Maha Shivaratri literally means the ‘The Great Night of Shiva.' Considered as one of the important Hindu festivals, Maha Shivaratri is celebrated with much aplomb by the devotees of Lord Shiva. In the Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva is the Destroyer and the most important one in the Holy Trinity, the other two being Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Protector.
Lord Shiva has always fascinated his followers by his unique appearance: he has not two but three eyes, has ash smeared all over his body, has snakes coiled up around his head and arms, wears tiger and elephant skin, leads a wild life in the cremation grounds far removed from social pretenses, and is known for his proverbial anger..
Lord Shiva is known to spend long periods of time in deep meditation in the lofty Himalayas. He is always accompanied by a large battalion of fierce looking demons which are also blood thirsty and can devastate anything with a sweeping operation. The entire troop of Lord Shiva and his army are so strange and are constantly engaged in carrying out the multifaceted mission of the Lord in all the known worlds and also beyond.
