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Maha Shivaratri 2026

The great night of Shiva — night-long vigil, fasting and Rudrabhishek on Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi.

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Maha Shivaratri 2026 date
Sunday, 15 February 2026
Tithi: Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi
Tithi window: 05:06 PM, Sunday, 15 February 2026 → 05:35 PM, Monday, 16 February 2026
See the full panchang for Sunday, 15 February 2026

Today's Panchang

Kashi reference · computed live
Tithi
Saptami
till 20:47
Nakshatra
Ashwini
till 21:21
Yoga
Shula
Karana
Vishti
Sunrise
05:26
Sunset
18:41
Moon sign
Aries
Sun sign
Cancer

Muhurat & timings

Kashi/IST · astronomically computed
  • Sankalp (sunrise)06:33
  • Nishita puja (midnight)23:48 – 00:36
  • Fasting window (tithi)17:06 → 2026-02-16 · 17:35
  • Parana (tithi ends)17:352026-02-16

The significance of Maha Shivaratri

Maha Shivaratri falls on the Chaturdashi of Krishna Paksha in Phalguna, the night before the new moon. Of the twelve Shivaratris in a year, this is the great one. Unlike most festivals it is kept at night and in stillness — no feasting, no lamps in celebration, no procession. The observance is vigil.

The night is understood in several ways: as the night Shiva performed the tandava; as the night of his marriage to Parvati; and as the night the formless took form as the lingam of light, whose top Brahma and whose base Vishnu could not find. Each reading points the same direction — towards that which has no attributes and therefore no image.

The puja is performed in nishita kaal, and more thoroughly across all four prahars of the night, each with its own abhishek.

Maha Shivaratri puja vidhi

  1. 1Bathe before sunrise, take the sankalpa, and visit a Shiva temple if possible.
  2. 2Perform the abhishek of the lingam with water, then milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar — panchamrita — and water again.
  3. 3Offer bilva leaves, dhatura, bhang leaf, white flowers, sandal paste and vibhuti (sacred ash).
  4. 4Light a ghee lamp and dhoop. Chant Om Namah Shivaya, or the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, through the night.
  5. 5The four-prahar puja is the complete form: an abhishek in each quarter of the night — with water, curd, ghee and honey in turn.
  6. 6Remain awake. Read the Shivaratri katha or the Rudram between the prahars.
  7. 7Break the fast the next morning, after sunrise and after the Chaturdashi tithi has ended.

Mantra

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

Salutations to Shiva, the auspicious one.

Vrat rules

  • The fast is kept through the day and the night, and broken the next morning after sunrise.
  • A nirjala fast is the strictest form; fruit, milk and water are permitted in the common form.
  • The vigil (jagaran) is central — the night is spent awake in chanting, not asleep.
  • Bilva (bel) leaves are essential to the abhishek. They are offered with the smooth side down, in sets of three leaves.
  • Do not offer tulsi, ketaki flowers, turmeric or coconut water to the Shiva lingam.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Breaking the fast the same night — the parana is done the next morning, after the four prahars and worship.
  • Sleeping through the night; Maha Shivaratri is a jagran, kept awake in worship.
  • Offering tulsi, haldi or ketaki flowers to Shiva — these are traditionally not used; bilva, white flowers and dhatura are.
  • Offering a broken or upside-down bilva leaf, or one without its three lobes intact.
  • Missing the nishita kaal — the midnight window is the heart of the night's worship.

The vrat katha of Maha Shivaratri

When the ocean was churned, the poison halahala rose before the nectar did, and it began to burn the worlds. No one would take it. Shiva drank it, and Parvati pressed his throat so it would descend no further. It stayed there and turned it blue, and he became Nilakantha. The devas kept vigil through that night, not knowing whether he would live. That vigil is the festival.

A second story is told of a hunter caught in the forest after dark, who climbed a bel tree to escape a tiger. To stay awake he plucked its leaves and dropped them, one by one, through the night. They fell, without his knowing, on a Shiva lingam beneath. He had fasted, kept vigil, and offered bilva leaves — the whole observance, performed by accident, out of nothing but the wish to survive. Shiva accepted it.

Maha Shivaratri timeline

  1. Evening — first prahar

    After a day's fast, the night's worship begins; the Shivling is bathed with water in the first quarter of the night.

  2. Second & third prahar

    Successive abhishekams follow — curd, then ghee (and honey) — with bilva leaves offered through the night.

  3. Nishita kaal (midnight)

    The most sacred hour, when Shiva is held to have manifested as the lingodbhava; the chief puja and the Mahamrityunjaya japa are done.

  4. Fourth prahar & dawn

    The final abhishekam with honey; the jagran completes, and the fast is broken (parana) the next morning after worship.

Famous places & temples

The twelve Jyotirlingas

Somnath, Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain), Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi), Kedarnath and the rest see night-long queues; the Mahakal Bhasma Aarti is especially sought.

Pashupatinath, Kathmandu

One of the largest Shivaratri gatherings anywhere, drawing sadhus and pilgrims from across the subcontinent to the Bagmati.

Mandi Shivaratri, Himachal

A week-long fair where the deities of the surrounding valleys are carried in procession to Mandi to pay respects to Bhootnath.

Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore

The night-long Mahashivratri satsang before the 112-ft Adiyogi has become one of the most-watched modern observances.

Interesting facts

  • ◆It is the one major festival worshipped through the whole night, in four prahar pujas rather than by day.
  • ◆Traditions differ on what it marks — the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, Shiva's cosmic tandava, or his manifestation as the infinite lingodbhava.
  • ◆A masik (monthly) Shivaratri falls on the Krishna Chaturdashi of every month; the Phalguna one is the 'Maha' (great) Shivaratri.
  • ◆Bilva (bel) leaves are central because their three lobes are read as Shiva's three eyes and the trident.
  • ◆Unlike most festivals, fasting and keeping vigil — not feasting — are the whole observance.

Common questions

Should one stay awake all night on Maha Shivaratri?

Yes — the jagaran is the observance, not an addition to it. The complete form performs an abhishek in each of the night's four prahars, with water, curd, ghee and honey in turn.

What must not be offered to a Shiva lingam?

Tulsi, ketaki flowers, turmeric and coconut water are all avoided. Bilva leaves, water, milk, bhang, dhatura and white flowers are offered.

When is the Shivaratri fast broken?

The next morning, after sunrise, and traditionally after the Chaturdashi tithi has ended — not at midnight after the puja.

Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.

Other major festivals in 2026