Shivratri Vrat (Maha & Masik) - Vrat Vidhi
Shivratri Vrat (Maha & Masik) भगवान शिव
The Shivratri fast for Bhagwan Shiva - the great night of Maha Shivaratri in Phalguna, and the Masik Shivaratri kept every month on Krishna Chaturdashi.
Vrat mantra
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
What you can eat - and what to avoid
You can have
- Through the day: phalahar - fruits, milk and vrat foods (nirjala for the able)
- Fruits and fresh fruit juices
- Milk, curd, paneer, butter, ghee
- Sabudana - khichdi, kheer or vada
- Kuttu (buckwheat) and singhara flour rotis / puris
- Samak (barnyard millet) rice
- Makhana, dry fruits and nuts
- Potato, sweet potato, arbi - cooked with sendha namak
- Sendha namak (rock salt) only
- Tea, coffee or coconut water in moderation
✗ Avoid
- All grains - wheat, rice, semolina (sooji), besan, oats
- Pulses and legumes - dal, chana, rajma, soy
- Regular table / sea salt (use only sendha namak)
- Onion and garlic
- Non-vegetarian food and eggs
- Alcohol and tobacco
- Heavy spices - keep to jeera, kali mirch, green chilli
Step-by-step vrat vidhi
Sankalpa - the vrat morning
Wake early, bathe and wear clean clothes. With water, akshat and a flower in the right palm, state your name, the vrat (Shivratri Vrat (Maha & Masik)), its count if it is a series, and your prayer - then release the water.
Morning puja
Bathe early, take the sankalpa before Bhagwan Shiva, and do jal/milk abhishek of the Shivling, offering bel patra, white flowers, chandan and akshat while chanting "Om Namah Shivaya".
Keep the fast through the day
Keep the fast as prescribed - day fast + night vigil (jagran) · phalahar or nirjala · paran next morning. Spend free moments in japa of "Om Namah Shivaya", and keep the mind sattvik: no anger, gossip or harsh speech.
Katha & evening puja
The night is the heart of this vrat: keep jagran and worship Shiva through the night - abhishek of the Shivling with panchamrit, offer bel patra, dhatura and white flowers, read the Shivratri vrat katha and sing "Om Jai Shiv Omkara". On Maha Shivaratri the Nishita Kaal (midnight) puja is the most important.
Char Prahar puja - the Shivratri night
On Maha Shivaratri the night is divided into four prahars with one abhishek in each - water in the first, curd in the second, ghee in the third and honey in the fourth - with "Om Namah Shivaya" japa throughout.
Paran - breaking the fast
Next morning after sunrise - bathe, do the morning Shiva puja, then break the fast; traditionally the paran is done before the Chaturdashi tithi ends.
Daan & prasad
Share the prasad with everyone present and give some daan (food, fruit or dakshina) as per capacity - the vrat is completed by giving.
Special rules for this vrat
- The fast runs from the Chaturdashi morning through the night vigil; the paran is next morning after sunrise, within Chaturdashi where possible.
- Tulsi, ketaki flower, haldi and sindoor are not offered on the Shivling.
- Maha Shivaratri (Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi) is the greatest Shivratri - Sawan Shivaratri and the monthly Masik Shivaratri follow the same vidhi.
Family and regional traditions (parampara) vary - where yours differs, follow your parampara. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone unwell or on medication should keep a softened vrat (fruit and milk) or skip it - a vrat is bhakti and restraint, never hardship to the body.
Choose another vrat
What is a Vrat Vidhi?
A vrat vidhi is how to keep a sacred fast: morning sankalpa, the deity's puja, the day's food discipline, the katha and aarti, and paran at the right time. Most vrats allow phalahar (fruits, milk, sabudana, kuttu, singhara, samak, sendha namak). Some are nirjala. Ekadashi drops grain; Santoshi Mata drops sour food; Ravivar vrat drops salt.
A vrat is bhakti and restraint, not hardship. Children, the elderly, pregnant women and the unwell should soften the fast. Parampara comes first. Pick a Dev or Devi for the day, fast type, food rules, paran, mantra, katha and aarti.
This is not a full puja manual. Worship steps are Puja Vidhi. Gather items from Puja Samagri. Read the story on Vrat Katha.
