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        Today the 16th of February, 2007 is Maha Shivratri day. This festival is the most important festival for the millions of devotees of Lord Shiva not only in India but in many other parts of the world. This ancient festival has been accorded pride of place in Hindu mythology. According to Shaivaite traditions, cutting across all differences in different parts of India, whoever sincerely performs worship of Lord Shiva on the auspicious day of Shivratri gets absolved of his sins and attains moksha or salvation.

        According to Hindu mythology, Shivratri festival falls on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Phalgun. Hindu tradition has it that when Goddess Parvati asked Lord Shiva as to which ritual performed by his sincere devotees pleased him most, Lord Shiva declared that it is the auspicious day of Shivratri. Maha shivratri Festival is also considered as extremely significant by all the women devotees. Married and unmarried women observe fast and perform Shiva Puja with sincerity to appease Goddess Parvati who is also regarded as 'Gaura' - one who bestows marital bliss and long and prosperous married life. Unmarried women also pray for a husband like Lord Shiva who is regarded as the ideal husband.

        In Skaanda Purana there are several verses to extol and explain the spiritual and mythological significance of Maha Shivratri. In primeval times, there was a big quarrel between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu as to who was a mightier person and this quarrel ended in a large scale war between the two. According to tradition, Lord Shiva sent Narada to mediate between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. Narada proclaimed that neither of them was supreme and that Lord Shiva was the one and only supreme God. Narada described Lord Shiva as Adi Anta Rahita (without beginning-without end!). Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu ignored the finding of Narada with contempt. At that instant, Lord Shiva manufactured himself on the scene as a Pillar of Light which enveloped the whole universe. Lord Shiva came out of this Pillar of Light as 'LINGODHBHAVA' and thus upheld the verdict of his great devotee Narada. Lord Brahma transformed himself into a Hamsa and went up the sky to reach the head of this Lingodhbhava and failed. Likewise, Lord Vishnu took the form of a Wild Boar (Varaha) and went down into the earth to reach the bottom of the Lingodhbhava. He also failed like Lord Brahma.
 

Renovated and restored Katas Raj Temple in Pakistan.	A desolate Katas Raj Temple in ruins in Pakistan  before the recent restoration.

        When Shivratri is being celebrated on a grand scale today in India and all parts of the world, it is heartening news that the government of Pakistan have taken the initiative to renovate an ancient Shiva temple near Lahore called the 'KATAS RAJ TEMPLE.' This ancient temple complex in Pakistan which finds mention in Hindu and Sikh scriptures, will reverberate to 'Shiva bhajans' (devotional songs) today for the first time after the partition of the subcontinent 59 years ago. Katas Raj sacred shrine is mentioned in the Mahabharata epic. According to the Mahabharata, Katas and Pushkar (near Ajmer in Rajasthan) are Lord Shiva's two eyes. A three-day festival, Jigrattan, beginning from 14 February, is being organised in consultation with India, as a follow-up measure, after the former Deputy Prime Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani visited the shrine in June 2005.

        According to time-honoured social traditions, the Pandavas during their exile reached a lake and when they were about to quench their thirst, a Yaksha, the protector of the lake appeared and said that only people who answer his questions right would be allowed to drink water. The four Pandavas failed and were made lifeless by the Yaksha. Finally Yudhishtira answered all his questions and the brothers were revived. According to one legend, this dialogue happened at the Katasraj Mandir Pond.

        Katas Raj temple is situated in a hill about six km from Choa Saidan Shah in Chakwal District near Lahore and a part of this temple complex has been renovated and restored and thrown open to the public for the Jigrattan festival which began on 14 February, 2007. The climax will be the festival of Maha Shivratri taking place at this renovated Shrine today.

        According to many experts in the field of conservation and restoration of monuments, the most significant spin-off effect of the great initiative taken by the government of Pakistan will be that the techniques of conservation/restoration developed and adopted in India will be suitably applied for the conservation and restoration work of monuments and artefacts in Pakistan. India has for long been the South Asian centre for UNESCO and collaborates with the International Council of Museums. In the present context of restoration of Katas Raj Temple in Pakistan today, it should also be noted that India has been actively involved in restoring the Cambodian Angkor Vat and the Buddha statues in Bamiyan in Afghanistan, which were destroyed by the then Taliban regime in April 2001.

        A team of experts from Pakistan has just returned to their country after visiting Fatehpur Sikri, the Taj Mahal in Agra, Daulatabad Fort, Ajanta and Ellora caves in southern India and Pushkar and Ajmer in Rajasthan. According to team leader and Director General of Punjab Archaeology Department (PAD) Oriya Maqbool Jan, the visit was specifically aimed at gathering material and learning these Indian techniques which will help in restoring the Katas Raj temple complex in Punjab to its full perfection.

        Meanwhile, all the Hindus in the border State of Punjab are very happy that for the festival at Katas Raj, pictures and idols brought from India by the team of experts are to be used as models for creating new ones for Katas Raj.

        It has been reported that Jigrattan at Katas Raj Temple will attract more than 250 devotees from India. The three-day festivities would also include the traditional dances by the devotees. Officials in Pakistan have said that the rituals have been carefully rehearsed and the holy pond, temples, the Hari Singh Haveli and changing rooms have been suitably got done up for the performers.

        Katas Raj Temple is also famed in song and legend and historical associations. It is well known that Hindu saint Paras Nath Jogi breathed his last in Katas. Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith, also visited Katas on the first of Vaisakh, the occasion that heralds the summer season festival. After the hallowed visit of Guru Nanak, Katas also came to be known as Nanaknawas, or the abode of Guru Nanak. It became the site of contemplation for self-fulfilment for many mystics and ascetics through the ages. Finally, it should also be noted that Katas is the place where Al Beruni, the 11th century Persian scientist and traveller, attempted to measure the circumference of the earth, studied Sanskrit and wrote his renowned 'Kitab-ul Hind'.

        I congratulate the Government of Pakistan for their bold initiative to renovate and restore the ancient Katas Raj Shiva Temple near Lahore at a cost of £ 0.6 m after taking note of the request of Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister of India, during his visit to Pakistan in 2005. All the Hindus in India and the world are very happy that a delegation of archaeologists, led by Orya Maqbool Jan Abbasi, the Director-General of Archaeology in Pakistan, met senior BJP leader Advani in New Delhi some days ago to brief him about the progress made in the Katas Raj Temple Renovation Project which was lying in ruins ever since partition.

        Double-talking, multiple-tongued, self-seeking, nation-destroying, Islam-embracing, Christianity-coveting and Hindu-hating surrogate UPA government under a surrogate Prime Minister can continue to carry on and on their puerile and hypocritical peace talks with Pakistan based upon the shallow foundation of massive pseudo-secularism without reaching anywhere! In the meantime, in one simple magical stroke, government of Pakistan, in the twinkling of an eye, have tried to create a suitable atmosphere for the furtherance of improved relations between the two countries.