Mahashivratri 2024 fasting guidelines: what to do and what not to do when fasting for Lord Shiva2024’s Mahashivaratri:

Devotees customarily fast on the holy day of Shivratri and ask Lord Shiva for blessings. The festival is scheduled on March 8, 2024, this year.

Different kinds of fast

Three different kinds of fasts are observed: Samapta, Phalahara, and Nirjala. As part of the ceremonies on March 9, it is advised to perform a puja, give homemade sweets and fruits, and take a cleansing bath. Requirements for fasting include getting up early, tidying up the environment, avoiding salt, leading a pure lifestyle, and engaging in meditation and mantra recitation.Mahashivratri Dietary

Guidelines:

People celebrate this important Hindu holiday on the holy day of Mahashivratri, which is dedicated to paying homage to Lord Shiva. A lot of people are getting ready to fast, pray to Lord Shiva, and ask for blessings from the gods. All around the country, people celebrate Maha Shivratri with great enthusiasm and majesty. Maha Shivratri happens on March 8, 2024 this year.

1. Nirjala Vrat: Choosing the Nirjala Fast means not eating or drinking anything throughout the fasting period. The fast begins on March 8, 2024, at 12:00 AM, and ends on March 9, 2024, at daybreak.
2. Phalahara Vrat: Followers of this fasting method are allowed to drink tea, water, coffee, lassi, coconut water, fruit juice, and dry, non-salted fruits.
3. Samapta Vrat: One of the fasting practices followed during Mahashivratri is the Samapta fast. People who observe this kind of fast are free to eat anything that falls within the Phalahara Vrat, which includes non-grain foods including fruits, milk, nuts, water, and herbal beverages. They are also allowed to have one meal, which is usually composed of sweets like soojhi halwa, rice kheer, makhana kheer, jaggery kheer, or other sweets. Typically, this meal is eaten in the evening following the fasting period.

Guidelines for Mahashivratri Fasting

The guidelines for fasting on Mahashivratri are as follows:

1. Before beginning any puja rites, get up early and take a holy bath.
2. Tidy up the house, paying special attention to the puja chamber where Lord Shiva is kept.
3. Refrain from eating salt on Mahashivratri day.
4. Adopt a sattvik lifestyle and abstain from tamasik practices like gambling, fighting, eating meat, onions, or garlic.
5. On the day of Mahashivratri, cutting one’s nails or hair is deemed unlucky.
6. During the festival of Mahashivratri, practice meditation.
7. Recite mantras to ask Lord Shiva for blessings.
8. To appease the Lord, perform Jalabhishekam or Rudrabhishekam.
9. It is said that individuals keeping the fast will benefit from reading holy texts like the Shiv Chalisa.
10. Only vegetarian food made with sendha namak or rock salt should be consumed by pregnant women, the elderly, sick persons, and those who are unable to keep a fast. Phalahara can be eaten on Mahashivratri after dusk.