Maha Shivaratri 2027: Date, Puja Timings and Fasting Rules

Maha Shivaratri 2027 falls on Saturday, 6 March. It is observed on Chaturdashi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Phalguna, and unlike almost every other Hindu festival, the worship happens at night rather than during the day.

The name means the great night of Shiva. Temples stay open through the night, devotees keep a jaagran, and the puja is done in four sittings across four watches of the night rather than once.

Maha Shivaratri 2027 puja timings

The night is divided into four prahars, each roughly three hours, and a separate abhishek is performed in each. The single most important window is Nishita Kaal, the middle of the night, when Shiva is believed to have appeared as a lingam.

Puja	Approximate window	What is offered
First prahar	Evening, after sunset	Milk abhishek
Second prahar	Late evening	Curd abhishek
Third prahar	Around midnight	Ghee abhishek
Fourth prahar	Pre dawn	Honey abhishek
Nishita Kaal	Around midnight, roughly 48 minutes	The main puja for those doing a single sitting

These windows depend entirely on local sunset and sunrise, so the clock times differ between Dehradun, Chennai and Mumbai by a significant margin. Check a panchang for your city rather than using a single national figure. The fast is broken the next morning, on Sunday, 7 March 2027, after sunrise and within the Chaturdashi tithi.

Why Maha Shivaratri is celebrated

The night Shiva and Parvati married

The most widely told version. Maha Shivaratri marks the night of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, which is why unmarried women fast on this day praying for a good husband, and married women for the wellbeing of their family.

The appearance of the lingam

Brahma and Vishnu argued over who was greater. A pillar of fire with no beginning or end appeared between them. Brahma flew up as a swan to find the top and Vishnu dug down as a boar to find the base. Neither succeeded. Vishnu admitted it, Brahma lied, and Shiva emerged from the pillar. This Lingodbhava moment is placed at Nishita Kaal, which is why that window carries the most weight.

The night of the halahala poison

During the churning of the ocean, the poison halahala emerged and threatened to destroy creation. Shiva drank it and held it in his throat, which turned blue, giving him the name Neelkanth. The gods kept him awake all night with dance and song so the poison would not spread. The jaagran custom is traced to this.

Maha Shivaratri puja vidhi

1.      Bathe and wear clean clothes before the evening puja. Many people take a ritual bath at a river if one is nearby.

2.      Perform abhishek on the Shivalinga with water, then milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar. Together these five are the panchamrit.

3.      Offer bilva patra, the leaves of the bael tree, in sets of three leaves with the smooth side down. This is the single most important offering to Shiva.

4.      Add dhatura, bhang leaves, white flowers, sandal paste and vibhuti, the sacred ash.

5.      Light a lamp and incense, and chant Om Namah Shivaya or the Mahamrityunjaya mantra.

6.      Repeat the abhishek in each of the four prahars if you are keeping the full night vigil.

7.      Break the fast after sunrise the next morning, within the tithi.

Do not offer tulsi, ketaki flowers, turmeric or coconut water on a Shivalinga. Each is excluded by tradition, and the ketaki exclusion comes from the Lingodbhava story, where the flower gave false testimony for Brahma.

Fasting on Maha Shivaratri

Three levels of fast are commonly kept, and all are considered valid.

•       Nirjala, without food or water, from sunrise to the next sunrise. The strictest form.

•       Phalahar, fruit, milk and water through the day, with one meal of vrat food.

•       Samapta, a single meal after the evening puja.

Permitted vrat foods are the usual ones: sabudana, kuttu, singhara, samak rice, potato, fruit, milk and curd, with sendha namak instead of table salt. Grains, onion, garlic and non vegetarian food are avoided.

A practical caution. A nirjala fast combined with an all night vigil is genuinely demanding. If you are diabetic, pregnant, elderly, or on medication that needs food, keep the phalahar version instead and speak to your doctor if you are unsure. The tradition allows for it.

Where Maha Shivaratri is celebrated most

•       The twelve Jyotirlingas, especially Somnath in Gujarat, Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. Expect very long queues.

•       Ujjain's Bhasma Aarti at Mahakaleshwar, performed with ash in the early hours, requires advance booking and is heavily oversubscribed on this night.

•       Mandi in Himachal Pradesh holds a week long international Shivratri fair, with over two hundred deities brought to the town.

•       Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore, runs an all night event around the 112 foot Adiyogi bust that is streamed worldwide.

•       Pashupatinath in Kathmandu draws sadhus from across the subcontinent.

•       In Uttarakhand, Haridwar and Rishikesh see large gatherings along the Ganga, and the Kanwar tradition is linked to Shiva worship in the region.

Frequently asked questions about Maha Shivaratri 2027

Q. When is Maha Shivaratri 2027?

A. Saturday, 6 March 2027. The fast is broken on the morning of Sunday, 7 March.

Q. What is Nishita Kaal and why does it matter?

A. It is the middle window of the night, lasting roughly 48 minutes, when Shiva is believed to have appeared as a lingam. If you are doing only one puja rather than all four prahars, this is the window to use.

Q. What should not be offered to a Shivalinga?

A. Tulsi, ketaki flowers, turmeric and coconut water are all traditionally excluded. Bilva patra, white flowers, dhatura and vibhuti are the standard offerings.

Q. Can I drink water during the Maha Shivaratri fast?

A. Yes, unless you are specifically keeping a nirjala fast. Phalahar fasting with water, fruit and milk is a fully accepted form of the observance.

Q. Why is Maha Shivaratri celebrated at night?

A. Because the events it marks, the Lingodbhava, the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, and the night the gods kept Shiva awake after he drank the halahala, are all placed at night. The vigil, or jaagran, is the core of the observance.

Q. Is Maha Shivaratri a public holiday?

A. It is a gazetted holiday in most Indian states, though a few treat it as restricted. Check your state list, since it varies.

Q. What is the difference between Masik Shivaratri and Maha Shivaratri?

A. Masik Shivaratri falls on Krishna Chaturdashi every month. Maha Shivaratri is the one in Phalguna, and it is by far the most significant of the year.