Hindu Calendar 2026

Various (river deities)

World's largest religious gathering — held every 12 years at Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik. Next Maha Kumbh Prayagraj 2027 expected to draw 40+ crore pilgrims over 45 days.

Mahakali

Folk Mahakali festival of Telangana observed across the Sundays of Ashada masa, peaking at the Golconda Fort Jagadambika temple and Secunderabad Ujjaini Mahakali. Women carry "bonam" (offering) — earthen pots stacked with cooked rice, jaggery, milk, and curd, lit with a deepa and crowned with neem leaves — on their heads in procession to the Devi temple as gratitude for surviving the rainy-season epidemics.

Lord Jagannath

Annual chariot procession at Puri — only festival where the deity comes out of the temple to meet devotees. Three massive wooden chariots pulled 3 km by lakhs of devotees.

Vyasa / Guru

Honoring spiritual and academic teachers. Falls on the full moon of Ashadha. Marks the day Veda Vyasa was born and the day Buddha gave his first sermon.

Ved Vyasa / Guru

Honors the guru who removes darkness (gu) and brings light (ru). Marks birthday of Ved Vyasa, compiler of Vedas, Mahabharata. Disciples touch guru's feet, offer dakshina.

Sarpa (serpent deities)

Worship of snake deities (Nag devta). Offer milk and turmeric at snake holes/idols. Believed to ward off snake-bite fears and dispel Kaal Sarp dosh from birth chart.

Goddess Parvati

Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya nirjala vrat observed by married women and unmarried girls of north India, Nepal, Rajasthan, and Bihar for marital longevity and the boon of a Shiva-like husband. Named "Hartalika" because Parvati's sakhis (her female friends) abducted her to the forest to prevent her father's plan to marry her to Vishnu, allowing her to continue penance for Shiva.

None (sibling bond)

Sister ties rakhi (sacred thread) on brother's wrist; brother vows lifelong protection. Diaspora celebration is massive — rakhis posted/couriered globally weeks in advance.

King Mahabali / Vamana

Kerala's 10-day harvest festival celebrating return of beloved king Mahabali. Floral rangoli (pookalam), 26-dish vegetarian feast (sadhya), snake-boat races, Thiruvonam climax.

Parvati and Shiva

Kajari Teej, also known as Kajli Teej or Badi Teej, falls on the third day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada and is the second of the three monsoon Teej festivals dedicated to goddess Parvati, the others being Hariyali Teej in Shravana and Hartalika Teej in Bhadrapada Shukla. The festival is observed with greatest fervor across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar where it marks the height of the post monsoon greenery and the seasonal longing of married women for their husbands and of unmarried girls for the divine union of Shiva and Parvati that they seek to emulate. The name kajari derives from the dark monsoon clouds and the folk songs by the same name that are sung in groups by women on the swings tied to neem and peepal trees, the lyrics weaving the themes of viraha, monsoon beauty, and the lila of Radha and Krishna. In Bundi and Banaras the festival is observed with grand processions of the Teej Mata idol through the city streets, accompanied by camels, horses, folk dancers, and the gathered citizenry. Married women fast through the day from food and water for the long life of their husbands, sing kajari songs in courtyards through the evening, and break the fast only after sighting the rising moon and offering arghya with neem leaves, sattu, and seasonal fruits.

Lord Krishna

Birth anniversary of Krishna — eighth avatar of Vishnu. Observed on the 8th day of Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha with midnight celebration, fasting, and Dahi Handi tradition.

Devi

Hartalika Teej, observed on the Shukla Paksha Tritiya of Bhadrapada month, is the most sacred vrata for married and unmarried women across North India, Nepal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. The Bhavishya Purana and Skanda Purana narrate that Goddess Parvati performed this nirjala vrata for one hundred years in a dense forest after her sakhis (friends) abducted (haran) her to prevent her marriage to Vishnu, which her father Himavan had arranged. Pleased by her tapasya, Lord Shiva appeared and granted her the boon of becoming his eternal consort. Married women observe the vrata for the long life and well-being of their husbands, while unmarried girls fast for a suitable Shiva-like spouse. The festival is marked by hand-painted henna, green and red bridal attire, traditional songs, and the establishment of clay idols of Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha for night-long worship.

Lord Ganesha

Ten-day festival celebrating the arrival of Ganesha in homes and pandals. Begins on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi, ends with Anant Chaturdashi visarjan.

Vishnu

Anant Chaturdashi falls on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in his form as Ananta, the endless one who reclines upon the serpent Shesha across the cosmic ocean. The festival is best known across western and central India as the day on which Ganesha idols installed for the ten day Ganesh Utsav are immersed in water with great processions, but its older Vaishnava observance involves the tying of the sacred Anant Sutra, a fourteen-knotted thread sanctified through puja and worn on the right wrist by men and on the left by women. The Mahabharata records that Krishna instructed Yudhishthira to perform this vrata after the Pandavas had lost their kingdom, and through its merit they regained their throne and ended their sorrows. The day combines fasting, scriptural recitation of the Anant Vrata Katha, and the offering of fourteen items including fourteen kinds of fruit and fourteen sweets.

Ancestors (pitru)

16-day period for ancestor (shraadh) rituals. Tarpan and pind-daan offered daily. Considered inauspicious for new ventures, weddings, purchases. Gaya is the most powerful venue.

Lord Vishnu (Ananta Padmanabha)

The 14th day of Bhadrapada Shukla Paksha — marking the worship of Vishnu in his Ananta-Shesha reclining form, and also the immersion (visarjan) day for Ganesh murtis after 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi. Devotees tie the sacred Ananta-sutra — a 14-knotted yellow or red cotton thread — on the right wrist (men) or left wrist (women), invoking Vishnu’s 14 lokas of protection. Mumbai sees its largest visarjan procession of the year at Girgaum Chowpatty with over 200,000 Ganesh murtis immersed.

Pitrs / Goddess Durga

New-moon closing day of Pitru Paksha (the 16-day dark fortnight of ancestor remembrance) and the dawn-invocation that opens Devi Paksha leading to Durga Puja. Sons perform Tarpan at riverbanks — offering water, black sesame, and pinda to three generations of paternal and maternal ancestors. In Bengal, families wake before dawn to All India Radio's 1931 Birendra Krishna Bhadra rendition of Mahishasura Mardini, a 90-year unbroken ritual broadcast.

Maa Durga

Nine nights of Devi worship in autumn. Begins on Ashwin Shukla Pratipada. Each day honors one of the nine forms of Durga (Nava Durga).

Durga / Rama

Celebrates Rama's victory over Ravana and Durga's victory over Mahishasura. Effigies of Ravana, Meghnath, Kumbhakarna burned at sunset. Auspicious for new beginnings (Shastra puja, vidyarambh).

Goddess Durga

Five-day Bengali celebration of Goddess Durga's slaying of Mahishasura, peaking on Maha Ashtami of Sharada Navaratri. Artisans of Kumartuli sculpt clay murtis of ten-armed Durga flanked by Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya through the year. Sarbojanin (community) pandals across Kolkata transform neighbourhoods into open-air art galleries; Bonedi Bari (aristocratic household) pujas preserve 300-year-old family rites.

Murugan

Skanda Shashti, observed on the Shukla Shashti of the Tamil month Aippasi, commemorates the day Murugan (Skanda-Kartikeya) annihilated the asura Surapadma at Tiruchendur on the Tamil coast, restoring dharma to the devas. The six-day Soorasamharam festival at the Tiruchendur Arulmigu Subramanya Swamy Temple culminates in a dramatic re-enactment where the vel pierces Surapadma, who is transformed into the peacock vahana and rooster banner of the Lord. The vratam is widely observed in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia, and finds scriptural sanction in the Skanda Purana and the Tamil Kanda Puranam of Kachiyappa Sivacharya.

Vishnu and Amla tree

Akshay Navami, also called Amla Navami or Kushmanda Navami, falls on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Kartika and is observed as a day on which every action of dharma performed yields akshay or undiminishing merit through the entire treta yuga cycle. The Padma Purana and the Skanda Purana narrate that on this day the treta yuga began, the avatar of Krishna performed govardhan puja, and the sacred amla or Indian gooseberry tree, regarded as the dwelling place of Vishnu and Lakshmi, is to be worshipped with circumambulation and the offering of food. The most distinctive ritual of the day is the amla vriksha puja in which a satvic feast is prepared and consumed under the shade of an amla tree, with the first portion offered to the tree itself and to brahmanas seated nearby. The day also commemorates the appearance of goddess Kushmanda, the fourth form of the navadurga, who is said to have created the universe through her divine smile, and many devotees in Mathura, Vrindavan, and the Braj region undertake the eighty four kos parikrama of Braj beginning on Akshay Navami. Married women observe a special vrata for the long life and prosperity of their husbands and children, and donations of food, clothing, and gold made on this day are believed to multiply manifold in their merit.

Shiva / Parvati / Moon

Wives fast nirjala (no food, no water) from sunrise to moonrise, praying for husband's longevity. Moon sighted through a sieve before breaking fast — husband offers first water.

Ahoi Mata

Ahoi Ashtami falls on the Krishna Paksha Ashtami of Kartik month, observed primarily by mothers across North India — Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal and Uttarakhand — for the long life, health and prosperity of their children. Ahoi Mata, a benevolent form of Parvati, is depicted with eight corners (ashta-koshthaka) on a wall painting or pata along with her cubs, recalling the legend of a merchant's wife who accidentally killed a porcupine's young while digging clay and lost her own seven sons until Ahoi Mata's grace restored them. The vrata-katha is recited in the evening before sighting stars or the moon.

Dhanvantari / Lakshmi / Kubera

First day of Diwali week. Worship of Dhanvantari (god of Ayurveda) and Lakshmi. Buying gold, silver, utensils, brooms today believed to multiply wealth 13-fold.

Maa Lakshmi

Festival of lights — five-day celebration centered on Lakshmi puja. Marks Rama's return to Ayodhya and Lakshmi's emergence from samudra manthan.

Krishna / Govardhan

Annakut — day after Diwali. Commemorates Krishna lifting Govardhan hill to shelter Vrindavan from Indra's wrath. 56-item bhog (chappan bhog) offered to Krishna; cow worship central.

Yama / Yamuna (sibling bond)

Sister applies tilak on brother's forehead and prays for his long life. Originates from Yama-Yamuna myth. Brother gives gifts. Marks the close of Diwali week.

Surya / Chhathi Maiya

Four-day festival of the Sun god. Most celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern UP. Strict 36-hour nirjala fast culminating in arghya at sunrise.

Vishnu

Devotthan Ekadashi, also known as Prabodhini Ekadashi or Dev Uthani Gyaras, falls on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of Kartika and marks the awakening of Lord Vishnu from his four month yogic slumber on the cosmic ocean. According to the Skanda Purana and the Padma Purana, Vishnu enters yoga nidra on Devshayani Ekadashi in Ashadha and reclines on Shesha Naga through the chaturmasa, during which time auspicious ceremonies such as marriages, griha pravesha, and major yajnas are suspended. On Devotthan Ekadashi he is ritually awakened with the recitation of the Prabodhini Stotra, the ringing of bells, the blowing of conches, and the singing of awakening mantras, and the four month chaturmasa vrata of monks and householders concludes with great celebration. The day is closely linked to Tulsi Vivah which follows on Dwadashi, the symbolic marriage of the tulsi plant representing Vrinda to Shaligram representing Vishnu, after which the wedding season of the year formally opens across India. In Vrindavan, Mathura, Pandharpur, and Vaishnava centers, the festival is marked by elaborate processions, jhulan, and the first major sankirtan of the post monsoon season. Devotees observe the ekadashi fast, decorate their courtyards with sugarcane stalks and rangoli, and light rows of lamps echoing the recent Diwali festivities.

Tulsi / Vishnu (Shaligram)

Ceremonial wedding of Tulsi (basil plant) to Shaligram (Vishnu). Marks end of Chaturmas — wedding season can resume. Full Hindu wedding rituals performed for the plant.

Shiva / Vishnu / Kartikeya

Full moon of Kartik month. Dev Diwali — gods descend to bathe in Ganga at Varanasi. Lakhs of diyas lit on ghats. Shiva killed Tripurasura — also called Tripuri Purnima.

Rama / Sita

Wedding anniversary of Lord Rama and Sita. Massive celebrations at Janakpur (Nepal) and Ayodhya. Marriage of unmarried devotees gets a divine boost when done on or near this day.

Lord Krishna (as Gitacharya)

The Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi (Mokshada Ekadashi) — the very day in Dvapara Yuga when Lord Krishna delivered the 700-verse Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield before the Mahabharata war. Devotees undertake full parayana of all 18 chapters and 700 verses in a single day. ISKCON celebrates with continuous gita-pravachana at every centre worldwide. Kurukshetra city hosts the International Gita Mahotsav with delegations from 40+ countries.

Shiva

Karthigai Deepam falls on the Pournami of the Tamil month Karthigai when the moon conjoins the Krittika nakshatra, observed across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka. Legend recalls Shiva manifesting as an infinite jyotirlinga of fire at Tiruvannamalai, humbling Brahma and Vishnu who could not measure His ends; the Mahadeepam atop Arunachala Hill is lit at dusk and visible for miles. Homes glow with rows of agal vilakku (clay lamps) on verandahs and thresholds, while temples conduct Krittika abhisheka. The festival predates Diwali in Tamil tradition and is referenced in Tolkappiyam and Ahananuru Sangam literature.

Krishna

Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield on this day. Recitation of Gita today liberates ancestors (mokshada = bestower of moksha).

Vishnu

Vaikuntha Ekadashi falls on the Shukla Paksha Ekadashi of the Margashirsha or Pausha month and is considered the most powerful Ekadashi of the entire year. According to the Padma Purana, on this day Lord Vishnu opens the Vaikuntha Dwaram, the celestial gateway to his supreme abode, and souls who fast and worship sincerely are granted liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The festival is observed with particular grandeur at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tirumala Tirupati, and Vaishnava centers across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala, where devotees walk through specially decorated Vaikuntha Dwaram corridors. In North India it is observed as Mukkoti Ekadashi or Putrada Ekadashi of Pausha. Devotees from all Vaishnava sampradayas, including Sri Vaishnavas, Madhvas, and Gaudiyas, treat this day as the spiritual zenith of the year, combining strict fasting with night-long Vishnu sahasranama chanting and Tiruppavai recitation.