Vrat · 2026
Masik Shivratri 2026 — all dates
Masik Shivratri is the monthly night of Shiva, kept on the Krishna paksha Chaturdashi, the night before the new moon.
Dates in 2026
| Name | Date | Tithi | Nishita puja |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magha Masik Shivratri | 16 Jan 2026Friday | 16 Jan, 10:22 PM – 18 Jan, 12:04 AM | 17 Jan, 12:03 AM – 17 Jan, 12:57 AM |
| Chaitra Masik Shivratri | 17 Mar 2026Tuesday | 17 Mar, 9:23 AM – 18 Mar, 8:25 AM | 18 Mar, 12:05 AM – 18 Mar, 12:53 AM |
| Vaishakha Masik Shivratri | 15 Apr 2026Wednesday | 15 Apr, 10:31 PM – 16 Apr, 8:11 PM | 11:58 PM – 16 Apr, 12:43 AM |
| Jyeshtha Masik Shivratri | 15 May 2026Friday | 15 May, 8:31 AM – 16 May, 5:11 AM | 11:56 PM – 16 May, 12:38 AM |
| Adhik Jyeshtha Masik Shivratri | 13 Jun 2026Saturday | 13 Jun, 4:08 PM – 14 Jun, 12:20 PM | 14 Jun, 12:01 AM – 14 Jun, 12:41 AM |
| Ashadha Masik Shivratri | 12 Jul 2026Sunday | 12 Jul, 10:30 PM – 13 Jul, 6:49 PM | 13 Jul, 12:06 AM – 13 Jul, 12:47 AM |
| Shravana Masik Shivratri | 11 Aug 2026Tuesday | 11 Aug, 4:54 AM – 12 Aug, 1:53 AM | 12 Aug, 12:04 AM – 12 Aug, 12:47 AM |
| Bhadrapada Masik Shivratri | 9 Sep 2026Wednesday | 9 Sep, 12:31 PM – 10 Sep, 10:33 AM | 11:55 PM – 10 Sep, 12:41 AM |
| Ashvin Masik Shivratri | 8 Oct 2026Thursday | 8 Oct, 10:16 PM – 9 Oct, 9:36 PM | 11:44 PM – 9 Oct, 12:33 AM |
| Kartika Masik Shivratri | 7 Nov 2026Saturday | 7 Nov, 10:48 AM – 8 Nov, 11:28 AM | 11:38 PM – 8 Nov, 12:31 AM |
| Margashirsha Masik Shivratri | 7 Dec 2026Monday | 7 Dec, 2:22 AM – 8 Dec, 4:13 AM | 11:45 PM – 8 Dec, 12:39 AM |
Times for New Delhi (our own calculation, Lahiri ayanamsa). Each name opens that day’s own page. Full festival calendar
Dates in 2027
| Name | Date | Tithi | Nishita puja |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pausha Masik Shivratri | 5 Jan 2027Tuesday | 5 Jan, 8:40 PM – 6 Jan, 11:14 PM | 11:59 PM – 6 Jan, 12:53 AM |
| Magha Masik Shivratri | 4 Feb 2027Thursday | 4 Feb, 4:31 PM – 5 Feb, 7:05 PM | 5 Feb, 12:08 AM – 5 Feb, 1:00 AM |
| Chaitra Masik Shivratri | 5 Apr 2027Monday | 5 Apr, 5:23 AM – 6 Apr, 5:40 AM | 6 Apr, 12:00 AM – 6 Apr, 12:46 AM |
| Vaishakha Masik Shivratri | 4 May 2027Tuesday | 4 May, 7:31 PM – 5 May, 6:17 PM | 11:56 PM – 5 May, 12:39 AM |
| Jyeshtha Masik Shivratri | 3 Jun 2027Thursday | 3 Jun, 6:34 AM – 4 Jun, 4:05 AM | 11:58 PM – 4 Jun, 12:39 AM |
| Ashadha Masik Shivratri | 2 Jul 2027Friday | 2 Jul, 3:23 PM – 3 Jul, 12:06 PM | 3 Jul, 12:05 AM – 3 Jul, 12:45 AM |
| Shravana Masik Shivratri | 31 Jul 2027Saturday | 31 Jul, 10:58 PM – 1 Aug, 7:20 PM | 1 Aug, 12:06 AM – 1 Aug, 12:48 AM |
| Bhadrapada Masik Shivratri | 30 Aug 2027Monday | 30 Aug, 6:12 AM – 31 Aug, 2:41 AM | 11:59 PM – 31 Aug, 12:44 AM |
| Ashvin Masik Shivratri | 28 Sep 2027Tuesday | 28 Sep, 1:55 PM – 29 Sep, 10:55 AM | 11:47 PM – 29 Sep, 12:35 AM |
| Kartika Masik Shivratri | 27 Oct 2027Wednesday | 27 Oct, 10:50 PM – 28 Oct, 8:48 PM | 11:39 PM – 28 Oct, 12:30 AM |
| Margashirsha Masik Shivratri | 26 Nov 2027Friday | 26 Nov, 9:48 AM – 27 Nov, 9:07 AM | 11:41 PM – 27 Nov, 12:35 AM |
| Pausha Masik Shivratri | 25 Dec 2027Saturday | 25 Dec, 11:32 PM – 27 Dec, 12:23 AM | 11:53 PM – 26 Dec, 12:48 AM |
What is Masik Shivratri?
Every lunar month has a Shivratri: the fourteenth tithi (Chaturdashi) of the waning fortnight, the darkest night before Amavasya. Eleven of them are Masik (monthly) Shivratris; the one in Phalguna (Magha in the amanta reckoning) is Maha Shivratri, the great night of the year, which has its own page. The Shravana Shivratri, in the monsoon month sacred to Shiva, is kept with special devotion in the north, when Kanwar pilgrims bring Ganga water to pour on the linga.
The Shiva Purana and the Skanda Purana praise the Chaturdashi night as the one Shiva loves most. The best-known story is of a hunter who, lost in a forest at night, climbed a bael tree and, without knowing it, dropped its leaves and his tears on a linga beneath it while he kept awake; the unintended vigil and fast were counted as worship. The story is told to say that Shiva looks at the heart, not at the ritual's perfection.
People keep Masik Shivratri as a steady monthly practice: a day of lighter food and a night of prayer, often begun on Maha Shivratri as a vow for a year. Many unmarried women keep it with a prayer for a good marriage, following Parvati's own devotion to Shiva, and many families simply use it as a monthly evening of quiet worship at home or at a temple.
How it is observed
- The fast runs through the day of Chaturdashi. Many take fruit and milk; some keep a stricter fast. Grains are usually avoided until the next morning.
- Shiva is bathed (abhishek) with water, milk, curd, honey or Ganga water, and offered bael leaves, dhatura, white flowers and sandal paste.
- The main worship is at night, in the nishita kaal, the midnight muhurta shown in the list, with the mantra Om Namah Shivaya or the Shiva Chalisa.
- Some stay awake through the night in four prahar pujas; others keep only the nishita puja and sleep afterwards.
- The fast is broken the next morning after sunrise, with a simple meal.
- Anyone who is pregnant, elderly, diabetic or unwell can keep a lighter fast or only the evening worship. Ask a doctor before fasting if you have a health condition.
How the date is fixed
Masik Shivratri is kept on the night when Krishna paksha Chaturdashi is running at nishita, the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the night, around midnight. If Chaturdashi covers nishita on two nights, the first is chosen; if on neither, the day on which it is running at sunrise. So Shivratri can fall on the civil date before the Chaturdashi of the printed almanac's sunrise.
Where practice differs
North Indian calendars name the month by the purnimanta reckoning, so the Shivratri just before a new moon carries the next month's name there; amanta calendars (Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south) use the current month's name for the same night. In the south the monthly Shivratri is also kept as a temple night, and Pradosh on Trayodashi, the evening before, is often kept together with it.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
How is Masik Shivratri different from Maha Shivratri?
Both fall on Krishna paksha Chaturdashi. Maha Shivratri is the one in Phalguna (Magha in the amanta reckoning), the year's great night of Shiva; the other eleven, one a month, are Masik Shivratris.
Why is the puja at midnight?
Shivratri is fixed by nishita, the midnight muhurta, and the tradition holds that Shiva appeared as the endless column of light at midnight. The main worship is therefore in the nishita kaal.
When is the fast broken?
The next morning after sunrise, usually with a simple meal after a short prayer.
Can I keep Masik Shivratri without staying awake all night?
Yes. Many people keep the day's fast and the nishita puja, then sleep. The all-night vigil is a fuller form, not a requirement.