HINDUS in Myanmar are preparing to celebrate Maha Shivaratri, a festival dedicated to Lord Shiva, on March 6.

Although each new moon is special to devotees of Shiva, Maha Shivaratri – which translates as the Great Night of Lord Shiva – is especially significant because it is the night on which the deity is said to have performed the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction.

While most Hindu festivals occur during the day, Maha Shivaratri is celebrated at night and on the following day just before the new moon. Devotees of Shiva observe a fast during the festival and stay up all night at temples praying, meditating and singing bhajans (religious songs).

Rather than stay at a single temple, some young families in Yangon spend the night travelling from one temple to another to worship.

After a night of fasting, devotees bathe to wash away bodily impurities and then wash the Shiva lingam – a stylised symbol of the creative power of the universe – with milk and perform religious rites, including chanting sacred texts and making offerings of leaves and milk.

Celebrations in Myanmar will be particularly grand at the Sri Shiva temple in Lashio in northern Shan State, where festivities will last from March 4 to 6.
A spokesperson from the temple said the Ministry of Rail Transportation has offered free two-way rail service between Mandalay and Lashio from March 2 to 11 for the festival.

“Vegetarian food and temporary accommodation will also be provided free of charge for devotees who come to Lashio for the festival,” he said.