Maha Shivaratri 2027: Date, Nishita Kaal and Four Prahar Puja Times by City, Puja Vidhi, Fasting, Jagaran and Katha

Quick answer: Maha Shivaratri 2027 is on Saturday 6 March 2027 in India. Drik Panchang gives the Chaturdashi tithi from 12:03 PM IST on 6 March to 1:46 PM IST on 7 March and the Nishita Kaal puja in Hyderabad from 12:03 AM to 12:51 AM on the night of 6-7 March. Most of the world keeps the night of Saturday 6 March, but in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Seattle and Vancouver it is the night of Friday 5 March.

Last updated: 21 October 2026. This is our main Maha Shivaratri 2027 page. We have refreshed it in place: the earlier version gave approximate tithi times. It now uses Drik Panchang's Shivaratri pages for Hyderabad, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Calgary and Vancouver, with calculated nishita and prahar times for more than 30 cities.

Maha Shivaratri 2027 date, Chaturdashi tithi and parana (Mahashivratri 2027 kab hai, Shivaratri 2027 tedi)

Also read in our January-March 2027 festival series: Makar Sankranti 2027, Thaipusam 2027, Mauni Amavasya 2027, Vasant Panchami 2027, Ratha Saptami 2027.

Nishita kaal and four prahar puja times by city (Shivaratri nishita kaal samay)

Maha Shivaratri is kept on the night when the Chaturdashi tithi covers Nishita Kaal, the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas between sunset and sunrise. When it covers nishita on both nights, Drik Panchang takes the second night (as for Denver and Calgary). Each prahar is one quarter of the night. "Night of" is the date on which the night begins; times after midnight fall on the next calendar date. Rows marked "Drik" are from Drik Panchang; the rest are from our ephemeris calculator, which agrees with Drik to within a minute or two.

Clocks in March 2027: the USA and eastern Canada are still on standard time on 5-6 March (US daylight time begins on 14 March). Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia keep permanent daylight time (UTC-5, UTC-6 and UTC-7), so their times look about an hour later than you may expect. The UK is on GMT, and south-eastern Australia and New Zealand are on summer time. Do not convert India's times into your own time zone; use the row for your city.

Why the US West Coast and Vancouver keep Friday 5 March

The Chaturdashi tithi begins at 06:33 UTC on 6 March and ends at 08:16 UTC on 7 March. In Los Angeles that is 10:33 PM on Friday 5 March to 12:16 AM on Sunday 7 March. Friday's nishita, around midnight, is fully inside Chaturdashi, while on Saturday night the tithi ends in the middle of nishita. So Drik Panchang gives Friday 5 March for Los Angeles and Vancouver. Further east, in Denver and Calgary, Chaturdashi covers nishita on both nights and Drik takes the second, Saturday 6 March. Some temples on the West Coast may still hold their main programme on Saturday night; follow your temple's announcement for congregational events.

Four prahar puja vidhi at home (char prahar puja)

Many devotees worship the Shiva Linga once in each prahar of the night. A common pattern, which varies by family and temple, is:

• First prahar (after sunset): sankalpa, then abhishekam with water and milk, bilva leaves, a lamp and "Om Namah Shivaya".
• Second prahar: abhishekam with curd, offering of flowers and bilva, and a stotra such as the Shiva Panchakshara Stotram or Lingashtakam.
• Third prahar, including nishita kaal: abhishekam with ghee, the central worship of the night, and the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra or Rudram if your family recites it.
• Fourth prahar (before dawn): abhishekam with honey and then panchamrita, final aarti, and naivedyam.

If you can worship only once, do it during nishita kaal for your city. A single sincere abhishekam with water and one bilva leaf is a complete puja. Keep a lamp burning safely, away from curtains, and never leave it unattended if you fall asleep.

1. Bathe and wear clean clothes before sunset; set up the Linga or a picture of Shiva on a clean plate.
2. Take a sankalpa: say your name, the place and that you are keeping the Maha Shivaratri vrat.
3. Offer water, milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar in turn, then clean water; offer bilva leaves, white flowers, vibhuti and sandal paste.
4. Light a lamp and incense, offer fruit and a simple sweet, and do aarti.
5. Chant "Om Namah Shivaya" through the night, or listen to bhajans and the Shiva Purana.
6. Break the fast (parana) after sunrise the next morning, after a short puja.

Health note for the fast and the night vigil: the Shivaratri fast and jagaran are optional and should be adapted to your health. Anyone pregnant, elderly, diabetic, with heart, kidney or blood-pressure problems, or on regular medication should ask a doctor before fasting; a phalahar fast with fruit, milk and water is a common choice. Drink enough water. Sleep in the afternoon if you plan to stay awake, do not drive home from a temple when drowsy after the vigil, and keep children's bedtimes. Devotion does not depend on going without food or sleep, and no ritual guarantees a particular result.

Maha Shivaratri katha: the stories behind the night (our summary)

• The pillar of light (Lingodbhava): Brahma and Vishnu once argued over who was greater. A boundless column of fire appeared between them. Vishnu as a boar dug down and Brahma as a swan flew up, but neither found its end. Shiva then revealed himself from the column, and this night is remembered as the night the Linga appeared.
• The wedding of Shiva and Parvati: many traditions, especially in north India, celebrate Shivaratri as the night of Shiva's marriage to Parvati after her long penance.
• The hunter and the bilva tree: a hunter, lost in a forest on the night of Shivaratri, climbed a bilva tree to escape wild animals. To stay awake he kept plucking leaves, which fell on a Shiva Linga below, and drops of water from his flask fell with them. Without knowing it he had kept the fast, the vigil and the worship, and he was blessed. Drik Panchang tells this as the story of a Bheel named Guru-Druha; other books call him Chitrabhanu.
• Neelakantha: some tellings link the night with Shiva drinking the halahala poison at the churning of the ocean to save the worlds, which turned his throat blue.

These are our own summaries of traditional tellings; versions differ between the Puranas, regions and families.

Shiva Panchakshara Stotram and Bilvashtakam for Shivaratri

The first verse of Adi Shankaracharya's Shiva Panchakshara Stotram, from the text published by sanskritdocuments.org:

नागेन्द्रहाराय त्रिलोचनाय भस्माङ्गरागाय महेश्वराय ।
नित्याय शुद्धाय दिगम्बराय तस्मै नकाराय नमः शिवाय ॥ १॥

nāgendrahārāya trilocanāya bhasmāṅgarāgāya maheśvarāya |
nityāya śuddhāya digambarāya tasmai nakārāya namaḥ śivāya || 1||

Meaning: Salutations to Shiva, the syllable "na", who wears the king of serpents as a garland, who has three eyes, whose body is smeared with sacred ash, the great lord, eternal and pure, clothed only by the directions.

The first verse of the Bilvashtakam, recited while offering bilva leaves, from sanskritdocuments.org:

त्रिदलं त्रिगुणाकारं त्रिनेत्रं च त्रियायुधम् ।
त्रिजन्मपापसंहारं एकबिल्वं शिवार्पणम् ॥ १॥

tridalaṃ triguṇākāraṃ trinetraṃ ca triyāyudham |
trijanmapāpasaṃhāraṃ ekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam || 1||

Meaning: I offer to Shiva a single bilva leaf with three leaflets, which stand for the three gunas, his three eyes and his three-pointed weapon, and which remove the sins of three births. Read the full Bilvashtakam with meaning and how to chant Om Namah Shivaya 108 times.

Maha Shivaratri 2027 for NRI families

• Weekend in 2027: Saturday 6 March is a weekend night in most countries, which makes a family jagaran easier. On the West Coast and in Vancouver it is Friday night, after a working day.
• Temples: many Shiva and Hindu temples abroad hold four-prahar abhishekam through the night. Book early if your temple runs paid seva slots, and check parking and timings on the temple's own website. See also temples in the USA for Maha Shivaratri.
• Apartments: use a small ghee lamp on a metal plate, keep it away from smoke alarms and curtains, and keep chanting at a volume your neighbours can live with.
• Children: let them pour water on the Linga in the first prahar and hear the hunter's story before bed.

Festival dates, January to March 2027

Maha Shivaratri 2027: frequently asked questions

When is Maha Shivaratri 2027?

Maha Shivaratri 2027 is on Saturday 6 March 2027 in India, per Drik Panchang. The Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi tithi runs from 12:03 PM IST on Saturday 6 March to 1:46 PM IST on Sunday 7 March, and the main worship is on the night of 6-7 March.

What is the Nishita Kaal time on Maha Shivaratri 2027?

In Hyderabad, Drik Panchang gives Nishita Kaal from 12:03 AM to 12:51 AM on the night of 6-7 March 2027. It is the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the night, so it differs by city: about 12:07 AM to 12:56 AM in Delhi, 11:42 PM to 12:32 AM in New York and 11:45 PM to 12:36 AM in London.

Is Maha Shivaratri 2027 on 5 or 6 March in the USA?

Most of the USA keeps the night of Saturday 6 March, including New York, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Denver. On the West Coast, in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Seattle, it is the night of Friday 5 March, because Chaturdashi covers midnight there on the Friday but ends during the Saturday night's nishita. Drik Panchang lists Friday 5 March for Los Angeles and Saturday 6 March for Denver.

What are the four prahar puja times?

The night from sunset to sunrise is divided into four equal prahars, each about three hours long in early March. In Hyderabad, Drik Panchang gives 6:24 PM to 9:25 PM, 9:25 PM to 12:27 AM, 12:27 AM to 3:29 AM and 3:29 AM to 6:30 AM. The city table on this page gives the times for your city.

When should I break the Shivaratri fast in 2027?

Parana is done after sunrise on the next day. In Hyderabad Drik Panchang gives the parana window as 6:30 AM to 1:46 PM on Sunday 7 March, before the end of Chaturdashi. In New York the window opens at sunrise, 6:21 AM on 7 March. Follow your family tradition and your temple's guidance.

Can diabetics or elderly people keep the Shivaratri fast?

They should speak to their doctor first. Many devotees keep a phalahar fast with fruit, milk and water instead of a full fast, and stay awake only for part of the night. A sincere puja with a simple meal is a complete observance.

Editor's note

Editor's note (21 October 2026): We have refreshed this page in place; it remains our single main page for Maha Shivaratri 2027. The date, the Chaturdashi tithi, nishita kaal, the four prahars and parana come from Drik Panchang's Maha Shivaratri 2027 pages for Hyderabad, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Calgary and Vancouver. Times for the other cities are from our ephemeris calculator (nishita as the eighth of fifteen night muhurtas, prahars as quarters of the night), which agrees with Drik to within a minute or two, using the 2027 clock rules for Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia. The Sanskrit verses are reproduced from sanskritdocuments.org. The prahar offerings are a common pattern, not a rule, and stories are our own summaries of traditional tellings.

Related guides

• Maha Shivaratri: significance and traditions
• Karthika Masa Shivaratri 2026
• How to chant Lingashtakam
• Rudrashtakam with meaning
• Bilvashtakam with meaning
• Temples in the USA for Maha Shivaratri