Maha Shivaratri 2024

Maha Shivaratri 2024 falls (begins) on March 8th (Friday), which is a public holiday, when Indians can have 1 day off.

Maha Shivaratri or 'Great Shiva Night' is a sacred nightlong festival in honor of the god Shiva. Devotees observe fasting and meditating to appease Lord Shiva and seek his blessings for well-being and long and prosperous marriages during Maha Shivaratri.

Mahashivratri is celebrated on Chaturdashi (the 14th) tithi (lunar day) ending Krishna Paksha (the waning moon or dark fortnight) in Maagha (the 11th lunar month of the South Indian calendar), which is also known as Phalguna (the 12th lunar month in the North Indian calendar), which falls in the period between mid-February and mid-March on the Gregorian calendar.

God Shiva

Mahashivaratri Auspicious Timings 2024

In Hindi, the auspicious time for puja (worship rituals) is called its muhurat. The Shiva muhurat on the Night of Shiva is the 12 hours of night beginning on Chaturdashi tithi (the 14th lunar day) in the lunar month of Maagha/Phalguna:

• Chaturdashi tithi 2024 begins: 09:57pm on March 8th, 2024
• Chaturdashi tithi 2024 ends: 06:17pm on March 9th, 2024

The Mahashivratri puja (rituals) are performed at Nishita Kaal (the midnight muhurta lasting 48 minutes) or once for each of the four prahars of the night (each prahar lasts about 3 hours), and fasting is observed for the full 12 hours (4 prahars) of the night. Hindus usually bathe before and after the fast.

The muhurta and prahar timings vary by over an hour across India due to time difference and the position of the moon with respect to the various locations…

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Maha Shivaratri Dates: 2024–2030

Maha Shivaratri is celebrated once a year. The date oscillates according to the Hindu lunar calendar. It's the day before the (penultimate) new moon before the spring equinox. It falls in late winter, just before the arrival of spring (in February/March).