Maha Shivratri 2027: date and nishita kaal puja in your city

Maha Shivratri 2027 is on Saturday, 6 March 2027 in New York, with the nishita kaal puja at 11:41 PM – 12:31 AM (7 Mar) EST. Find your city below: each time is local, and some cities keep a different date from India.

Maha Shivratri, the great night of Lord Shiva, falls on the Krishna Chaturdashi (14th day of the waning moon) of the month of Magha in the amanta calendar, which is Phalguna in the purnimanta calendar used in North India. Devotees fast, keep awake through the night and worship Shiva in four prahars, with the most important worship at Nishita Kaal, the Hindu midnight.

How these dates and times are calculated

The festival is kept on the night when Chaturdashi tithi is running at Nishita Kaal. Nishita Kaal is the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the night, counted from your own sunset to the next sunrise, so it is close to, but not the same as, 12 o'clock on the clock.

The night is divided into four equal prahars from sunset to sunrise; many temples offer an abhishek in each prahar. The fast is broken (parana) after sunrise the next morning. Because sunset, sunrise and the tithi are computed for each city's own coordinates and time zone, the date can differ between cities: in 2027 the West Coast of North America keeps Shivratri a day earlier than India.

A simple Shivratri at home

1. Fast through the day as your health allows (fruit and milk are common), or keep a lighter fast.
2. In the evening, bathe and set up a Shivling or a picture of Shiva with water, milk, bel (bilva) leaves, white flowers and a lamp.
3. Offer water or milk while chanting "Om Namah Shivaya"; many families also chant the Mahamrityunjaya mantra.
4. If you can, worship at each of the four prahars, or at least at Nishita Kaal.
5. Break the fast after sunrise the next morning, after a short prayer.

Customs differ between regions and families; follow your own tradition where it differs from this outline.