Maha Shivratri is the most powerful night devoted to Lord Shiva. Learn its lunar timing, its vigil and its spiritual meaning.
Maha Shivratri, the 'great night of Shiva', falls on the fourteenth tithi (Chaturdashi) of the dark fortnight of the lunar month of Phalguna (or Magha by some reckonings), usually in February or March. It is the most significant of the monthly Shivratris that occur through the year.
Unlike the day-lit celebrations of many festivals, Shivratri is observed at night, with a vigil of worship and meditation.
Devotees keep a fast and a night-long vigil (jagran), offering bilva (bel) leaves, water and milk to the Shiva lingam and chanting 'Om Namah Shivaya'. The night is divided into four watches (prahar), each marked by worship, sustaining wakeful devotion until dawn.
The fast and vigil are held to bestow purification, the dissolution of negative karma, and spiritual progress for the sincere observer.
Shivratri carries several layers of meaning: the night of Shiva's cosmic dance of creation and dissolution, the night of his marriage to Parvati, and the night he is said to have manifested as the infinite pillar of light. At its heart it celebrates Shiva as the still, transcendent consciousness underlying all change.
Spiritually, the dark fortnight near the new Moon is considered ideal for inward practice, making Shivratri a powerful night for meditation and devotion to the formless divine.
It falls on the fourteenth tithi of the dark fortnight of Phalguna, usually in February or March.
Shiva is associated with the stillness beyond change, and the night vigil with chanting and meditation is held to bring purification and spiritual progress.
Devotees offer bilva leaves, water and milk to the Shiva lingam and chant 'Om Namah Shivaya' through the night.
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