Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually between February and March according to Hindu calendar in honor of Shiva & Parvati marriage. Maha Shivaratri is unlike most Hindu festivals which include expression of cultural revelry, the Maha Shivaratri is a solemn event notable for its introspective focus, fasting, meditation on Shiva, self-study, social harmony and an all-night vigil at Shiva temples.
It is said that after the Earth met devastation, Goddess Parvati vowed with Lord Shiva to save the world. Delighted with her prayers, Lord Shiva decided to save the world on the ploy that the populaces of the Earth would have to revere him with commitment and passion. This is why it is known as Maha Shivaratri and people initiate revering Shiva with great zeal.
In Khajuraho this festival can be seen as one of the most crowded and important Hindu festivals of Bundelkhand. Devotees in thousands attend the Maha Shivaratri festive occasion at Shiva temple in Khajuraho. It is easily can be seen that crowds get descend all around in Khajuraho town for the Maha Shivratri festival. Boys jump off pillars within Pond situated near the temples and swim around in water. On the occasion of Maha Shivratri with the help of local government, a big local fair is also organized in a big open ground where the women and men attend the local market, buying Murmura or Puffed Rice, Coconuts and many more other things…
Here, on the evening of this day, a grand marriage procession of Lord Shiva is taken out with thousands of people, which starts from the office of Khajuraho Municipal Council, passes through the main streets and reaches Matangeshwar Temple. In this marriage procession, thousands of people come out singing and dancing with devotion along with many types of tableaux, in which many people start the procession with long flags and chant the praises of Lord Shiva and a grand tableau of its small children is seen decorated in the form of many different Gods. Here people also visit the grand crown of Lord Shiva.
As soon as the procession is celebrated in the temple, the local people give a grand welcome to it, after which the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is performed throughout the night with all the rituals. This day is a great day for the people of Khajuraho and Bundelkhand in which their culture and civilization is visible and people here eagerly wait for this great day.