festival 2028
Maha Shivratri 2028: Wednesday, 23 February 2028
Krishna Chaturdashi · amanta Magha · computed for New Delhi
Maha Shivratri in 2028 falls on Wednesday, 23 February 2028. It is kept on the Krishna Chaturdashi of amanta Magha — the same fortnight that purnimanta calendars, the usual reckoning in north India, name after Phalguna.
Why Maha Shivratri Is on 23 February in 2028
The Krishna Chaturdashi begins at 10:44 on 23 February 2028 and ends at 13:27 on 24 February 2028. The 2028 instants are the same everywhere; only the clock they are read on changes. The rule recorded for Maha Shivratri tests the tithi at nishita, the middle of the night (“tithi at nishita kaal”).
On 23 February 2028 the Sun rises at 06:52 and sets at 18:16 at New Delhi. The Krishna Chaturdashi is not running at sunrise on 23 February 2028; it begins at 10:44, after sunrise, and is current at the moment the rule names, which is why Maha Shivratri is kept that day rather than on the day that holds the tithi at dawn.
In 2028 the Krishna Chaturdashi lasts 26 hours 43 minutes, against 24 hours 29 minutes in 2026 and 25 hours 42 minutes in 2027: a tithi is twelve degrees of the Moon’s gain on the Sun, and the Moon never gains at a steady rate. The day itself runs 11 hours 24 minutes from sunrise to sunset at New Delhi.
When the Krishna Chaturdashi begins, the Moon is in Shravana, ruled by the Moon.
Maha Shivratri in 2026, 2027 and 2028
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| Maha Shivratri 2026 | 15 February 2026 | Sunday |
| Maha Shivratri 2027 | 6 March 2027 | Saturday |
| Maha Shivratri 2028 | 23 February 2028 | Wednesday |
Maha Shivratri 2028 comes 12 days earlier in the calendar year than Maha Shivratri 2027. Between Maha Shivratri 2027 and Maha Shivratri 2028 the lunation table has 12 new moons, and twelve lunations fall short of a solar year, so the date moves earlier.
In the 2028 table Maha Shivratri comes 20 days after Ratha Saptami and 16 days before Holika Dahan.
Related
Every 2028 festival is on the festival dates page, and the year before in the 2027 festival calendar. For how tithi, nakshatra and the day’s timings are read, see reading the panchang. This page in Hindi: हिंदी में. The Maha Shivratri 2028 timings are New Delhi’s; sunrise and everything measured from it shift by minutes to the better part of an hour across India.