The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.110

v2.c17.110

6. The *Śivarātra* takes place on the 14th of the wane in Phālguṇa (February-March), to commemorate an anecdote. It is said that a fowler once lost his way in a forest, and, night coming on, took shelter on the branch of a *bel* tree. He was weeping for having been obliged to pass the night in a forest away from his family, and his tears falling on a sear yellow leaf carried it down to where there was *liṅgam* of Mahādeva. The god was greatly pleased with this unwitting but grateful offering of water and leaf.