Doonye Maavus Festival The great night of Shiva, the fourteenth of the dark fortnight before the Magha new moon.
Doonye Maavus 2027 falls on Monday, 8 March, computed for Chennai.
Latitude, longitude and time zone 13.08, 80.27
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place: a tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Kashmir calendar, computed for Chennai
- Monday, 8 March 2027
- Friday, 25 February 2028
- Tuesday, 13 February 2029
Where Doonye Maavus falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2027: 8 Mar
- 2028: 25 Feb
- 2029: 13 Feb
The dates, year by year
Kashmir calendar, computed for Chennai
| Year | Doonye Maavus |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Thursday, 27 February 2025 |
| 2026 | Tuesday, 17 February 2026 |
| 2027 | Monday, 8 March 2027 |
| 2028 | Friday, 25 February 2028 |
| 2029 | Tuesday, 13 February 2029 |
| 2030 | Monday, 4 March 2030 |
| 2031 | Friday, 21 February 2031 |
| 2032 | Thursday, 11 March 2032 |
| 2033 | Tuesday, 1 March 2033 |
| 2034 | Saturday, 18 February 2034 |
| 2035 | Friday, 9 March 2035 |
| 2036 | Wednesday, 27 February 2036 |
Worked out for Chennai, Lahiri ayanamsa. A date is a function of the place: set yours above and the next three come back for where you are.
What the day is
The great night of Shiva, the fourteenth of the dark fortnight before the Magha new moon. It is kept as the night Shiva danced the tandava, and as the night he appeared as the lingam of fire without top or bottom. The whole night is passed awake in four watches, with an abhishekam of milk, water, honey, curd and ghee at each, and the bilva leaf offered at every one.
- Deity
- Shiva, Parvati
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
The hour
Clock times for Monday, 8 March 2027 at Chennai
The Amavasya that closes the dark fortnight of the purnimanta Phalguna, at sunrise, two days after Herath.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 06:21 | the udaya tithi, the tithi running as the sun comes up |
Sunrise 06:21, sunset 18:19, UTC+5.5. These are the instants the rule is read at, not the temple's own puja times, which every temple prints for itself.
The fast
A full fast, in the strict form without water, from the morning to the next sunrise, broken after the last watch. Many keep it as a phalahara fast on fruit, milk and sabudana.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
- English
- Doonye Maavus
- தமிழ்
- மகா சிவராத்திரி
- తెలుగు
- మహాశివరాత్రి
- ಕನ್ನಡ
- ಮಹಾಶಿವರಾತ್ರಿ
- മലയാളം
- മഹാശിവരാത്രി
- हिन्दी
- महाशिवरात्रि
- ગુજરાતી
- મહા શિવરાત્રી
- नेपाली
- महाशिवरात्रि
- ଓଡ଼ିଆ
- ମହା ଶିବରାତ୍ରି · ଜାଗର
- कॉशुर
- दूनि मावस
Only the names actually in use are listed. A blank script is not an omission: the day may simply not be kept there, or be kept under a different festival's name.
Where the regions differ
One night kept by the whole country. The north calls it Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi and the south Magha Krishna Chaturdashi, which is the same night under two month names. Kashmir keeps Herath over several days, and the Lingayats of Karnataka keep it as the night of the ishtalinga. Nepal keeps it at Pashupatinath, where the sadhus come up from India for it and the bonfires are lit against the cold. Doon is the walnut: the walnuts of the vatuk are taken out of the water and given away as prasad on this day, and the Herath fortnight closes with it.
The dates above are the Kashmir reckoning, because that is the calendar this key belongs to. Switch the tradition on the calendar page to see how another one dates the same day.
Where this day is kept
Nearest first from Chennai, with what is recorded about each.
- Kammasandra, Karnataka
The gazetteer line for this temple names the day. Maha Sivaratri is its day.
- Jayankondam, Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu
The gazetteer line for this temple names the day. Quiet even on Sivaratri
- Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
The gazetteer line for this temple names the day. Amavasai tarpanam and Maha Sivaratri are its days
- Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
The gazetteer line for this temple names the day. Maha Sivaratri and the Sadaya Vizha are its days
- Male Mahadeshwara Temple 313 kmMM Hills, Chamarajanagar, Karnataka
The gazetteer line for this temple names the day. Maha Sivaratri and the Ugadi fair are its days.
- Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh
The gazetteer line for this temple names the day. Maha Sivaratri is its day.
39 more temples in this gazetteer are recorded for the day. Find temples near you.
A temple is listed here only where the gazetteer's own line names this day, or where this day's own entry names the town, or where the day belongs to the ancestors or the nagas and the temple is recorded for that rite. Where neither table says anything, nothing is listed. Your family's own temple comes first, and its calendar is the one that decides.
Fixing a day for it
The muhurtham rules that go with this festival
A temple visit, or the first darshan at a new temple. No weekday is ruled out: Tuesday belongs to Murugan and the Amman, Saturday to Perumal and Sani, so the day usually follows the deity rather than the almanac. Ashtami and Chaturdasi are the two tithis held back for darshan, with the standing exceptions of Sivaratri on Krishna Chaturdasi and Kala Bhairava Ashtami, which are kept on those very days. Rahu kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika kaal are not scored here; the panchangam page prints them for the day you pick, and most families simply wait them out.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it. A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.