Khurda, Feb 21, 2020: On the occasion of Maha Shivratri, famous miniature artist L Eswar Rao crafted a miniature model of ‘Shiva Linga’ on a pencil nib and on the stone inside a small bottle.
Rao is a native of Jatni village in Khurda district, some 20 km northwest of the state capital of Bhubaneswar.
Speaking to ANI news agency, Rao said, “On the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri, I crafted the smallest 0.5 inches stone-made ‘Shiva Linga’ inside a bottle and 0.5cm on a pencil nib. I took two days for stone made inside the smallest bottle and a day for work on pencil nib.” He added, “It was very tough to fix four small pieces of soft stones inside a bottle to craft a Shiva Linga.”
Rao had earlier carved the world cup trophy on a pencil tip using tamarind seeds as a tribute to the Indian team. Ahead of Christmas last year, he had created church inside a bottle.
Maha Shivaratri, which fell on February 21 this year, is a major festival in Hinduism annually observed in honor of Lord Shiva which is also known as ‘The Great Night of Shiva’.
On this day devotees worship Lord Shiva, observe a strict fast and do various religious activities to please Lord Shiva. Devotees further believe that by pleasing Lord Shankara on the auspicious Shivaratri day, a person is absolved of past sins and is blessed with Moksha or salvation.
The day marks a remembrance of overcoming darkness and ignorance in life and the world. It is said that Maha Shivaratri marks the anniversary of the cosmic dance performed by Lord Shiva. According to another belief, this is the day when Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married.
Source: republicworld.com