Maha ShivaRathri - Bhola Shankar

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It is said that he responds and gives boon for just calling him out and he is satisfied when one thinks about him. Hence, he is called Shiva is innocent, Bhola Shankar. There is a story for this.

Once a hunter went into the forest for hunting. However much he tried he could not hunt even one animal during the day. As he was returning empty handed, a tiger started to hunt him. Not knowing what to do he climbed a tree to save himself. The tree happened to be a Bilva tree. All through the night, the tiger waited beneath the tree to kill him. The hunter remained atop the tree without any sleep. As there was nothing better to do with his time, he spent the night plucking the leaves of the tree and dropped them on the ground. While he was on the tree, some water from his water can also fell below. Incidentally, there happened to be a Shiva Linga below the tree and all the leaves and water fell on it on that night, which happened to be ShivaRathri night.

Oblivious of all these things, the hunter returned home when the tiger went away at day break and lived his life full of evil doings and bad ways. On his death, the soldiers from hell had come to take him to hell as his life was full of evil deeds. But to their surprise the soldiers of Shiva also had came there, to take the hunter to heaven. When the men from hell objected to send the hunter to heaven, they were told that God pardoned all the wrong doings of the hunter because he placed Bilva leaves on the Shiva Linga and did Abhishekam with water and spent the festival night without sleeping.

Along the same lines, a man named Tinnadu had gargled some water to clean his mouth and spit it out. This happened to fall on a Linga. Shiva accepted this abhisheka and offered mukti (salvation) to him. Along with this, there are many such incidents. Hence, he became Bhola Shankar.