Maha Shivaratri
mahāśivarātriThe Great Night of Shiva, kept by vigil and fast on the fourteenth of the dark fortnight in late winter.
Where this term appears
- One Festival, Many Names Treatise
The tithi of a festival is the same in both, but the month-name can shift, which is the whole reason Maha Shivaratri is named for one month in the south and another in the north.
- Reading the Hindu Calendar Treatise
Every tithi belongs to one or the other, and many festivals are named by both. Maha Shivaratri is the fourteenth tithi of the dark fortnight.
- The Great Night Treatise
There is a fast, a lamp, and a long night spent awake before a form that has no face. This is Maha Shivaratri , the Great Night of Shiva.
- The Rhythms Within the Month Treatise
Maha Shivaratri is a vrata kept by a whole tradition on a single night.