History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.908

v6.c81.908

There is a conflict of views about what the chief thing is in Śivarātri is. The Tithitattva holds that a fast is the principal thing in Śivarātri and relies on the words of Śaṅkara. 'On that tithi (Śivarātri) I am not so pleased with bath (of the linga) nor with clothes (offered to the linga) nor with incense nor by worship nor with the offering of flowers as I am pleased by a fast'.⁵⁸¹ On the other hand, Hemādri and Mādhava hold that Śivarātri means fast, worship and *jāgaraṇa*⁵⁸² and all the three are apprehended as principal and quote passages from the Skandapurāṇa and Nāgarakhaṇḍa in support.⁵⁸³ 'That man who observes a fast on Śivarātri for twelve years and who keeps awake (in dance and music) before me the whole night would reach heaven. That man, who worships Śiva and performs jāgara on the 14th, would not thereafter taste milk at mother's breast (i. e. would not be born again); the niṣāda, unknowingly worshipping a self-existent linga, observing a fast and jāgara, became free from sin and attained the position of the attendant of Śiva'.