The Significance of MahaShivarathri (மஹா சிவராத்திரி மஹிமை )
STORY
Once, there was a hunter named Gurudhruhan, he once went to a forent to hunt. He sat on a tree to see whether he could find somethimg to hunt. He could'nt notice anything. after few hours he sees a male deer drinking water in a nearby river. seeing it , he aims the arrow at it, the male deer notices it and tells "o hunter! please dont hunt me now.. i will tell my family and come back " it promised. then after some time a female deer comes by to drink water.. it again tells the same thing and goes away promising it's return. after sometimes two young deer come there to drink water, they again promise the same thing and go away.
Some time after all of them came there, and the sun rose. But since the deer family kept up the promise, hunter's mind changed. he did not kill them.. he was fasting the whole night, he was on bilvam(vilvam) tree, below was a lingam, throughout the night accidentally the water from his bottle, and the bilvam leaves fell on lord shiva linga, since it was maha sivarathri and he had performed upavasam, and since he had forgiven the deer family, he is blessed to be born as rama's friend in the next birth as GUHAN.
this is the value of shivarathri
NEXT UP WE SEE ABOUT SHIVANAMA MAHIMAI..