Maha Shivaratri 2026
महा शिवरात्रि
Maha Shivaratri falls on Sunday, 15 February 2026 in New Delhi, on Krishna Chaturdashi.
Maha Shivaratri, the “great night of Shiva”, is his most important yearly festival. Devotees fast, stay awake and worship Shiva through the night, and the stories for why differ widely.
Why this date
CalculatedIt falls on Chaturdashi, the fourteenth lunar day, of the dark fortnight, in the month called Phalguna in the north and Magha in the west and south. The Chaturdashi has to be in force at Nishita, the window around true midnight, which is why this is a night festival.
That’s 11 days earlier than 26 February 2025 last year.
- Chaturdashi begins
- 15 Feb, 5:05 PM
- It ends
- 16 Feb, 5:35 PM
2026 date by city
| New Delhi | Sun, 15 Feb |
|---|---|
| Mumbai | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Kolkata | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Chennai | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Bengaluru | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Hyderabad | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Ahmedabad | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Pune | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Jaipur | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Lucknow | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Patna | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Varanasi | Sun, 15 Feb |
| London | Sun, 15 Feb |
| New York | Sun, 15 Feb |
| San Francisco | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Toronto | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Sydney | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Singapore | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Dubai | Sun, 15 Feb |
| Port Louis | Sun, 15 Feb |
Dates in bold differ from New Delhi’s. Calculated by rule; local practice can differ.
One festival, many stories
Pan-IndianThe hunter in the tree
A hunter lost at night climbs a tree. Shivering, he shakes dew and leaves down onto a linga he doesn't know is there. Unknowingly he has done the night's worship, and despite his life of killing, he's granted Shiva's grace. Lochtefeld gives this as the festival's charter myth, the story that explains it.
Shaiva traditionsThe pillar without end
In a story from the Shiva Purana, Brahma and Vishnu quarrel over who's greatest, until a pillar of fire appears between them. Brahma flies up and Vishnu digs down, and neither finds an end. Many devotees identify this appearance of the linga with Shivaratri night.
Widely toldA wedding, and the poison
You'll hear that this was the night Shiva married Parvati. You'll also hear that it's when he drank the poison from the churning of the ocean, a story told in the Bhagavata Purana (8.7), which doesn't give this date. Both are common explanations, and they come from popular tradition more than from any text.
KashmirHerath
Kashmiri Pandits keep this as Herath, with its own rites, walnuts and pots of water, in a form that differs from what you'll see in the rest of India. It's a good reminder that one festival name can cover very different practices.
Common questions
What people do
- Fasting, usually avoiding grains
- Staying awake through the night, often at a temple
- Pouring water and milk on a linga, and offering bilva leaves
- Chanting Shiva's names and hearing his stories
Why is Maha Shivaratri celebrated at night?
Because its rule asks for Chaturdashi to be in force at midnight, and the tradition's main act is the night vigil. The hunter story, in which an accidental night of wakefulness earns grace, gives the reason in story form.
Does a planetary alignment raise your energy on Shivaratri?
There's no evidence of it. A popular modern claim says the planets create a natural upsurge of energy on this night, but no measurement supports it, and Chaturdashi of the dark fortnight happens every month. The vigil has a religious meaning that doesn't depend on this claim.
What's the difference between Shivaratri and Maha Shivaratri?
A Shivaratri comes every month, on the Chaturdashi of the dark fortnight. Maha Shivaratri is the one in Phalguna (or Magha, as the west and south call it), the most important of the year.
Ask your elders
“Ask whoever in your family stays up on Shivaratri what they do at three in the morning to stay awake, and which story they were told as a child. If your family is Kashmiri, ask them about Herath's walnuts.”
Sources
- James G. Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Rosen, 2002), entry “Shivaratri”
- Shiva Purana, Vidyeshvara Samhita
- Bhagavata Purana 8.7
- P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute), on vratas and utsavas