🔱 Maha Shivratri 2027
Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi — the night of Shiva and Parvati's wedding; a waterless/fruit fast, puja in four prahars, bel-leaf and water abhishek, a night-long vigil.
Maha Shivratri is celebrated on the Chaturdashi of the Krishna Paksha of Phalguna month — about fifteen days before Holi. It is the night on which Shiva and Parvati were married, and on which Shiva first appeared as the Jyotirlinga. Of the twelve monthly Shivratris of the year, this is the 'Maha' one.
Women keep the fast on this day for a good husband (unmarried) and for the husband's long life and a happy marriage (married) — fruit/waterless all day, water-milk-bel leaves on the Shivling in the evening, puja in four prahars and a vigil at night. Below are this year's date, the Nishita Kaal puja muhurat, the four prahars, vidhi, samagri, katha, fasting food and regional customs.
Significance — why this vrat
The Shivratri puja is at night — especially in Nishita Kaal (midnight, time above), when the Shiva-Parvati wedding/Lingodbhava is held to have taken place. So the date is the day on whose night the Chaturdashi is present at Nishita.
Puja in four prahars: the first from sunset (abhishek with milk), the second (curd), the third (ghee), the fourth (honey/water) — in each prahar bel leaves, incense and lamp, 'Om Namah Shivaya'; if only one prahar is possible, the first or the Nishita one.
The vrat is held to grant moksha and is special for married life — Parvati kept this very vrat to win Shiva; for girls with Manglik dosha or delayed marriage the Shivratri fast is prescribed as a remedy.
Puja vidhi (step by step)
This is the household vidhi — the day's fast, worship of the Shivling/parthiv Shiva from evening to night, vigil, paran the next morning.
- Bathe in the morning, take the sankalp — 'I keep the Maha Shivratri vrat (waterless/fruit) for Shiva's grace and a happy marriage/a good husband; I will do paran tomorrow morning.'
- Visit a Shiva temple during the day and offer water, milk and bel leaves on the Shivling; for puja at home make a parthiv Shivling of clay (or use the home Shivling/picture); the puja place facing north/east.
- Evening — first prahar (from sunset, Pradosh time above): abhishek of the Shivling with water then milk, bel leaves (three-leaved, upside down — smooth side on the linga), datura, bhang, aak, white flowers, sandalwood, akshat, bhasma; 'Om Namah Shivaya' 108 times; Shiva Chalisa/Rudrashtak; aarti 'Om Jai Shiv Omkara'.
- Second prahar (~9 pm): abhishek with curd, bel leaves, mantra; third prahar (Nishita ~12, time above — the main one): abhishek with ghee/honey, remembrance of the Shiva-Parvati wedding, 'Shivaya Namah' japa, this is the main puja; fourth prahar (~3 am): water-Gangajal, the final aarti.
- Worship Parvati as well — offer suhag items (bangles, sindoor, chunari) — married women for the husband's life, unmarried girls for a good husband.
- Night vigil — Shiva bhajans, Shiva Purana/Shivratri katha, Mahamrityunjaya japa; if you cannot stay up all night, stay awake at least until the Nishita puja.
- Paran: next morning (before Amavasya, after the Chaturdashi ends) bathe, bow to Shiva, feed a Brahmin/the needy, then eat yourself; many homes do paran with fruit after the morning puja.
- Immerse the parthiv Shivling and the offered bel leaves and flowers in water/a plant; by tradition Shiva's offered food (nirmalya) is not eaten — share only the prasad kept aside.
Puja samagri checklist
Bel leaves and water-milk are the most essential — the rest as available; milk, curd, ghee and honey for the four prahars.
- Shivling (home/parthiv — clean clay) or a picture of Shiva-Parvati, wooden seat, white cloth
- Abhishek: Gangajal, milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar (panchamrit), sugarcane juice (if available), copper lota
- Bel leaves (three-leaved, whole), datura, bhang, aak/madar flowers, shami leaves, durva
- White flowers, sandalwood, bhasma/vibhuti, akshat, rudraksha rosary
- For Parvati: chunari, bangles, sindoor, bindi, mehndi
- Incense, ghee lamp, camphor, aarti thali, conch and bell
- Bhog: fruit (ber, banana), thandai, makhana kheer, dry fruits, bhang thandai (where customary)
- Shiva Chalisa/Rudrashtak/Shiva Purana book; bhajans for the vigil
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Open panchang →Vrat katha (the story)
Parvati did severe penance to win Shiva as her husband — a harsh fast, giving up even leaves ('Aparna'); on Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi Shiva was pleased and on this night Shiva and Parvati were married. Hence girls keep the fast on this day for a husband like Shiva and married women for unbroken good fortune.
Lingodbhava — Brahma and Vishnu quarrelled over who was greater; between them appeared an endless pillar of light whose beginning and end neither could find — Vishnu admitted defeat, Brahma lied (making the ketaki flower his witness). It was the midnight of Shivratri — hence the Nishita Kaal puja and the ketaki flower forbidden on Shiva.
The hunter's story — a hunter sat in a bel tree on Shivratri night waiting for deer; hungry and thirsty, he unknowingly plucked and dropped leaves all night, which fell on the Shivling beneath the tree — in four prahars a deer family came four times and he let them go out of pity. Shiva was pleased by the unintended fast, vigil and bel leaves and the hunter attained moksha. The lesson — the Shivratri vrat is simple: stay awake all night, offer bel leaves, keep compassion.
Fasting food, thandai and Shiva's bhog
The Shivratri fast is waterless or fruit — no grain or salt; Shiva's bhog is simple (fruit, milk, ber, thandai); bhang thandai is a custom of some regions, not compulsory. Paran the next morning.
- Fasting food: fruit (ber, banana, apple), milk, makhana kheer, sabudana khichdi, singhara halwa, potato (rock salt), curd, thandai
- Shiva's bhog: ber, milk, thandai (almond-fennel-poppy-black pepper-milk), panchamrit, fruit — less kheer/sweets for Shiva, more fruit
- Thandai (4 glasses): 1 litre milk, 15 almonds, 1 tsp fennel, 1 tsp poppy seeds, 4 cardamoms, 8 black peppercorns, rose petals, sugar — soak and grind, mix into milk, chill
- Paran: fruit and milk in the morning, then a light meal; feed a Brahmin/the needy
- Pregnant/unwell: the fast with fruit and milk, no insisting on an all-night vigil
Regional customs
Shivratri belongs to the whole country — from the Bhasma Aarti of Kashi and Ujjain to the night-long abhishek of the south.
A custom, tale, song or dish heard from your grandmother — 2-4 lines; after reading we add it on this page with your region's name (the phone is never shown — only to ask you back).
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✅ Do
- The main puja in Nishita Kaal (time above) — if not all four prahars, at least the first and the Nishita one
- Whole three-leaved bel leaves, smooth side towards the linga; a thin stream of water and milk
- Suhag items for Parvati — the root purpose of the vrat is marriage
- Night vigil — bhajan/mantra; paran and charity the next morning
- Immerse the parthiv Shivling and bel leaves in water/earth
❌ Don't
- Ketaki flowers, Tulsi, turmeric, kumkum, coconut water (from above) — forbidden for Shiva; no water from a conch either
- No full circumambulation of the Shivling — do not cross the jaladhari (somasutra), half a round
- No grain or salt in the fast, no sleeping in the day, no meat or alcohol; no insistence on or excess of bhang
- Food offered on Shiva (nirmalya) is traditionally not eaten — share the prasad kept aside
- The unwell/pregnant should not keep a waterless fast or an all-night vigil
Frequently asked questions
When is Maha Shivratri in 2027?
The date at the top is this year's Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi — by the Nishita Kaal (midnight) rule, from panchang calculations; the Delhi times for Nishita and Pradosh and the base for the four prahars (sunset) are shown too.
How to work out the four prahars?
Divide the night from sunset to the next sunrise into four equal parts (about 3 hours each) — the first prahar from sunset, Nishita falls in the third. Count from the sunset/sunrise (Delhi) above; your own city from the panchang page.
How to offer bel leaves?
Three-leaved and whole, not torn; smooth side towards the Shivling, stalk towards you; with the ring finger and thumb; with a stream of water and 'Om Namah Shivaya'. If no bel leaves are available, an already offered leaf may be washed and offered again (sanctioned by the shastras).
Why do unmarried girls keep this vrat?
Parvati kept this very vrat to win Shiva — hence for a desired/good husband; for delayed marriage or Manglik dosha, the Shivratri and sixteen-Monday fasts are prescribed as remedies.
When and how to do the paran?
Next morning after sunrise, when the Chaturdashi tithi has ended (before the Amavasya begins) — bath, bow to Shiva, charity, then food; see the tithi window above.
What is the difference between Maha Shivratri and the monthly Shivratri?
The Krishna Chaturdashi of every month is a monthly Shivratri (night puja); the Chaturdashi of Phalguna is 'Maha' — the night of the Shiva-Parvati wedding and Lingodbhava, the main one of the year.
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⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; your own family custom comes first. Avoid a waterless fast or vigil in any health condition.
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