Maha Shivaratree, which literally translates to the “Great Night of Lord Shiva”, is the most popular Hindu festival in Mauritius. Pilgrims from all around the island dedicate themselves in this tedious pilgrimage on foot to the sacred lake (Ganga Talao) of Grand Bassin. The Maha Shivratri festival is observed every year according to the Hindu calendar; on the thirteenth night and fourteenth day of the eleventh Hindu month of Phalguna or Maagh (February – March).
Mauritius’s fame is not limited to only the warm sun, the lapis-azure lagoon or the pure golden sand or to being the star and key of the Indian Ocean. It is also a mosaic of cultures and this is the x-factor of the island. The majority of our people are from hindu origin and the Maha Shivratri festivital, known as the The Great Night of Shiva, is celebrated with great devotion and fervor annually.
Feast in honor of the god Shiva, god of the Hindu holy trinity representing destruction, Maha Shivaratree contains several religious and spiritual meanings. According to some beliefs, it would be the night when Shiva saved the world from destruction by ingesting the poison that arises from the seabed during the quest for the nectar of immortality by the Devas (Saints) and the Asuras (malicious deities).
Mauritius’s fame is not limited to only the warm sun, the lapis-azure lagoon or the pure golden sand or to being the star and key of the Indian Ocean. It is also a mosaic of cultures and this is the x-factor of the island. The majority of our people are from hindu origin and the Maha Shivratri festivital, known as the The Great Night of Shiva, is celebrated with great devotion and fervor annually.
Feast in honor of the god Shiva, god of the Hindu holy trinity representing destruction, Maha Shivaratree contains several religious and spiritual meanings. According to some beliefs, it would be the night when Shiva saved the world from destruction by ingesting the poison that arises from the seabed during the quest for the nectar of immortality by the Devas (Saints) and the Asuras (malicious deities).
