Maha Shivaratri 2026

Quick facts

• Also known asMahashivratri, Shivaratri
• WhereAll of India, and Nepal
• Puja forShiva
• In one lineThe year's great night of Shiva: a reminder to overcome darkness and ignorance.

Maha Shivaratri, in a little more detail

1. 01

   About the festival

   Every month has a Shivaratri, on Krishna Chaturdashi. The one in Magha is Maha Shivaratri, the biggest of the year. North India, counting months from full moon to full moon, calls it Phalguna's, but it is the same night.

   This festival belongs to the night, not the day. You stay awake and keep Shiva's name: awake in the dark, a reminder to clear the darkness and ignorance out of your life.

   So today's fast is not only about food. It's a day to remember honesty, not hurting anyone, giving, and forgiving.

2. 02

   The pillar of fire

   Once Brahma and Vishnu argued over which of them was greater.

   Just then a vast pillar of fire rose between them. Vishnu became a boar and dug down to find its foot; Brahma became a bird and flew up to find its top. Neither found an end.

   Out of the pillar came Shiva, with no beginning and no end: the first linga, the story says. The night holds another memory too: Shiva held the halahala poison from the churning of the ocean in his throat, and became Neelkantha, the blue-throated.

3. 03

   In Maharashtra and beyond

   A fast all day, broken the next morning after a bath. Sabudana, sweet potato and fruit keep you going. Through the night Shiva is worshipped four times, once in each prahar.

   The linga is bathed in milk, the abhishek, and offered bel leaves, the ones Shiva loves most.

   Three of the twelve jyotirlingas are in Maharashtra: Trimbakeshwar, Bhimashankar and Grishneshwar, with queues for darshan all night. Many devotees count Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath among the twelve as well.

   In Nepal it is a national holiday, and the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu fills with sadhus and pilgrims.

How to do the puja

In short: The great night in order: a fast by day, an abhishek in each watch of the night, bel leaves and "Om Namah Shivaya".

1. 1Bathe in the morning, take the sankalp, and keep the fast you can manage.Some keep it without water; most take fruit and milk. If you use salt, use rock salt.
2. 2Visit a Shiva temple in the day, or set up a linga or a picture at home.Jyotirlinga queues run all night: carry water, and hold children by the hand in the crowd.
3. 3At dusk, begin the first watch: bathe the linga with water and milk.A watch, a prahar, is about three hours: four of them from sunset to sunrise.
4. 4Offer bel leaves, datura leaves and white flowers, and light a lamp and incense.Bel is offered as a sprig of three leaves.
5. 5Keep saying "Om Namah Shivaya" as you offer.You can chant silently too.
6. 6Repeat the abhishek in each watch of the night: curd, ghee, honey, or your family's way.Which offering goes in which watch differs from family to family.
7. 7Stay awake with bhajans, kirtan or the stories of Shiva.If you can't stay up all night, keep the first watch's puja and rest.
8. 8In the morning, bathe, do a short puja, and then break the fast.The fast ends the next morning after sunrise, once you have bathed and prayed.

What you needTick as you go

• A linga or a picture of Shiva
• Water and milk
• Curd, ghee, honey and sugar, for panchamrit
• Bel leaves
• Datura leaves and white flowers
• A diya and ghee
• Incense
• Fasting food: fruit, milk, sabudana
• Rock salt
• An aarti plate

Frequently asked questions