing in front of me, all my desires have been fulfilled, I have nothing more to ask for”. Lord Shiva smiled on hearing the words of the hunter, and said, “Bhilla, you are now free from malice and all the lowly qualities of the mind. You have transcended to a divine state. You are now a pure and enlightened human being. You have all my blessings. From now on, you will be known as Guha. You will be the lord of the state, and your family will prosper for generations to come. One day, Lord Rama, the son of Dasharatha will come to you. Worship him with utmost devotion, and you will receive indescribable blessings”.

This the tale of Guha, the friend of Lord Rama. Guha stayed by the side of Lord Rama during his exile, and Rama used to address him as ‘my dear friend’. The three deers received the darshan of Lord Shiva there, and they left their mortal physical body and ascended to heaven. Lord Shiva then left for Arbudachal, where he resided in the form of Vyadheshwar Mahadev.

In this way, a hunter like Bhill, who unknowingly worshipped Lord Shiva, received his blessings and fulfilled his life. Such is the significance of Shivratri, such is the significance of worshipping Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is Ashutosh, he is pleased with little effort. A person may offer hundreds and thousands of pujas and yajnas, may recite all the shastras, or may visit every pilgrim spot in the world, but by piously worshiping lord Shiva on Shivratri, he receives much more blessings of lord Shiva. Such is the significance of Shiva puja on Shivratri.