Maha Shivaratri 2026 மகா சிவராத்திரி

The day in the Tamil calendar

Timings for Chennai. The date follows the Tamil Nadu calendar.

About the festival

Maha Shivaratri, 'the great night of Shiva', is an annual night festival in honour of Shiva, which Encyclopaedia Britannica describes as the most important sectarian festival of the year for his devotees.^1,2

Devotees commonly fast and keep an all-night vigil, during which the Shiva linga is worshipped with abhishekam (ritual bathing with water, milk, honey and other offerings), prayers and recitation of Shiva's stories, and bilva leaves are the offering most associated with the night.^1,2,3

In Tamil Nadu the night is marked by worship at Shiva temples, including a dance festival known as Natyanjali at the Chidambaram temple and pilgrim circumambulation of the hill at Tiruvannamalai.^2,3

When it falls: Maha Shivaratri falls on Chaturdashi, the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight (Krishna Chaturdashi), of the lunar month Magha in the amanta reckoning (Phalguna in the purnimanta reckoning).^1,2,3

Sources

1. britannica.com
2. Wikipedia: Maha Shivaratri
3. incredibleindia.gov.in

Maha Shivaratri in other years