As per Hindu Dharma, the Holy Trinity or the ‘Trimurti’ consists of the three chief gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwar. Maheshwar is the other name for Lord Shiva. The creator of the Universe and the master of Moksha is also addressed as Bholenath and Mahadev by his devotees.
Shiva is Anadi (without a beginning) and Anant (infinite), he is Shunya (Zero) and Ekaya (One). Shiva is the complete knowledge of the living and dead. He is generous, gracious, and an epitome of auspiciousness. He’s the only Indian deity who has an entire month, Shravan, dedicated towards him.
The symbolic depiction of Shiva is Shivlinga. The devotees offer milk, honey, bilva leaves, pious water, bhasma, and bhang to Shivlinga and take turns to circumambulate around the Shivlinga.
Why should we do half pradakshina of Shivlinga
Although there are many people who do full-circle Parikrama of the Shivlinga, according to Shiva purana, only a half-parikrama should be carried out. This is because Shiva is Anadi and Anant himself. He has immense energy and the energy or Shakti flowing out is represented through Nirmili (the outlet for milk and water designed in modern-day Shivlinga).
It’s said that Shiva’s Shakti is so fierce that none could ever interfere or come in the line of it. Whoever does it has to face the wrath of Lord Shiva. As per an old legend, once King Gandharva who was a Shiva devotee over-stepped the Nirmili while performing the ‘Abhishek’ on Shivlinga during the Parikrama. This resulted in losing all his might, power, and intellect.
Nirmili is a sacred part of the Shivling and must never be over-stepped. Therefore, it is advised to only perform half-parikrama of Shivlinga to avoid stepping over the Nirmili.