Maha-shivaratri, (Sanskrit: “Great Night of Shiva”) the most important sectarian festival of the year for devotees of the Hindu god Shiva. Maha Shivaratri marks the occasion when Shiva first performed the Tandava Nritya – also known as the dance of primordial creation, preservation, and destruction. It was through this dance of devotion that Lord Shiva saved the world from destruction.