mahA shiva rAtri

[Anand Hudli]

Gummuluru Murthy wrote:

>According to my calculation, maHa shiva rAtri is to be observed in
North
>America (the observation including fasting, and the all-night vigil and
>contemplation in honour of Lord Shiva) on tuesday, February 24, 1998
and
>not on wednesday February 25.
>

  That is correct. The Mahaashivaraatrii is to be observed on the
  night when the krishna chaturdashii of the lunar month Maagha
  prevails at midnight (nishiitha kaala). As per the ephemeris,
  the krishna trayodashii (13th tithi) ends at about 6:30 PM EST
  on the 24th (tomorrow). This time, then, marks the beginning of
  the chaturdashii (14th tithi) and it prevails through the night
  of the 24th, at least as far as North America is concerned. So
  the Mahaashivaraatrii must be observed on the night of the 24th
  in this area. (The charurdashii ends at about 3:40 PM EST on the
  25th.)

  In India, however, the krishna trayodashii ends at approximately
  5 AM IST on the 25th and the chaturdashii will prevail in the night
  until about 2:10 AM IST on the 26th. So, in this case, people in
  India will observe the Mahaashivaraatrii on the 25th, which is the
  specified date in  many calendars "imported" from India.

  The Hindu population has spread throughout the world, but the
  makers of the calendars often pay little attention to the fact
  the dates of observances may be different at different places
  across the globe. Some traditional "panchaanga's" such as the
  one by Daate (in Marathi) do give the change in dates for most
  of the important observances in different parts of the world.

  namaH shivaaya cha shivataraaya cha |

  Anand



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