Maha Shivratri is a day of fasting followed by a night of worship, in which the Shiva linga is bathed and offered bel leaves in each of the four parts of the night, with nishita kaal near midnight as its heart. In short: take a sankalp in the morning, fast through the day, begin the first prahar puja after sunset, keep awake with japa and bhajan, do the main abhishek at nishita, and break the fast with parana the next morning.
The night, nishita kaal and the parana time for your city are on the Maha Shivratri date page. The same worship, in a shorter form, is done every month on Masik Shivratri. No times are repeated here, because they change with the place and the year.
Samagri: what to keep ready
- A Shiva linga: a small stone or metal one, a parad linga, or a linga shaped from clay or sand for the night
- A plate or tray to stand it in, so the water can drain away
- Clean water, and Ganga jal if the family keeps it
- For panchamrit: raw milk, curd, honey, ghee and sugar, kept in five small bowls, plus a little extra milk on its own
- Bel patra (three-lobed bel leaves), washed, with the stalk kept on
- Dhatura flowers or fruit, aak (madar) flowers, and seasonal white flowers
- Bhasma (sacred ash) or vibhuti, and white sandalwood paste
- Akshat (whole rice), a sacred thread (janeu) and a small piece of cloth for the linga
- Ghee lamp, incense, camphor for the aarti
- Fruit, sweets and something from the fast for bhog: ber (jujube) is common in the north at this season, along with thandai or milk sweets
- A rudraksha mala for japa, if you use one
None of this needs to be special. A single bel leaf and a lota of water are a complete Shivratri offering, and the stories say so.
The steps
- Morning bath and sankalp. Bathe, sit facing east or north, take a little water in the right hand and say in your own words that you are keeping the Shivratri fast and night worship for Shiva. Let the water fall to the ground.
- The day. Keep the fast in the way you have chosen (below). Many people visit a Shiva temple in the morning or afternoon to pour water on the linga, and the queues at jyotirlinga temples begin early.
- Prepare the place. Before sunset, clean the puja corner, set the linga in its tray, and keep the five bowls, the bel leaves and the lamp within reach. Bathe again if you like before the night begins.
- First prahar, after sunset. Light the lamp. Remember Ganesh first. Then pour water over the linga, followed by milk. Apply sandalwood and ash, offer akshat, flowers and bel leaves, and chant Om Namah Shivaya while you offer. Light incense and offer bhog.
- Second prahar. Repeat the abhishek, this time with curd as the special offering. Many families read the Maha Shivratri katha at this point, when everyone is still awake and together.
- Third prahar: nishita kaal. This is the centre of the night. Do the fullest abhishek now: water, then milk, curd, honey, ghee and sugar one after another, or the panchamrit mixed together, then pure water again. Wipe the linga, apply sandalwood and ash, place the janeu and cloth, offer bel leaves (often in counts of eleven or a hundred and eight), dhatura and flowers. Do as much japa as you can, and sing the aarti Om Jai Shiv Omkara.
- Fourth prahar, towards dawn. A final, gentler abhishek, usually with honey or water and milk, and a short aarti. Some families recite the Rudrashtakam or Shiva Mahimna Stotra by name in this part of the night.
- Jagran. Between the prahars the family keeps awake with bhajan, japa, reading and quiet. Nobody is expected to sit still for hours; walking to a temple and back is part of many people's night.
- Morning parana. Bathe, do a short puja, offer food to Shiva, give something to a priest or someone in need if that is your custom, and then break the fast.
If you cannot keep the whole night, do one full puja at nishita kaal and rest. That single puja is what many households make the centre of the night.
Checking the time
Three windows matter. The first is the evening, when the first prahar begins after sunset; families who like to start in a favourable period check the choghadiya for their city. The second is nishita kaal, the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the night, falling around local midnight; this is when the main abhishek is done, and the date page gives it for each city. The third is parana, the next morning. The four prahars themselves are simply the night from sunset to sunrise divided into four equal parts, so their length changes with the season and the city. The panchang shows when Chaturdashi begins and ends.
Customs families keep
These are customs, not conditions; your family's own way comes first.
- Most fasts are phalahar: fruit, milk, makhana, sabudana, singhara or kuttu flour, and rock salt. Some devotees keep it nirjala, without water, until the next morning.
- Bel leaves are offered with the smooth side touching the linga, and torn or wormy leaves are set aside.
- Ketaki (screwpine) flowers and turmeric are traditionally not offered to the linga, and tulsi is usually kept for Vishnu.
- In many homes the water and milk that run off the linga are not stepped over, and the parikrama around a linga stops at the outlet instead of crossing it.
- Thandai, sometimes with bhang in the north, is part of the evening in some places; most families keep it plain.
- Pregnant women, the unwell and older people keep a light fast with water, fruit and milk, or simply do the puja without fasting. A doctor's advice comes first.
Regional ways
- North India keeps the night with long queues for jal abhishek, Shiva baraat processions and fairs at old Shiva temples.
- Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south call the month Magha rather than Phalguna, but the night is the same; jyotirlinga temples such as those in these states draw very large crowds.
- Kashmiri Pandits keep Herath, with a pot puja called Vatuk and rituals over several days.
- Nepal sees large gatherings of sadhus and pilgrims at Pashupatinath.
After the puja
Share the prasad and the fruit. The milk and water from the abhishek are often poured at the root of a tree or a plant. The Shiva fast that comes every fortnight is Pradosh vrat, and many who keep Shivratri also keep the Monday vow of Solah Somvar.