Hindu festival calendar 2026

15 February 2026 · Lord Shiva

The Great Night of Shiva — observed on the 14th night of Phalguna Krishna Paksha. Devotees fast, perform Rudrabhishek, and chant ॐ नमः शिवाय through the night across four prahars.

4 March 2026 · Krishna / Radha

Festival of colours marking the triumph of good over evil and the arrival of spring. Holika Dahan on the eve, Rangwali Holi the day after.

27 March 2026 · Lord Rama

Birth anniversary of Lord Rama — the seventh avatar of Vishnu. Observed on the 9th day of Chaitra Shukla Paksha with fasting, Ramayana recital, and bhajan kirtans.

12 April 2026 · Lord Hanuman

Birth celebration of Hanuman ji. Observed on full moon of Chaitra. Devotees recite Hanuman Chalisa 108 times, offer sindoor and chola.

19 July 2026 · 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.

4 September 2026 · 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.

15 September 2026 · Lord Ganesha

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

12 October 2026 · 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).

8 November 2026 · 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.

15 November 2026 · 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.

14 January 2026 · Surya

Sun's transition into Capricorn (Makar Rashi) — first solar festival of the year. Marks end of inauspicious Dakshinayana, beginning of Uttarayana. Kite-flying, sesame sweets (til-gur), Ganga snan.

23 January 2026 · Saraswati

Arrival of spring and birthday of Goddess Saraswati. Students place books at her feet for blessings. Wear yellow. Auspicious for vidyarambham (starting child's first lessons).

14 January 2027 · 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.

19 April 2026 · Vishnu / Lakshmi

Day of inexhaustible (akshaya) prosperity. Any new venture, purchase (especially gold), donation made today is believed to multiply. Treta Yuga began on this day.

19 May 2026 · Lord Narasimha

Appearance day of Narasimha — Vishnu's lion-headed avatar who killed Hiranyakashipu to protect devotee Prahlad. Fast from sunrise to sunset, break at dusk.

15 July 2026 · 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.

29 July 2026 · 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.

8 August 2026 · 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.

19 August 2026 · 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.

26 August 2026 · 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.

26 September 2026 · 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.

19 October 2026 · 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).

1 November 2026 · 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.

6 November 2026 · 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.

9 November 2026 · 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.

10 November 2026 · 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.

21 November 2026 · 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.

24 November 2026 · 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.

24 November 2026 · 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.

19 December 2026 · 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).

19 March 2026 · Brahma / Rama

Maharashtrian and Konkani New Year on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. Households hoist the gudi (bamboo pole with silk cloth, neem-mango leaves, sugar garland, inverted copper kalash) at the entrance at sunrise as a victory standard. Marks Brahma's creation of the universe, Shalivahana's defeat of the Shakas, and Rama's return to Ayodhya.

19 March 2026 · Brahma

Telugu and Kannada New Year on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (yuga + adi = beginning of a new age). Karnataka and Andhra-Telangana households prepare Ugadi Pachadi, a six-taste chutney mixing neem flowers, raw mango, jaggery, tamarind, salt, and green chilli — symbolising that the new year will hold sorrow, surprise, joy, disgust, fear, and anger in equal measure.

14 April 2026 · Sun / Guru Gobind Singh

Solar New Year and Punjabi harvest festival on Mesha Sankranti — when the Sun enters Aries. Also commemorates 1699 CE, when Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth at Anandpur Sahib, baptising the Panj Pyare with Amrit. Farmers thank the divine for the rabi harvest; Sikhs celebrate the birth of the Khalsa identity.

14 January 2026 · Surya

Four-day Tamil harvest festival on Thai month sankranti, dedicated to the Sun. Day 1 Bhogi Pongal (burning old belongings), Day 2 Thai Pongal (boiling fresh rice with jaggery and milk in a new clay pot until it overflows — the auspicious "Pongalo Pongal" cry), Day 3 Mattu Pongal (worship of cattle), Day 4 Kaanum Pongal (family visits and outings).

13 January 2026 · Agni / Surya

Punjabi winter-solstice harvest festival on the eve of Makar Sankranti. Families and neighbourhoods gather around a bonfire at dusk, circumambulating it while tossing sesame seeds, jaggery, rewari, popcorn, and peanuts into the flames as offerings to Agni. The ballad of Dulla Bhatti — the 16th-century Punjabi Robin Hood who rescued Hindu girls from slave traders — is sung in chorus.

19 October 2026 · 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.

14 April 2026 · Vishnu / Krishna

Malayali New Year on Medam 1 (Sun's entry into Mesha rashi), centred on the Vishukkani — the first auspicious sight at dawn. Elders arrange a uruli (bronze vessel) the previous night with raw rice, golden Konna (cassia fistula) flowers, fresh fruits, a mirror, gold coins, a yellow cucumber, and an image of Krishna; family members are led to it blindfolded at sunrise to ensure their first vision of the year is prosperous.

12 July 2026 · 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.

15 August 2026 · 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.

9 October 2026 · 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.

1 February 2026 · Lord Murugan (Kartikeya — Subrahmanya)

The full-moon festival of Thai (Jan-Feb) when the Pusam nakshatra is ascendant — commemorating Parvati handing the divine vel (lance) to Murugan to destroy the asura Soorapadman. Tamil devotees worldwide undertake the kavadi-attam — bearing decorated wooden arches on the shoulders, often with skin piercings of the vel through cheek and tongue, walking barefoot up the 272 steps of Batu Caves (Kuala Lumpur, 1.6 million pilgrims), Palani Hill Temple (one of the Aaru Padai Veedu), and Murugan Temple Penang.

24 January 2026 · Surya (Sun)

The seventh day of the bright fortnight of Magha — marking the Sun god turning his celestial chariot (drawn by seven horses) towards the northern hemisphere (uttarayana). Considered Surya Jayanti — the symbolic birthday of the Sun. Devotees bathe at sunrise placing seven arka (calotropis) leaves on the head — one on each shoulder, both knees, both feet, and the crown — representing the sapta-ashva of the Sun’s ratha.

21 March 2026 · Goddess Gauri (Parvati)

The 18-day Rajasthan festival beginning the day after Holi and culminating on Chaitra Shukla Tritiya — celebrating Parvati’s reunion with Shiva. Unmarried women observe the vrat to obtain a good husband; married women for marital harmony and the long life of their spouse. Clay murtis of Isar (Shiva) and Gangaur (Parvati) are dressed daily by women in their finest, paraded on Tritiya through the streets of Jaipur, Udaipur, and Bikaner with the queens of the erstwhile royal families leading the procession.

26 September 2026 · 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.

1 December 2026 · 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.

3 December 2026 · 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.

26 October 2026 · 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.

19 March 2026 · Durga

Chaitra Navaratri, also known as Vasanta Navaratri or Rama Navaratri, spans the first nine tithis of the Shukla Paksha of Chaitra and culminates on Rama Navami, the appearance day of Shri Rama. Beginning with Ugadi-Gudi Padwa pratipada ghatasthapana, devotees invoke the nine forms of Durga — Shailaputri through Siddhidatri — one each day, paralleling the autumnal Sharada Navaratri. The festival marks the Hindu New Year in much of North India, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra, and is celebrated with special fervour in the Shakti peethas of Vaishno Devi, Jwalamukhi and Chintpurni. The Devi Mahatmya of Markandeya Purana is the principal liturgical text.

2 November 2026 · 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.

12 May 2026 · Vishnu

Varuthini Ekadashi falls on the Krishna Paksha Ekadashi of Vaishakha month and is glorified by Shri Krishna himself to Yudhishthira in the Bhavishyottara Purana as the bestower of varutha — divine armour and protection. The vrata commemorates the rescue of King Mandhata, who while performing tapasya was seized by a bear; Vishnu appeared as Varaha-rupa and not only delivered the king but, in compassion, granted moksha to the bear as well. Observed across Vaishnava sampradayas from Vrindavan to Udupi, the ekadashi is particularly associated with charitable giving of grain, gold and cow (godana) to qualified brahmanas at sunrise on dwadashi.

30 December 2026 · 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.

27 May 2026 · Vishnu

Nirjala Ekadashi, falling on the Shukla Paksha Ekadashi of Jyeshtha month, is the most austere of all twenty-four Ekadashis because devotees abstain from even a single drop of water for twenty-four hours. The vrata is also called Bhimseni Ekadashi after the Pandava prince Bhima, who according to the Mahabharata could not fast on the regular Ekadashis due to his enormous appetite and was advised by sage Vyasa to observe this single waterless fast to obtain the cumulative merit of all twenty-four. The festival is observed across India with special intensity in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, where water-distribution camps (jal seva) and clay-pot donations are organized. Vaishnava temples conduct elaborate abhishekams of Lord Vishnu with panchamrita and ganga jala. In the scorching pre-monsoon heat of Jyeshtha, the vrata becomes a powerful test of bhakti, discipline, and surrender to Narayana.

14 September 2026 · 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.

30 May 2026 · Vishnu

Narasimha Jayanti commemorates the appearance of Lord Vishnu in his fierce half-man half-lion avatar to protect his young devotee Prahlada and slay the tyrant Hiranyakashipu. The festival falls on the Chaturdashi of the bright fortnight of Vaishakha and is observed at sandhya, the twilight hour, because the Puranas record that Narasimha emerged at precisely that liminal moment which is neither day nor night, fulfilling the boon that had made the demon king invulnerable in every familiar way. Devotees across India, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka where Narasimha shrines abound, observe a fast through the day and break it after the evening puja. The mood of the festival is one of protective ferocity tempered by tenderness, for the same lord who tore apart Hiranyakashipu cradled Prahlada on his lap. Reciting the Narasimha Kavacha is considered especially auspicious for removing fear, illness, and persistent obstacles.

25 September 2026 · 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.

29 January 2026 · Vishnu

Jaya Ekadashi falls on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of Magha and is celebrated as one of the most powerful Ekadashis dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The Padma Purana narrates that this vrata was once observed by a celestial gandharva named Pushpadanta and an apsara called Pushpavati who had been cursed by Indra to take birth as pisachas in the Himalayas. Through the unintended observance of Jaya Ekadashi, fasting and remaining awake the entire night while remembering Vishnu, they were liberated from their pisacha forms and restored to their celestial bodies. The festival therefore holds a special place in the Vaishnava calendar as the Ekadashi that grants liberation from the lower births and curses that bind the soul. Devotees observe a strict nirjala or phalahar fast, recite the Vishnu Sahasranama and the Jaya Ekadashi Vrata Katha, and engage in night long bhajan and kirtan. The day before, Dashami, is observed with one satvic meal, and the parana on Dwadashi morning is performed after the prescribed window. Temples of Vishnu, especially in north India and the Ganga basin, conduct special abhishekas, alankaras, and tulsi archana through the day.

17 February 2026 · Vishnu and Shiva

Mauni Amavasya falls on the new moon day of the Magha month and is observed as one of the most sacred bathing days in the Hindu calendar, second only to the Maha Kumbh snan days in importance. The name combines mauna meaning silence and amavasya meaning the new moon, and the festival prescribes the observance of complete or partial silence through the day along with a holy dip at sunrise in the Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, or any sacred water body. The Manu Smriti and the Skanda Purana describe this day as the date when the rishi Manu came into being and when the first vaivasvata manvantara began, making it a day of cosmic renewal. During the Magh Mela and Kumbh Mela cycles at Prayagraj, Mauni Amavasya draws the largest single day gathering of any festival on earth, with crores of pilgrims taking the sangam snan at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the invisible Saraswati. Naga sadhus, akharas, and ascetics lead the shahi snan processions, followed by householder pilgrims who believe that a single dip on this day, taken in silence with remembrance of Vishnu, washes away the sins of many lifetimes. The day is also dedicated to the ancestors through pitru tarpana and offering of food, water, and clothes to brahmanas.

20 November 2026 · 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.

29 October 2026 · 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.

1 September 2026 · 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.