Masik Shivratri
Also written: Masik Shivaratri · Monthly Shivratri · Maas Shivratri · Masa Shivaratri
The 14th night (caturdaśī) of the dark fortnight of every lunar month, the night before the new moon, so about twelve times a year. It is kept on the night when the caturdaśī covers midnight (niśītha), so the date can differ by a day from place to place. The one that falls in Phālguna by the pūrṇimānta reckoning (Māgha by the amānta reckoning) is Mahāśivarātri; the one in Śrāvaṇa is often called Sāvan Śivarātri.
What it is, and why
Śivarātri is not only once a year. The dark 14th of every lunar month is a night of Śiva, called Māsik (monthly) Śivarātri or Māsa Śivarātri. Mahāśivarātri is the greatest of these twelve, and the monthly nights carry the same observance in a smaller form.
The reasons tradition gives are the ones given for the great night: that Śiva appeared as the pillar of light, the liṅga, at midnight on a dark 14th, and that worship on this tithi is dear to him. The moon is at its thinnest on this night, just before it disappears, and Śiva is the one who wears that last sliver on his head.
By custom, those who wish to take up the monthly vow begin it on Mahāśivarātri and keep it for a year, though many simply keep whichever of these nights they can. The Śiva Purāṇa's account of the Śivarātri vow, told through the story of the hunter, is the text most often read with it.
How it is observed
This is custom; practice differs by family and region.
- Traditionally a fast is kept through the day, as strictly or lightly as one's custom holds, and ended the next morning.
- The main worship is done at night, around midnight; those who can keep awake for part or all of the night.
- The liṅga is bathed with water and milk.
- Bilva leaves, flowers, a lamp and incense are offered.
- Om Namaḥ Śivāya is repeated, on a mālā or in the mind.
- A hymn such as the Liṅgāṣṭakam or Rudrāṣṭakam is recited, and the worship closes with āratī.
Stories for the day
What to recite and chant
Sources
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The original passage for this reference has not yet been added here. Use the location and edition above; the story is our retelling.
The central Purāṇa of Śiva, in seven saṃhitās: Vidyeśvara, Rudra (in five khaṇḍas), Śatarudra, Koṭirudra, Umā, Kailāsa and Vāyavīya. Chapter numbers vary between editions; all our references follow the Gita Press Kalyāṇ Śivamahāpurāṇāṅka.
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