How to Worship Lord Shiva on Mondays?

Lord Shiva is one of the most powerful Hindu Gods. He is mainly worshipped on Mondays with different puja samagris. Here’s how he is worshipped on Mondays.        

Lord Shiva is also given the name ‘Mahadev’. This name itself signifies that he is the creator of the Universe. He is given many other names like Trinethra which means three-eyed. Lord Shiva has three eyes and the third eye is on his forehead. He is also known as the Neelkantha because of his blue neck. It is said that once he consumed all the poison, which made his neck blue. Another name given to Lord Shiva is Jatadhara because of his long hair and the name Gangadhar is given to him because river Ganga emerges from his Jata or hair.

It is believed that Lord Shiva can be pleased especially on Monday. This is the reason why his devotees perform a special puja at home every Monday. With all the puja samagris and with the right vidhi, he is worshipped every week on Monday.

Lord Shiva is believed to reside in the burial grounds that indicates his disregard for all the worldly pleasures. Unlike the other Gods, Lord Shiva needs no gold or expensive jewelleries to get decorated. Not even a costly cloth is needed to drape his body or offer him. Just an incense stick, a candle or a diya, some flowers and some prasadam is all one needs to pray to him. All his stories are given in details in the book ‘Shiva Mahapuran’.

For the devotees to get showers of blessings of Lord Shiva, one should worship to him with complete devotion and a pure heart.

• One can visit the temple or can buy puja products online to worship him every Monday. Once the arrangements are done, the samagris are arranged rightly and his idol or photo frame is placed right, the Shiva mantras are chanted. The Maha Mrityunjai mantra is recited. This mantra is chanted to get rid of the fatal diseases.
• Tilak is applied using vibhudhi or the ash on the forehead during the puja. 
• “Om namah shivai” is chanted repeatedly.
• Abhishekam is performed as a form of worship to the lingam with the bhasm or the ash.
• Bilwa or bel leaves are offered to Lord Shiva as these leaves are considered to be the favorite of Shiva.
• These leaves are put on the lingam during the puja.
• Worship and pray to Lord Ganesha every time before praying to Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is believed to remove all obstacles during the prayer. 
• It is a positive sign to light a diya during worshipping Lord Shiva. 
• Flowers like jilledu ( flowers of madar tree,  mudar, aak, or the gigantic swallow-wort ) are offered to the Lord during this puja. One can find these jilledu and bilwa flowers in the nearby forests and farms. It is always believed to be more auspicious if one gets these flowers from the natural resources than from purchasing from a shop.
• Offer the prasadam once the puja is completed, then distribute them among the devotees and the other family members present there. 

One can buy these puja materials online to make puja easy every week on Monday as it is not always possible to go to the market and buy the items needed for this Siva puja. Seek blessings of Lord Shiva and live a prosperous and happy life for ever.