Worship of Lord Shiva. Night-long vigil and fasting.
Maha Shivratri means "the great night of Shiva", and it is the holiest night of the year for devotees of Lord Shiva. Several beautiful stories are remembered on this night. Many believe it is the night Shiva and Parvati were married; others say it is the night Shiva performed the Tandava, his cosmic dance of creation and dissolution; and the Puranas tell of the night Shiva appeared as a limitless pillar of light, the lingodbhava, whose beginning and end neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find. It is also remembered as the night Shiva drank the halahala poison from the churning of the ocean to save the world, holding it in his throat and becoming Neelkanth, the blue-throated one.
Unlike most festivals that are kept by day, Maha Shivratri belongs to the night. Devotees fast through the day and stay awake for the vigil, while the Shivling is bathed in abhishek with water, milk, honey, curd and ghee, and offered bel patra, the sacred three-lobed bilva leaves that Shiva loves, along with dhatura and white flowers. The chant of "Om Namah Shivaya" fills the temples. The night is divided into four prahar, each with its own worship, and the Nishita Kaal around midnight is held to be the holiest moment of all, when the main puja of Shiva is performed. Many women keep this vrat with special devotion, unmarried girls praying for a husband as worthy as Shiva, and married women for the long life of their husbands and peace in the home.
Gujarat holds a special place in the worship of Shiva. Somnath, on the coast at Prabhas Patan, is the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, and on Maha Shivratri lakhs of devotees gather there for darshan. Inland, at the foothills of the sacred Mount Girnar near Junagadh, the great Bhavnath Mahadev Mela unfolds over five days around Maha Shivratri. Its most striking sight is the midnight procession of the Naga sadhus, the warrior ascetics smeared in ash, who move through the fair in a grand ravedi and take a holy dip at the Mrugi Kund before the worship of Lord Shiva. It is one of the most powerful and ancient celebrations of Shivratri anywhere in India.
Maha Shivratri 2027 is on Saturday, 6 March 2027. The main puja is performed through the night into 7 March, and Parana (breaking the fast) is on the morning of Sunday, 7 March 2027.
The night of Shivratri is divided into four prahar (quarters), each with its own worship. The Nishita Kaal, around midnight, is the holiest time for the main Shiva puja. The exact prahar and Nishita timings vary by city, so check the Panchang for the day.
Shiva is offered an abhishek of water, milk, honey, curd and ghee, along with bel patra (bilva leaves), dhatura and white flowers. By tradition, tulsi and ketaki (kewda) flowers are not offered to Shiva.
Begin the fast at sunrise on fruits and milk or nirjala, worship the Shivling with abhishek and bel patra, keep the night vigil through the four prahar with the main puja at Nishita Kaal, and break the fast the next morning.
Across Gujarat, but two places stand out: Somnath, the first Jyotirlinga at Prabhas Patan, and the five-day Bhavnath Mahadev Mela at the foothills of Girnar near Junagadh, famous for the midnight procession of Naga sadhus and their holy dip at Mrugi Kund.