Maha Shiv Ratri Special – ‘Shiv Puja in Pregnancy’

In the Hindu religion, there are 3 main Gods. Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Mahesh is another name of Lord Shiva. Maha Shiv Ratri is believed to be Lord Shiva’s wedding anniversary with Goddess Parvati. It is also believed that Lord Shiva drank the poison on this day to save the world in the process of ‘KshirSagar’. There are many ways Hindus celebrate Maha Shiv Ratri throughout our country.

Can expecting women worship Lord Shiva during her pregnancy?
There are studies which support the thought but many which don’t support it also. There is a clear indication that any women, expectant or not expectant shouldn’t touch the deity and must maintain distance. Having said that, they still do worship Lord Shiva across the country.

Tip: chant loudly (audible) for better results.

How to worship Lord Shiva?
There are many ways to please Shiva. You may already know that Shiva is very easy to please:

By Fasting: Many girls fast on Mondays in Lord Shiva’s worship in order to find a good life partner. Some parts of India, women celebrate it by doing ‘Jaya Parvativrat’, in which they worship both Shiva and Parvati Mata again for the same purpose. Some women fast through the entire month of Shravan and some fast on ‘Maha Shiv Ratri’. But, according to me, it is not a good idea for expectant women to fast. They may enjoy chanting which is very effective.

By Chanting: 1. The most popular chanting for Shiva is ‘MahaMrutunjayjaap’, meaning ‘Great Victory over Death’. It is also known as ‘Rudra Mantra’ and ‘Trayambakam mantra’ in different parts of India. 2. MrutyunjayMahadevtrahimamsharnagatam, 3. Another one is 14 shlokas of ‘Shivmahimastotra’. Apart from these 3, there are many other Shiva mantra also.

By Abhishek: It is said that Lord Shiva is easily pleased with below offerings:
Water, Milk, Panchamrit, Sugarcane juice, Black Sesame seeds, Bel patra (Bilva) with all three leaf in one (3 leaves represent Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh), Chandan and fresh flowers.

How to chant ‘MahaMrutyunjayjaap’ or ‘Rudra Mantra’ or ‘Trayambakam mantra’?
Here are the wording for the said mantra:

Om Trayambakamyajamahesugandhimpushtivardhanam I
Urvarukmivbandhnatmrutryumokshyamamratam II

The verse is from Rig Veda. This mantra is for healing, rejuvenation and nurturing. It is believed for Brahmin to chant for a pregnant lady. An expectant woman is not supposed to chant this mantra herself.

However, there is another mantra which can be chanted by an expectant lady herself, wording goes like this:

MrutunjayMahadevTrahimaamSharnagatam I
JanmaMrutryuJaraVyadhiPiditamKarmabandhanehi II

In my opinion, there is no better time than pregnancy when a woman should chant the said mantra to keep herself and her child safe n grow it to its full potential.

• While chanting, one must keep her eyes closed
• Focus all her attention on the third eye to get to the meditative zone
• This is ultimately relaxing and divine experience
• One must chant with faith and devotion to understand its gravity
• It can be chanted after shower for 108 times in a sitting

Happy Shivratri to All and visit our website Rita’s Pregnancy 101 to get more knowledge on pregnancy, baby care, and postnatal care. There are ‘Blogs’, ‘Birth stories’, ‘Tip of the day’ etc.