Mahāśivarātri 2026 - Śiva, Śakti, and the Living Wisdom of South India

We will meet in the capital of Tamil Nadu, Chennai to land, acclimatize, and familiarize ourselves with temple etiquette at the Kapaleeshwarar Mandir.

Our first stop along the way is travelling North to the state of Andhra Pradesh to the southern village of Srikalahasti. In addition to making a pilgrimage to the Srikalasteeshwara Temple - a temple associated with the element of Air - we will also partake in the Rahu-Ketu puja for which the temple is known. We will delve into what this means together, but essentially it is a ritual to contain the negative effects of the eclipse-causing nodes that may torment one's birth chart. It will be a peak into the persisting importance of astrology in Indian life, both culturally and spiritually. Finally, we will visit one of the modern lineage holders of kalamkari, a tradition of fabric painting for which Srikalahasti is famous.

Tiruvannamalai is one of the most sacred cities in all of India, and home to Mount Arunachala, the site where Ramana Maharshi spent the majority of his life. For many devotees, this alone is a reason to visit the sacred mountain, but the Annamalaiyar temple is another incredible destination.

I have a personal reason to come back, which is the 14km pradakshina (circumambulation) of the holy mountain. At all hours of the day and night, countless devotees make the trek around Arunachala as a way to honour Śiva. 

We will stay in Puducherry for two nights to join Kalarigram for their annual Mahāśivarātri festival, Tantrotsav.  Kalarigram is a school for Kalaripayattu (a South Indian form of martial arts) and other forms of traditional dance, and their annual festival is a celebration involving varied performances of art, music, dance, and ritual. Of course, the crowning event will be Mahāśivarātri itself, an all-night festival in reverence to Śiva, the Lord of Yoga and of Dance.

For this portion, we have booked comfortable accommodations nearby (with a pool!), right next to Auroville and a short drive to the heart Pondicherry. There will be options for free exploration of these famous sites... and of course, the option to simply rest by the pool is always available ;)

Click here to learn more about Tantrotsav.

We will spend one night in Madurai and visit the famous Meenakshi Temple, the only Goddess-specific temple on our pilgrimage. It is magnificent beyond description, fitting for the Queen of All Worlds, and after having darshan of the 5 forms of Śiva associated with the 5 elements, Devi Meenakshi will offer a spectacular conclusion to our temple tour.

Our final stop on the bus tour, we will spend one night in in the southernmost point in India as we cross from Tamil Nadu into Kerala, "God's Own Country."