Mahashivratri is the fourteenth night of the dark half of Magh. Maharashtra has five of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Trimbakeshwar, Bhimashankar, Grishneshwar, Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath, and on this day every one of them, and every village Mahadev, has a line of people carrying milk and bel leaves. The fast is kept on sabudana khichdi, peanuts and sweet potato.
The story
The night is told as the wedding of Shiva and Parvati and as the appearance of the linga of light. A story much repeated in Marathi is of a hunter who spent the night in a bel tree, dropping leaves and water on a linga below without knowing it, and was freed.
For the Varkaris the day belongs to Vithoba's other half: Hari and Hara are held to be one, and the saints sang of both.
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ॥
We worship the three-eyed one, fragrant, who nourishes all. As the ripe gourd is freed from its stem, may he free us from death, not from immortality
The Mahamrityunjaya mantra
How it is kept
- AbhishekMilk, water and bel leaves are poured on the linga; in the big temples a Rudrabhishek goes on through the night.
- UpvasSabudana khichdi, rajgira, varai, peanuts, dates and fruit; no grain.
- JagranThe night is kept awake with bhajan and kirtan.
- YatraFairs gather at the hill shrines, and pilgrims climb to them on foot.
Why this date
Mahashivratri is the Chaturdashi of the dark half of Magh by the Marathi (amanta) calendar, on the day that tithi covers midnight.
Maha Shivaratri in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wednesday | |
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Sunday | |
| 2030 | Saturday |
More Marathi festivals
4 MarchHoli and Dhulivandanहोळी · धूलिवंदन
25 JanuaryRatha Saptamiरथसप्तमी
19 MarchGudi Padwaगुढीपाडवा
14 JanuaryMakar Sankrantiमकर संक्रांत
26 MarchRam Navamiश्रीराम नवमी
2 AprilHanuman Jayantiहनुमान जयंती
Where to see Maha Shivaratri
In Maharashtra
- TrimbakeshwarMaharashtraA Jyotirlinga at the source of the Godavari, near Nashik.
- BhimashankarMaharashtraA Jyotirlinga deep in the forest of the Sahyadri.
- Grishneshwar, ElloraMaharashtraThe last of the twelve, beside the Ellora caves and the rock-cut Kailasa.
- Babulnath, MumbaiMaharashtraThe city's old hilltop Shiva temple above Chowpatty.
Across India
- SomnathGujaratThe first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, on the Saurashtra coast.
- UjjainMadhya PradeshMahakaleshwar, with nine days of festival before the night.
- VaranasiUttar PradeshKashi Vishwanath, and Shiva's wedding procession.