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Next: 6 Mar 2027

Maha Shivaratri

The great night of Shiva: fasting, night-long vigil, and bathing the lingam with milk and water.

Maha Shivaratri: A 'kanwar' in the temple yard.
Photo: Navneesh Ramessur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When is Maha Shivaratri in 2027?

Maha Shivaratri 2027 is on Saturday, 6 March 2027. Other years: 2026, Sunday, 15 February 2026; 2028, Wednesday, 23 February 2028.

About Maha Shivaratri

Maha Shivaratri falls on the night before the new moon in the month of Phalguna. Devotees fast, pass the night awake in prayer and chanting, and bathe the Shiva lingam with water, milk, honey and curd while offering bilva leaves. Large crowds gather at temples such as Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, Somnath in Gujarat and Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, where sadhus arrive from across the subcontinent. Some people keep the fast without water; others eat only fruit and milk. The night is also described as the occasion of Shiva's marriage to Parvati. Many rural families keep an all-night village programme of devotional music and folk theatre.

Maha Shivaratri dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearMaha Shivaratri date
2026Sunday, 15 February 2026
2027Saturday, 6 March 2027
2028Wednesday, 23 February 2028

What is eaten

  • thandai
  • sabudana
  • fruit and milk

Traditions of Maha Shivaratri

LingamThe aniconic form of Shiva worshipped with water and milk.

Also part of it, and being written: Shiva (The god honoured on this night.), Pashupatinath Temple (The Kathmandu temple that draws sadhus on Shivaratri.).

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Maha Shivaratri" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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