Maha Shivaratri — 'the great night of Shiva' — falls on the fourteenth night of the dark fortnight of Phalguna (February–March). Several stories are read on the same night. In one, Shiva drank the halahala poison that emerged from the churning of the cosmic ocean, holding it in his throat (Neelakantha — the blue-throated one) to save creation; the gods kept him awake through the night with songs and offerings, and the devotee's vigil re-enacts that watch.

In a second reading, this is the night Shiva married Parvati. In a third, it is the night Shiva performed the cosmic Tandava — the dance of creation, preservation, and dissolution. The yogic reading, popular in modern Shaiva-yoga circles, treats Shivaratri as the night the planetary positions are most conducive to inner ascent — a sustained night-long meditation aligns the practitioner with the still axis Shiva represents.

Devotees fast through the day — many take only water, or fruits and milk. The puja is done in four quarters of the night (prahara), with the abhisheka of the Shivalinga performed with milk, curd, honey, ghee, and water, accompanied by bilva (bel) leaves — Shiva's most beloved offering.

The mantra 'Om Namah Shivaya' is chanted continuously through the night; Shiva temples stay open and lit through the watch. In Kashi (Varanasi), Ujjain, Rameshwaram, and other Jyotirlinga sites, the night draws massive pilgrim crowds.