Maha Shivaratri is the fourteenth night of the waning Moon in the Tamil month of Maasi. Shiva temples stay open until dawn, and the linga is bathed four times, once in each watch of the night, while devotees fast and keep awake. At Chidambaram dancers offer their art to Nataraja through the night; in Kanyakumari district runners cover twelve Shiva temples on foot.
The story
It is the night Shiva appeared as an endless column of fire. Brahma, as a swan, flew up to find its top, and Vishnu, as a boar, dug down to find its base; neither could. Tamil tradition places that column at Tiruvannamalai, where the hill itself is the linga of fire.
The Tamil Shaiva saints, the Nayanmars, sang of Shiva in the Tevaram and Tiruvasagam, and it is their verses, more than Sanskrit hymns, that fill the night here.
நமச்சிவாய வாழ்க! நாதன் தாள் வாழ்க! இமைப்பொழுதும் என் நெஞ்சில் நீங்காதான் தாள் வாழ்க!
Long live Namasivaya! Long live the feet of the Lord! Long live the feet of him who does not leave my heart even for the blink of an eye!
Manikkavasagar, the opening of the Tiruvasagam
How the night is kept
- The fastKept through the day and night, and broken the next morning.
- Naangu kaala poojaiFour rounds of abhishekam, with milk, curd, ghee and honey, between dusk and dawn.
- VilvamBilva leaves are offered with each round.
- Sivalaya OttamIn Kanyakumari district devotees run some hundred kilometres between twelve Shiva temples within the day and night, calling "Govinda, Gopala".
- NatyanjaliDancers from across the country perform at Chidambaram as an offering.
Why this date
Maha Shivaratri is the Chaturdasi of the waning fortnight in Maasi (the lunar month of Magha), on the day that tithi covers midnight.
Maha Shivaratri in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Sunday | |
| 2030 | Saturday | |
| 2031 | Thursday |
More Tamil festivals
23 JanuaryThai Pusamதைப்பூசம்
22 MarchPanguni Uthiramபங்குனி உத்திரம்
13 FebruaryRatha Saptamiரத சப்தமி
14 AprilPuthanduதமிழ்ப் புத்தாண்டு
16 JanuaryMattu Pongalமாட்டுப் பொங்கல்
15 AprilRama Navamiஸ்ரீ ராம நவமி
Where to see Maha Shivaratri
In Tamil Nadu
- TiruvannamalaiTamil NaduThe hill of fire; Tamil tradition says the first Shivaratri was kept here.
- ChidambaramTamil NaduThe Natyanjali festival of dance at the temple of Nataraja.
- Isha Yoga Center, CoimbatoreTamil NaduAn all-night gathering before the Adiyogi statue at the foot of the Velliangiri hills.
- RameswaramTamil NaduA Jyotirlinga on an island, with its long pillared corridors.
Across India
- SrikalahastiAndhra PradeshThe linga of air, with a twelve-day festival.
- VaranasiUttar PradeshShiva's own city on the Ganga, with his wedding procession in its lanes.
- GokarnaKarnatakaThe Mahabaleshwar temple by the sea, with a chariot festival.