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Maha Shivaratri 2026 Date: Lord Shiva is the greatest god of Hindus. To get his blessings, many fasts and festivals are celebrated like Pradosh Vrat, Shiv Chaturdashi, Mahashivratri and Shivratri etc. Many people consider Shivratri and Mahashivratri to be the same, whereas it is not so. There is a lot of difference between these two fasts. Mahashivratri festival is celebrated only once in a year whereas Shivratri festival is celebrated 12 times in a year. Know further what is the difference between these two fasts…

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When is Mahashivratri celebrated?

According to religious texts, the festival of Mahashivratri is celebrated only once a year on the Chaturdashi date of Krishna Paksha of Phalgun month. It is believed that on this date Mahadev first appeared in the form of Linga. In this form he had tested Lord Vishnu and Brahmadev. Since then, the festival of Mahashivratri is celebrated every year on this date. This time the festival of Mahashivratri will be celebrated on Sunday, 15 February.

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When is Shivratri celebrated?

Shivratri festival is celebrated on the Chaturdashi date of Krishna Paksha of every month. Therefore it is also called monthly Shivaratri. Another name of this fast, Shiv Chaturdashi, is also famous. In this way, the festival of Shivratri is celebrated 12 times in a year and Mahashivratri festival is celebrated only once in a year. For this reason, Mahashivratri is considered more important than Shivratri.

Why do puja happen only at night?

There is a tradition of worshiping Mahadev at night during monthly Shivratri and Mahashivratri because Mahadev took incarnation in the form of Linga at night only. In both these fasts, Lord Shiva is worshiped during all four hours of the night and these fasts are broken the next day. There are many other rules related to these fasts which make them special.

Did the marriage of Shiva and Parvati take place on Mahashivratri?

Many people believe that the marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati took place on Phalgun Krishna Chaturdashi date, hence the festival of Mahashivratri is celebrated but no such description is found in Shiva Purana. This is just a belief. Some scholars also believe that 12 Jyotirlingas had appeared on this day.

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