Mahadeva · Destroyer and renewer

Shiva

Shiva, Mahadeva, is the great ascetic of Kailash, who destroys so that the world can be made new. Chant his mantra, keep his day, and see when to worship him next in your city.

His day
Monday
Next: Today
Next Shiva day
Pradosh
In 11 days · Fri 6 Nov

1 of 12 · Prabhas Patan, Gujarat

Somnath

Chandra, the moon, worshipped Shiva here to be freed from a curse that made him waste away. The temple by the sea has been destroyed and rebuilt many times.

Tap a light or a name to read about each Jyotirlinga. They are numbered in the order the stotram names them; positions are approximate.

His days, in your city

Dates and puja times for the city you pick

For New Delhi

Next Shiva day · In 11 days

Pradosh

Friday 6 November 2026

Pradosh puja

5:33 pm to 8:10 pm

The twilight of the thirteenth lunar day, twice a month, when Shiva is said to dance.

How it is kept →Full panchang for this day →

Every Monday
Mon 26 OctHis day of the week
Masik Shivratri
Sat 7 Nov11:39 pm to 12:31 am, 8 Nov
Tripurari Purnima
Tue 24 Nov5:25 pm to 8:06 pm
Maha Shivratri
Sat 6 Mar12:08 am to 12:57 am, 7 Mar

Chant the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra · from the Rig Veda

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्।
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात्॥

Om tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam,
Urvarukamiva bandhanan mrityor mukshiya mamritat.

We worship the three-eyed one, fragrant, who nourishes all. As a ripe cucumber is freed from its vine, may he free us from death, and not from immortality.

हम तीन नेत्रों वाले, सुगंधित और सबका पोषण करने वाले शिव की पूजा करते हैं। जैसे पका हुआ खीरा अपनी बेल से छूट जाता है, वैसे ही वे हमें मृत्यु से छुड़ाएँ, अमरता से नहीं।

The great death-conquering mantra, chanted 108 times for healing and protection, and in times of fear.

Sing the whole aarti

His prayers

A simple Monday puja

Monday is Shiva’s day, and many keep a fast and visit his temple. At home, a short abhishek of the linga, or worship of his image, is enough. Follow your family’s way where it differs.

  1. Clean the place of worship, and set a small linga or his image there.
  2. Pour water slowly over the linga with Om Namah Shivaya; milk, curd or honey can follow, then water again.
  3. Offer bilva leaves, three-leaved and unbroken, with white flowers and sandal paste.
  4. Apply vibhuti, the sacred ash, in three lines, the tripundra.
  5. Chant Om Namah Shivaya 108 times, or the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra.
  6. Wave the lamp in his aarti, then share the prasad.

What you need

  • A small linga or his image
  • Water, with milk or honey if you like
  • Bilva leaves and white flowers
  • Sandal paste and vibhuti
  • A ghee lamp and incense
  • Fruit or a sweet as prasad

Prayers for the puja

Who is Shiva

Shiva is the great ascetic of Kailash, the destroyer who clears the way for the world to be made new. With Brahma and Vishnu he completes the Trimurti, and to his devotees he is Mahadeva, the great god, beyond all three.

He is worshipped as the linga, the sign of the formless, and as Nataraja, whose dance keeps the universe turning. Married to Parvati, he is the father of Ganesha and Kartikeya.

He is also Bholenath, the innocent lord, pleased by a little water and a bilva leaf offered with love. This is why the simplest puja is enough for him.

  • Mahadeva the great god
  • Shankara the giver of joy
  • Bholenath the innocent lord, quick to be pleased
  • Neelakantha the blue-throated, who drank the poison
  • Nataraja the lord of the dance
  • Rudra the fierce one of the Vedas
  • Pashupati lord of all creatures
His mantra

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

I bow to Shiva: the Panchakshari, the mantra of five syllables, na-mah-shi-va-ya.

शिव को मेरा नमन: यह पंचाक्षरी है, पाँच अक्षरों का मंत्र, न-मः-शि-वा-य।

A short prayer to start · Karpura Gauram, sung after the aarti

कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम्।
सदा वसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि॥

Karpura gauram karunavataram, sansara saram bhujagendra haram,
Sada vasantam hridayaravinde, bhavam bhavani sahitam namami.

White as camphor, compassion itself, the essence of the world, wearing the king of serpents as a garland: I bow to Shiva, who lives always in the lotus of the heart, with Bhavani.

जो कपूर जैसे गोरे हैं, करुणा का रूप हैं, संसार का सार हैं और नागराज को हार की तरह पहनते हैं: हृदय के कमल में सदा बसने वाले उन शिव को, भवानी के साथ, मैं नमन करता हूँ।

The twelve, in one verse

Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram

Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram

सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम्।
उज्जयिन्यां महाकालमोङ्कारममलेश्वरम्॥
परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमशङ्करम्।
सेतुबन्धे तु रामेशं नागेशं दारुकावने॥
वाराणस्यां तु विश्वेशं त्र्यम्बकं गौतमीतटे।
हिमालये तु केदारं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये॥

Saurashtre Somanatham cha Shrishaile Mallikarjunam,
Ujjayinyam Mahakalam Omkaram Amaleshwaram.
Paralyam Vaidyanatham cha Dakinyam Bhimashankaram,
Setubandhe tu Ramesham Nagesham Darukavane.
Varanasyam tu Vishvesham Tryambakam Gautamitate,
Himalaye tu Kedaram Ghushmesham cha Shivalaye.

Somnath in Saurashtra and Mallikarjuna at Srisailam; Mahakala in Ujjain, and Omkara with Amaleshwar; Vaidyanath at Parli and Bhimashankar in Dakini; Rameshwara at the bridge and Nageshwara in the Daruka forest; Vishvesha in Varanasi and Tryambaka on the bank of the Gautami; Kedara in the Himalaya and Ghushmesha at Shivalaya.

सौराष्ट्र में सोमनाथ और श्रीशैल पर मल्लिकार्जुन; उज्जैन में महाकाल, और ओंकार के साथ अमलेश्वर; परली में वैद्यनाथ और डाकिनी में भीमाशंकर; सेतु के पास रामेश्वर और दारुका वन में नागेश्वर; वाराणसी में विश्वेश्वर और गौतमी के तट पर त्र्यम्बक; हिमालय में केदार और शिवालय में घुश्मेश्वर।

Some places are disputed: Vaidyanath is also held to be at Parli in Maharashtra, as the stotram names it; Nageshwar at Aundha or Jageshwar; Bhimashankar in Assam or Uttarakhand; and Grishneshwar at Shivar in Rajasthan.

What his symbols mean

  • The crescent moon and the Ganga

    The moon in his hair is time held in check; the Ganga, whose fall from heaven he broke in his locks, flows from his head as grace.

  • The third eye

    Inner sight. When Kama, god of desire, disturbed his meditation, the third eye opened and burned him to ash.

  • The trishul and the damaru

    The trident’s three points are read as creation, preservation and destruction; the drum’s beat is the sound from which creation began.

  • The serpent and the ash

    The serpent at his throat is fear mastered; the ash on his body is the end of all things, which he wears without fear.

His stories

The pillar of light

Brahma and Vishnu argued over which of them was greater, until a pillar of fire appeared between them with no beginning and no end. Vishnu, as a boar, dug down and Brahma, as a swan, flew up; neither found its end. Shiva stepped out of the light: this is the Jyotirlinga, the linga of light.

The blue throat

When the gods and asuras churned the ocean, a deadly poison, halahala, rose first and threatened the world. Shiva drank it, and Parvati held his throat so that it went no further; it turned his throat blue, and he is Neelakantha.

Bringing down the Ganga

King Bhagiratha prayed for the Ganga to come to earth and free his ancestors. Her fall would have shattered the world, so Shiva caught her in his matted hair and let her flow out gently.

Sati and Daksha’s sacrifice

Sati’s father Daksha insulted Shiva at his great yajna, and Sati gave up her body in its fire. In grief and rage Shiva destroyed the yajna, and where parts of her body fell the Shakti Peethas arose.

Parvati wins Shiva

Sati was born again as Parvati, daughter of the Himalaya. Through long penance she won the ascetic Shiva, and in many traditions their wedding is remembered on Maha Shivratri.

Markandeya and Yama

The boy Markandeya was fated to die at sixteen. When Yama came for him he clung to the linga, and Shiva rose from it and drove Yama back: he is Kalantaka, the ender of death.

Across India

Varanasi

Kashi, the city of Shiva: the Ganga aarti each evening at Dashashwamedh ghat, and lamps along every ghat on Dev Deepavali.

North India in Shravan

Through the month of Shravan, Mondays are kept for Shiva, and kanwariyas walk long distances carrying Ganga water to pour on his linga.

Tamil Nadu

Shiva as Nataraja at Chidambaram, and on Karthigai Deepam a great fire lit on the hill of Arunachala at Tiruvannamalai.

Kashmir

Herath, the Kashmiri Pandit Shivratri, kept with a vatuk puja of water-filled pots and walnuts.

Nepal

Pashupatinath in Kathmandu draws sadhus and pilgrims from across South Asia on Maha Shivratri.

Odisha

Lingaraja in Bhubaneswar, where on Maha Shivratri a great lamp, the mahadeep, is raised to the top of the temple.

His temples

  • Pashupatinath TempleKathmandu, Nepal
  • Brihadeeswarar TempleThanjavur, Tamil Nadu
  • Arunachaleswarar TempleTiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
  • Thillai Nataraja TempleChidambaram, Tamil Nadu
  • Lingaraja TempleBhubaneswar, Odisha
  • Amarnath CaveJammu and Kashmir

Questions

When is Maha Shivratri in 2027?

Maha Shivratri is on Saturday 6 March 2027 in New Delhi, with the muhurat 12:08 am to 12:57 am, 7 Mar. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.

Which day is Shiva’s?

Monday, Somvar, and above all the Mondays of Shravan. Pradosh, the twilight of the thirteenth lunar day, is his twice a month.

What is Shiva’s mantra?

Om Namah Shivaya, the five-syllable Panchakshari, often chanted 108 times on a rudraksha mala. The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is chanted for healing and protection.

Why are bilva leaves offered to Shiva?

The three-leaved bilva is held dear to him, its leaves read as his three eyes or the trishul’s three points. Turmeric and kumkum are traditionally not offered to the linga.

What are the 12 Jyotirlingas?

Twelve shrines where Shiva is worshipped as a pillar of light: Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleshwar, Omkareshwar, Vaidyanath, Bhimashankar, Rameshwaram, Nageshwar, Kashi Vishwanath, Trimbakeshwar, Kedarnath and Grishneshwar.

Why is Shiva’s throat blue?

He drank the halahala poison that rose from the churning of the ocean, and Parvati held it in his throat, which turned blue.