Maha Shivaratri falls on the fourteenth night of the dark fortnight of Phalgun, by the northern reckoning of months. Through the day queues wind out of every Shiva temple, each person carrying a lota of water or milk and a handful of bel leaves; at night the worship is repeated in four watches. In the north it is told above all as the night Shiva married Parvati.
The story
Parvati, daughter of the Himalaya, won Shiva by years of austerity. He came to the wedding as he was, smeared in ash, a snake at his neck, riding the bull Nandi, with a baraat of ghosts and goblins that sent her mother into a faint. Towns across the north still take out Shiv Barats on this day, with a costumed Shiva and his unruly followers.
An older telling makes it the night Shiva showed himself as a pillar of light without beginning or end, the form remembered in the twelve Jyotirlingas.
कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् । सदा वसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि ॥
White as camphor, compassion made flesh, essence of the world, garlanded with the serpent king, dwelling always in the lotus of the heart: to Shiva, with Bhavani beside him, I bow
Sung at the close of the arati
How it is kept
- JalabhishekWater, often Ganga water carried from Haridwar, is poured over the linga, followed by milk, curd, honey and ghee.
- Bel patraThe trifoliate leaf of the bel tree is offered with dhatura, aak flowers and bhang.
- The fastA phalahar fast of fruit, milk, sabudana and kuttu, broken the next morning.
- Char prahar pujaWorship in each of the four watches of the night, with the vigil kept in between.
- ThandaiThe cooling drink of almonds, fennel and milk is the taste of the day in Varanasi and Mathura.
Why this date
Maha Shivaratri is the Chaturdashi of the dark fortnight. North Indian almanacs name the month Phalgun, the south calls the same fortnight Magh; the night is the same. The festival is kept on the day Chaturdashi covers midnight.
Maha Shivaratri in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wednesday | |
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Sunday | |
| 2030 | Saturday |
More North Indian festivals
4 MarchHoliहोली
25 JanuaryRatha Saptamiरथ सप्तमी
19 MarchChaitra Navratriचैत्र नवरात्रि
14 JanuaryMakar Sankrantiमकर संक्रांति
26 MarchRam Navamiराम नवमी
2 AprilHanuman Jayantiहनुमान जयंती
Where to see Maha Shivaratri
In North India
- Kashi Vishwanath, VaranasiUttar PradeshThe city of Shiva takes out his wedding procession through its lanes, and the temple stays open all night.
- Mahakaleshwar, UjjainMadhya PradeshNine days of Shiv Navratri lead up to the night; the dawn Bhasma Arati is offered with ash.
- Baidyanath Dham, DeogharJharkhandA Jyotirlinga where the day is celebrated as a wedding, with a procession through the town.
- Neelkanth Mahadev, RishikeshUttarakhandA forest shrine above the Ganga at the spot where Shiva is said to have drunk the poison.
Across India
- MandiHimachal PradeshA week-long fair to which the hill deities of the district come in palanquins.
- SomnathGujaratFirst of the Jyotirlingas, on the Arabian Sea.
- SrisailamAndhra PradeshThe Jyotirlinga of the south, with eleven days of festival.