Masik Shivaratri: Dates, What, Why, How

What it is

Masik Shivaratri, "the monthly night of Shiva", is kept on the fourteenth tithi (Chaturdashi) of the dark half of every lunar month, the night before the new moon. Devotees of Shiva fast through the day, worship Shiva in the night, often at midnight, and many stay awake in prayer. Once a year, in Magha (Phalguna in the purnimanta calendar), the same night is Maha Shivaratri, the great night of Shiva, which has its own guide. The monthly night is kept in the spirit of that great night.

Why it is kept

A night every month. Sir Monier Monier-Williams, writing in 1891, records that Shaivas usually fasted on the thirteenth or fourteenth day of the dark half of every month, on the day and night called Shiva-ratri, "Shiva's night", looking ahead to the great fast on Shiva's night kept once a year. He also notes that the evening before is called Pradosha. That is the custom this page describes: a small Shivaratri each month, and one great one each year.

The pillar of light. The Linga Purana tells how Brahma and Vishnu once argued over which of them was greater. Between them rose a pillar of fire with no beginning and no end. Brahma flew upward as a swan and Vishnu dug downward as a boar, and neither found its end. Then Shiva appeared from the pillar. The linga is honoured as a sign of that endless light, and families who keep the monthly night often tell this story, as they do on Maha Shivaratri.

Shiva's night. Many devotees say that the darkest nights of the month, just before the new moon, belong to Shiva, and that prayer in their quiet hours is dear to him. That is the tradition's own word, told here as tradition.

The texts behind the story

• Brâhmanism and Hindûism; or, Religious Thought and Life in India, by Sir Monier Monier-Williams, fourth edition (New York: Macmillan, 1891) (p. 428 (leaf n463): Shaivas fast on the thirteenth or fourteenth of the dark half of every month, Shiva-ratri, ahead of the yearly great fast; the evening before is called Pradosha)
• Linga Purana i.17 (the pillar of fire without beginning or end; Brahma as a swan, Vishnu as a boar), with Muir's note that the Shiva Purana tells it too. J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. IV, 2nd edition (London: Trübner, 1873; title page, leaf n6). Muir died 1882: public domain. Summarised in our own words. (pp. 386–391 (leaves n405–n410); the pillar, p. 390 (leaf n409))
• That the dark nights before the new moon belong to Shiva and that prayer in them is dear to him: devotees' tradition. Summarised in our own words.

When it is kept

Masik Shivaratri is kept on the Krishna Chaturdashi that is present at nishita, the Hindu midnight: the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the night at your location, around local midnight. If Chaturdashi holds nishita on two nights, the first is taken; if on neither, the day whose sunrise has Chaturdashi. The rule is the same as for Maha Shivaratri. Every month has one, except that the Chaturdashi of Magha (amanta; Phalguna in the purnimanta calendar) is Maha Shivaratri itself, so Pujadeep lists that night under Maha Shivaratri. Pujadeep shows the nishita time for your city.

What the words mean: Nishita · Muhurat (muhurta) · Amanta and purnimanta

Traditions and regional customs

• Smarta: Krishna Chaturdashi at nishita, every month; Magha's is Maha Shivaratri
• Some Shaivas fast on the Trayodashi instead: Monier-Williams (1891) gives the thirteenth or fourteenth of the dark half, and calls the evening before Pradosha
• Tamil: Masa Sivaratri, with the night's four worships (kalams) in Shiva temples

Why the day can differ

Nishita is the middle of your own night, so the day can differ between cities, and a city abroad can keep it a day before or after India. The dark-half Pradosh often comes the evening before, and in some months on the same day.

How to keep it at home

1. In the morning, bathe and make a sankalpa for the fast. Keep the day calm and simple.
2. In the evening or at night, worship Shiva at home or in a temple: bathe a Shiva linga, or the base of a picture, with water and milk, and offer bilva leaves, white flowers, sandalwood paste, a lamp and incense. Many families do this at the nishita time Pujadeep gives for your city.
3. Say "Om Namah Shivaya" slowly, as many times as you wish, and the prayers your family knows, such as the Shiva Panchakshara Stotram or the Shiv Chalisa. Some families stay awake for part of the night.
4. The next morning, after a bath and a short prayer, break the fast with prasad and a simple meal.

Fasting

The fast is by choice. Many keep it with fruit, milk and water; some eat one meal after the evening worship; some keep only the night's prayer. Anyone who is pregnant, nursing, diabetic, unwell, elderly or on regular medicine should talk to a doctor before fasting.

Food

Fasting foods during the day: fruit, milk, sabudana khichdi, makhana, sweet potato. The fast is broken with simple vegetarian food.

Prayers read at this time

• Om Namah Shivaya
• Shiva Panchakshara Stotram
• Shiv Chalisa

For children

Once Brahma and Vishnu argued about who was the greatest. Suddenly a tall pillar of light rose between them. Brahma flew up as a swan to find its top, and Vishnu dug down as a boar to find its bottom, but the light went on and on. Then Shiva appeared from the pillar, and both bowed to him. Once a month, on a dark night, families light a lamp for Shiva and remember the light that has no end.

Something to do together

On the night of Masik Shivaratri, turn off the lights for a minute, light one lamp together, and say "Om Namah Shivaya" three times in the quiet.

Festivals and holy days, told for children

Sources

• Pujadeep calendar rule masik-shivaratri: Krishna Chaturdashi at nishita, first night when both, sunrise day when neither, Magha skipped.
• Brâhmanism and Hindûism; or, Religious Thought and Life in India, by Sir Monier Monier-Williams, fourth edition (New York: Macmillan, 1891) (p. 428 (leaf n463))
• J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. IV, 2nd edition (London: Trübner, 1873), pp. 386–391.

Related guides

• Maha Shivaratri
• Pradosh Vrat (Pradosham)