Herath
हेरथ
Shivaratri as Kashmiri Pandits keep it
Herath is the Kashmiri Pandit name for Mahashivaratri, commonly derived from 'Har Ratri', the night of Hara. It is observed over several days in the month of Phalguna and has customs not found in most Shiv worship elsewhere.
Vatuk worship and the walnuts
A central rite is vatuk barun: a pot of water holds soaked walnuts and represents Vatuk Bhairava, who is worshipped. The walnuts are then given out as prasad. Several descriptions of this custom repeat the same text word for word, so they count as one source, not several.
A shared custom
Pandit families have traditionally given the walnuts to Muslim neighbours, and Muslim neighbours have visited Pandit homes on the festival with greetings. Reports say these visits were disrupted after Pandits left the valley in the 1990s, and that some families have kept the custom going.
How long it lasts
Sources disagree. One describes a three-day festival from the 13th night of Phalguna to the new moon, another two weeks, and a commercial guide a fifteen-day calendar from the first day of the dark fortnight. This page does not choose one.
Not yet confirmed
The master plan for this section also raised Bengal's Gajan festival as a regional Shiv tradition. It could not be confirmed or detailed, so it is deliberately left out.
Read the source chapters
Source note
Built from news reports and cultural-heritage overviews, not a primary ritual text. Treat details as tradition as reported, not scripture.