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Maha Shivaratri
The great night of Shiva, kept with fasting, an all-night vigil and the pouring of water and milk over the lingam.
About Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri falls on the dark fourteenth night of the month of Magha or Phalguna, and devotees of Shiva fast and stay awake through the night in worship. They bathe the lingam with water, milk, honey and curd in four watches, offer bilva leaves, and chant Om Namah Shivaya, believing the night to be one when prayers are especially heard. In Nepal, the Pashupatinath temple draws sadhus, among them ascetics who smear their bodies with ash, and in Kashmir the Hindu Pandits keep the festival, called Herath, over several days. In some places, a drink made with bhang, a cannabis preparation, is part of the festival's tradition, taken in the belief that Shiva himself was fond of it.
Entries tied to it
Also part of it, and being written: Aegle marmelos (The bilva tree whose leaves are offered.).
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Maha Shivaratri" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Shiva: Indianhilbilly, CC BY-SA 3.0, source