Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik carved Lord Shiva on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri at the Puri beach in the state of Odisha. He posted the picture of the beautiful sculpture on Friday.
"On the pious occasion of #MahaShivratri. May Lord Shiva bless us all with peace, happiness and prosperity. #HarHarMahadev," he wrote on Twitter.
Twitter was in awe of the sand art and appreciated the artist. Here are a few reactions on the micro-blogging site:
Why is Maha Shivratri celebrated?
There are many legends of the origin and history of Maha Shivratri. Some say that it is the night when Shiva and Parvati got married, while according to another legend, it is celebrated on the night that Shiva took the form of 'Natraj' and performed the tandava dance.
Some believe that it was the day when Lord Shiva gulped the Halahala, the deadly poison produced during Samudra Manthan, which was capable of destroying the entire world. He held it in his throat due to which his throat turned blue. Hence, he is also called Neelakantha (the blue-throated one).
Earlier on Wednesday, Pattnaik paid tribute to one of the greatest warriors of all time - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the birth anniversary of the Maratha emperor.
Pattnaik had tweeted the picture of his art and captioned it, "Jai Shivaji ...Jai Bhavani...Remembering Chatrapati #ShivajiMaharaj on his birth anniversary."
