Maha Shivratri 2027 महाशिवरात्रि

Why Maha Shivratri is celebrated

Maha Shivaratri is the great night of Lord Shiva. A Shivaratri comes every lunar month on the fourteenth night of the waning moon, but the one at the close of winter is held to be the holiest of the year. Devotees fast, stay awake through the night and offer water and bel leaves to the Shiva lingam.

At its heart the festival celebrates a union. Most families remember this night as the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, when the lonely ascetic of Kailash accepted family life. Shiva stands for pure awareness and Parvati for shakti, the energy that sets the world in motion. Their marriage is read as the meeting of the two, and the reason creation goes on.

The night is also about discipline. Shiva is the great yogi who has mastered desire, anger and pride, and keeping awake stands for staying alert to one's own faults. Married couples pray for a steady and loving home, and unmarried girls often fast for a good husband, following Parvati, who won Shiva through years of penance. For sadhus and yoga practitioners, it is a night of meditation and silent chanting.

History and story of Maha Shivratri

The best loved story of this night is the wedding of Shiva and Parvati. After Sati gave up her life in the fire of her father Daksha's yagna, Shiva withdrew into deep meditation and turned away from the world. Sati was reborn as Parvati, daughter of Himavan, the king of the mountains, and his queen Mena. From childhood she wanted only Shiva as her husband.

The gods also needed the marriage, because only a son of Shiva could defeat the demon Tarakasura. They sent Kamadeva to stir love in Shiva's heart, but Shiva opened his third eye and burnt him to ashes. Parvati then chose the harder road. She left the palace and did severe tapasya in the forest, giving up food and shelter through heat and snow. Shiva came to test her disguised as an old hermit and mocked the ash smeared god. Parvati refused to listen, and Shiva, moved by her firmness, showed his true form and agreed to marry her.

The baraat that reached Himavan's city is one of the most colourful scenes in the Puranas. Shiva rode his bull Nandi, wearing a tiger skin, serpents and ash, followed by ghosts, ganas and sages. Mena fainted at the sight, and only when Shiva took a gentle, handsome form did the wedding go ahead. Vishnu and Brahma attended the rites, and in Uttarakhand tradition places the ceremony at Triyuginarayan near Kedarnath, where a fire said to have witnessed the vows still burns.

Two other stories are linked to this night. In one, Shiva appeared as an endless pillar of light to settle a quarrel between Brahma and Vishnu. In the other, he drank the poison that rose from the churning of the ocean, and Parvati held his throat so it went no further, turning it blue.

How Maha Shivratri is celebrated

The day starts with an early bath, often with a few sesame seeds in the water. Devotees then go to a Shiva temple or set up a small lingam at home. The central act is abhishek. Water, raw milk, curd, honey, ghee and sugar are poured over the lingam one by one, with plain water in between. Bel leaves with three leaflets, dhatura, ber fruit and white flowers follow. Turmeric and kumkum are usually not offered to the lingam.

"Om Namah Shivaya" is chanted through the day, and many people recite the Mahamrityunjaya mantra or read the Shiva Chalisa. In the evening, temples hold the Shiv baraat and the wedding rites of Shiva and Parvati, and women sing wedding songs as they would for a family marriage.

The night is split into four prahar, with a fresh puja in each. The most important worship falls in Nishita Kaal, close to midnight. Families who keep jagran sing bhajans until dawn.

Most devotees eat phalahar: fruit, milk, sabudana khichdi, kuttu or singhara puris and potatoes with rock salt. Grains, onion and garlic are avoided, and some take only water. The fast is broken the next morning after sunrise, following a last puja.

Symbols, food and customs of Maha Shivratri

The lingam is the main symbol of the night. It is a smooth, rounded stone with no face, standing for Shiva as the formless and endless one. It rests in a base called the yoni or jaladhari, which stands for Parvati, so every lingam is itself a picture of the divine couple together.

The bel leaf, with three leaflets on one stem, is the most loved offering. Devotees link the three leaves to Shiva's three eyes and to his trident. Dhatura flowers, ber fruit and raw milk are also offered, and many people wear rudraksha beads, said to come from Shiva's tears.

Other signs fill the pictures sold before the festival: the crescent moon in Shiva's hair, the Ganga flowing from his locks, the damru drum, the snake around his neck, Nandi the bull at the temple door, and Parvati in a red bridal sari beside him.

Food follows the fast. Sabudana khichdi, kuttu puris, singhara halwa, makhana kheer and potatoes with rock salt are common. In North India, thandai made with milk, almonds, fennel and pepper is served, and in some places bhang is added. Leftover abhishek milk is never wasted and is often given to the needy.

Maha Shivratri across India

In Uttarakhand the day has a strong local flavour. In Dehradun, the cave shrine of Tapkeshwar Mahadev by the Tons river draws queues from before dawn, and a fair grows around it. Pilgrims crowd Neelkanth Mahadev in the hills above Rishikesh, linked to the poison story. In Kankhal, Haridwar, devotees visit Daksheshwar Mahadev, where Sati's story began. At Triyuginarayan, couples come to pray at the spot tradition gives for the divine wedding.

The day matters for the Char Dham calendar too. On Maha Shivaratri, priests at the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath, the winter seat of Kedarnath, announce the date on which the Kedarnath shrine will open after winter.

Varanasi sees huge crowds at Kashi Vishwanath and a grand Shiv baraat through the old city, and Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar stays open all night. In Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, the festival becomes a week long fair where village deities arrive on palanquins. Kashmiri Pandits keep it as Herath, with a puja of pots and walnuts soaked in water. In the South, large crowds gather at Srisailam, Murudeshwar and Gokarna.

Offices, banks, markets and travel during Maha Shivratri

Maha Shivaratri is a restricted holiday for central government employees and is in the pool of optional holidays for central offices. Several states, including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have kept it as a state holiday.

For 2027, the central government has placed Maha Shivaratri, which falls on Saturday, 6 March 2027, on both its restricted holiday list and the pool from which optional holidays are chosen for central offices. The High Court of Uttarakhand and AIIMS Rishikesh have listed it as a holiday. State government and bank holiday lists for 2027 are not out yet, so check them once they appear, usually around December or January.

As a guide, in 2026 the festival fell on Sunday, 15 February. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar kept it as a state holiday, and schools under the Uttarakhand, Bihar and UP education boards were closed. Delhi treated it as a restricted holiday. The High Courts of Delhi, Allahabad and Uttarakhand were closed, and the NSE, BSE and MCX had it on their trading holiday lists.

Markets near big temples stay busy with flower, milk and fruit sellers from the evening before. Roads leading to Tapkeshwar, Neelkanth and Haridwar can be crowded, and police often set up traffic diversions, so plan travel early in the day.