Hindu observance
Maha Shivaratri
The great night of Shiva, on the dark fortnight of Phalguna, kept awake in vigil with the name of Shiva on the tongue. Of all the nights of the year it is the one for this mantra.
Also known as Shivaratri, Shivratri, Maha Shivratri.
These are optional practice suggestions. Adjust the goals and follow your own tradition. Dates and customs may differ by community.
When it falls
Whose reckoning these dates follow
The fourteenth tithi of the waning fortnight: Phālguna in the full-moon-ending calendar, or Māgha in the new-moon-ending calendar. The date shown is the day whose night is observed.
Why communities differ
The vigil runs through the night and into the following morning, so a calendar that names the morning after will show the next day. A pañcāṅga for your own city may differ by a day.
Japa has not independently verified these dates against a published calendar. Check them against the authority your own community keeps.
The practices Japa keeps through it
- Om Namah Shivaya 108 a day
Adding an observance in Japa brings these to Today at their traditional counts for as long as it runs, and withdraws them when it ends. Your own history is never touched.
Keep the days you keep.
Japa's calendar reads as one list: what is running now, then everything starting in the next ninety days, narrowed to the traditions you follow. Browsing every observance is free; adding one to Today is part of Japa Lifetime.
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