Krishna Paksha Pradosham in Masi month falls on February 13, 2018.

It is a day special for the worship of Lord Shiva and every devotee of Lord Shiva makes it a point to visit a temple and seek the benedictions of Shiva on this day.

This year both Maha Shivaratri and Pradosham fall on the same day.

There is a legend related to Maha Shivaratri.

Lord Shiva gulped the halahala poison emanating while Devas and Asuras were churning the ocean of milk to get amrutham.

When Devas and Asuras were churning the ocean of milk to get amrutham, halahala poison came out and started permeating the Universe.

Since it would destroy the whole Universe with its poisonous nature, Lord Shiva gulped it and retained it in his throat which became blue in turn due to the poison held there. He got the name Neelakandar because of this. In order to thank the Lord for His benevolence, we celebrate Maha Shivaratri.

It is because of the same incident, we celebrate Pradosham as well. It relates to the incident that took place after Lord Shiva’s gulping the poison. Due to the power of the poison, He felt dizzy and was lying on the lap of Goddess Parvathy.

When the Gods and Devas came to worship Lord Shiva at that time, they were prevented by Nandi Bhagavan from taking a darshan of the Lord. It was because both the God and Goddess were together.

Soon, Lord Shiva came out and on seeing Devas and Gods, danced with happiness on the horns of Nandi. This incident happened on Krishna Paksha Thrayodashiand thus the worship of Pradosham came into existence from that day onwards.

This year Maha Shivaratri and Pradosham fall on the same day, that is,13-2-2018. It is a very special occasion and let us reap tons of spiritual benefits out of worshipping  Lord Shiva on this day.