Shivaratri Puja at Home: Four Prahars, Rudrabhishek, Samagri

Maha Shivaratri falls on Saturday, 6 March 2027. You keep the fast through that day, and the puja runs through the night that follows, in four watches called prahars, from sunset on the 6th to sunrise on the 7th. The most important hour is nishita, around midnight: in Kolkata 11:23 PM to 12:12 AM, 7 Mar, and in Bengaluru 7 Mar, 12:07 AM to 12:55 AM. If you are thinking of asking a purohit home for the night, this guide tells you what he will do in each prahar, what to keep ready, and what to do if nobody in the house can stay awake till dawn.

Three ways to keep the night with a purohit

Most people who ask a purohit home for Shivaratri choose one of these, and all three are a complete puja:

• The four prahar pujas (char prahar, or chaar pahar as many say it). The linga is worshipped once in each watch of the night, with a fresh abhishek each time, and the house keeps jagaran, a vigil, in between. This is the full form of the vrat. A purohit who stays the whole night is giving you one of his busiest nights of the year, so talk it through with him early.
• One prahar, or the nishita puja alone. The purohit comes for one watch and does a full puja with abhishek. Most often it is the first, just after sunset, or the one around midnight. Many homes do exactly this, then keep the japa going for as long as they can stay up.
• A Rudrabhishek. The linga is bathed while the purohit chants the Rudram, or the Rudri in many North Indian homes, and then come puja and aarti. At home it usually takes one and a half to two hours, and on Shivaratri it is often done in the evening prahar or at nishita. Our Rudrabhishek guide explains the ritual and its larger forms in full.

If you have no linga at home, tell the purohit. He can bring one, or shape a small parthiva linga from clay for the night, as some Bengali homes do anyway. A clay linga is worshipped and bathed like any other, but it is not kept: after the puja it is immersed in a river, a pond or clean water.

The four prahars in 2027: Kolkata and Bengaluru

A prahar is a quarter of the night, counted from sunset to the next sunrise, so the times differ from city to city. These are the times for the night of 6 March 2027:

Chaturdashi, the fourteenth day of the waning moon, begins at 12:04 PM on 6 March and runs until 1:46 PM on 7 March, so it holds the whole night in both cities. For Delhi, Varanasi, Mumbai or Pune, the purohit will read the times from his own panchang; in a Bengali home he reads the panjika. Our daily panchang gives sunset and sunrise for your city if you want to plan the evening yourself.

What the purohit does in each prahar

The night opens the way most pujas do. First the purohit takes the sankalpa in your name, the formal statement of why the puja is being done. Then he worships Ganesha and sets up the kalash. After that comes the worship of the linga, repeated in each prahar you have asked for:

1. Abhishek. The linga is bathed while he chants. In South Indian homes, where the bath is called abhishekam, he chants the Sri Rudram from the Krishna Yajurveda. It has two halves, Namakam and Chamakam, and many simply say Rudram-Chamakam. In North India and Gujarat it is usually the Rudri, the Rudrashtadhyayi. In many homes the substance changes with the watch: milk in the first prahar, curd in the second, ghee in the third and honey in the fourth, often with a pour of water between them. Others bathe the linga in panchamrit (milk, curd, honey, ghee and sugar mixed) at one prahar, or follow their own order. A bath of water alone is called jalabhishek. Ask your purohit which he uses.
2. Bel patra. After each bath the linga is wiped and dressed with bel patra, the three-leaved leaf no Shivaratri puja leaves out. Each sprig is offered whole and unbroken, with the smooth side to the linga. Then come sandal paste, vibhuti and white flowers. Where the house keeps them, dhatura and aak (akanda in Bengali) follow, and in many North Indian homes bhang leaves too. Tulsi belongs to Vishnu's puja and is not offered to Shiva. In the South the purohit may offer the leaves one by one with the 108 names of Shiva; there you will hear them called bilva, bilvapatre in Kannada, maredu in Telugu and vilvam in Tamil.
3. Naivedya and aarti. Fruit, milk or a sweet is offered, the lamp and camphor are waved, and everyone takes the aarti.
4. Japa until the next prahar. In between, the house keeps the night with "Om Namah Shivaya", the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, bhajans, or a reading of the Shiva Purana. That waiting, awake, is the jagaran, and it is as much a part of the vrat as the puja. In Hindi it is ratri jagaran; Kannada homes say jagarane, Telugu homes jagaranam.

The midnight abhishek is the heart of the night. In Telugu and Tamil homes it has its own name, Lingodbhava kalam, the hour when Shiva is said to have appeared as an endless pillar of fire. Temples in the South keep four "kaala pujas" through the night, naalu kaala puja in Tamil. At home, if you keep only one, keep the nishita puja.

If you cannot stay up all night

Children, elders, someone with work on Sunday: in most homes not everyone can keep the vigil, and nobody expects them to. Some ways people make the night their own:

• Ask the purohit for the first prahar and a full abhishek with Rudram, then keep japa for as long as you can.
• Ask him for the nishita puja alone, and let the house sleep after it.
• Let one person keep the night awake while the rest join for the evening and for the morning puja.

The fast and the night are an offering, not a test. Doing what you can, with your attention on it, is a whole Shivaratri.

The fast, and when you break it (parana)

The fast (vrat, or upvas in Hindi and Marathi homes) is kept on Saturday, 6 March. Some people keep it nirjala, with no food or water. Many take fruit and milk, or one meal of vrat food such as sabudana khichdi or a kuttu dish, with no grain, onion or garlic. Many also eat a simple vegetarian meal the evening before.

You break the fast on the morning of Sunday, 7 March: after sunrise, after a bath and a short puja, and once the night's worship is complete. Many homes break it before Chaturdashi ends, at 1:46 PM this year. That makes the window sunrise to 1:46 PM: from 5:53 AM in Kolkata, and from 6:32 AM in Bengaluru. Some homes wait until Chaturdashi is over instead. Follow the custom of your house, and ask the purohit if you are not sure. Many give dakshina to the purohit, or feed a brahmin, before they eat themselves.

Shiv chaturdashi: how Bengal keeps the night

In Kolkata the day is often called Shiv chaturdashi as well as Shivaratri. It is kept above all by women and unmarried girls, who fast and pour water and milk over the linga: shiber mathay jal dhala. Unmarried girls pray for a husband as good as Shiva; married women pray for their husband's well-being. Many homes eat a vegetarian meal the day before and sleep on the floor that night.

The upobash, the fast, runs through the day, and the puja through the char prohor of the night, at the times the panjika gives. Some homes shape four small lingas from Ganga clay, one for each prahar. They are bathed in milk, curd, ghee and honey in turn, with Ganga water, and immersed afterwards. The flowers are belpata, akanda, dhutura, nilkantha and aparajita. Many homes also hear the vrat katha, the story of Lubdhak the hunter, who spent the night awake in a bel tree and let its leaves fall on a linga below. In the morning comes a prayer and dakshina to the purohit, and then the paran, when the fast is broken.

Samagri: what to keep ready

Ask your purohit first: some bring the linga, the puja items and even the abhishek vessels, and some give you a list. If you are arranging things yourself, this covers a four-prahar night; for one prahar, a little of each is enough.

For the abhishek

• A Shiva linga at home, or clay for the purohit to make a parthiva linga
• A wide, deep plate or tray for the linga to stand in, so the abhishek can run off
• A copper or brass lota for pouring water, and a few small bowls
• Milk, curd, ghee and honey, enough for each prahar you are keeping, and a little sugar if he will make panchamrit
• Gangajal, or clean water with a little Ganga water in it
• A clean cloth to wipe the linga after each bath

For the puja

• Fresh bel patra, as many whole three-leaved sprigs as you can get; buy them close to the day
• White flowers, and dhatura and aak (akanda) flowers if your house offers them
• Sandal paste (chandan), vibhuti or bhasma, and akshata (unbroken rice)
• Kalash with mango leaves and a coconut, for the kalash sthapana at the start
• Diya with ghee or oil and cotton wicks, camphor, incense and a bell
• Fruit, and milk or a sweet for naivedya
• A rudraksha mala, if someone will keep the japa during the night

Asking a purohit home for the night

Shivaratri is one of the busiest nights of the year for purohits. When you ask, say which form you want: all four prahars, one prahar, the nishita puja or a Rudrabhishek. Say which prahar, whether you have a linga, and whether he should bring the samagri. The dakshina is something you and the purohit agree between yourselves.

Tell us what puja you need and when. Purohits will reach out on call or WhatsApp. For the Shivaratri puja: Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Varanasi, Pune and Mumbai. For a Rudrabhishek: Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Varanasi, Pune and Mumbai.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Maha Shivaratri in 2027?

On Saturday, 6 March 2027. The fast is kept through the day and the puja runs through that night, ending with sunrise on Sunday, 7 March.

What are the four prahar timings for Shivaratri 2027?

In Kolkata: 5:42 PM to 8:45 PM, 8:45 PM to 11:48 PM, 11:48 PM to 2:50 AM on 7 March, and on 7 March, 2:50 AM to 5:53 AM. In Bengaluru: 6:29 PM to 9:30 PM, 9:30 PM to 12:31 AM on 7 March, then, on 7 March, 12:31 AM to 3:31 AM and 3:31 AM to 6:32 AM. Other cities differ with their sunset and sunrise.

What is the nishita time on Shivaratri 2027?

In Kolkata, 11:23 PM on 6 March to 12:12 AM on 7 March. In Bengaluru, 7 March, 12:07 AM to 12:55 AM. This is the midnight puja, called Lingodbhava kalam in Telugu and Tamil homes.

What is offered to the linga in each prahar?

In many homes, milk in the first prahar, curd in the second, ghee in the third and honey in the fourth, often with a pour of water between them, and bel patra after every bath. Others use panchamrit at one prahar, or their own order; the purohit will follow the custom he and your house keep.

Do I have to stay awake the whole night?

No. The full vrat keeps all four prahars, but many homes keep one prahar or the nishita puja with a purohit and continue the japa for as long as they can. Not everyone in the house has to keep the vigil.

When do I break the Shivaratri fast in 2027?

On Sunday, 7 March, after sunrise and after the morning puja. Many break it before Chaturdashi ends at 1:46 PM; some wait until Chaturdashi is over. Follow your house's custom.

Can Rudrabhishek be done on Shivaratri at home?

Yes, and many homes choose it for the night. A home Rudrabhishek usually takes one and a half to two hours, often in the evening prahar or at nishita. If you have no linga, the purohit can bring one or make a clay parthiva linga.

What is Shiv chaturdashi in Bengal?

It is how many Bengali homes speak of Shivaratri. Women and unmarried girls keep the fast, pour water and milk over the linga, and some worship four clay lingas made from Ganga clay, one in each prahar, with timings from the panjika.

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