Purnima is the full moon, the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, observed as a vrat day in most Hindu traditions. A standard year has 12 Purnimas; 2026, with an intercalary Jyeshtha (Adhik Maas), carries 13, including a rare Adhika Jyeshtha Purnima on 31 May 2026. Below is the full 2026 calendar, the named Purnimas that carry their own festivals (Buddha, Guru, Sharad, Kartika), and the household vrat practice.
The 2026 Purnima calendar
- 3 January (Sat): Paush Purnima. Magh Mela snan opens at Prayagraj.
- 1 February (Sun): Magha Purnima.
- 3 March (Tue): Phalguna Purnima. Holi (Holika Dahan night before; Rangwali Holi after, due to lunar eclipse).
- 2 April (Thu): Chaitra Purnima. Hanuman Jayanti in north Indian reckoning.
- 1 May (Fri): Vaishakha Purnima. Buddha Purnima; Kurma Jayanti.
- 31 May (Sun): Adhika Jyeshtha Purnima. The Adhik Maas full moon.
- 29 June (Mon): Jyeshtha Purnima. Vat Purnima vrat in some regions.
- 29 July (Wed): Ashadha Purnima. Guru Purnima / Vyasa Purnima.
- 28 August (Fri): Shravana Purnima. Raksha Bandhan; Narali Purnima; Upakarma; Hayagriva Jayanti.
- 26 September (Sat): Bhadrapada Purnima. Pitru Paksha opens.
- 26 October (Mon): Ashwin Purnima. Sharad Purnima; Kojagara vrat.
- 24 November (Tue): Kartika Purnima. Dev Diwali at Varanasi; Guru Nanak Jayanti.
- 23 December (Wed): Margashirsha Purnima. Dattatreya Jayanti.
What Purnima marks
Purnima is the lunar full reflection: sun and moon directly opposite, the moon’s full lit hemisphere facing earth. In Vedic and Puranic frames it is the most luminous tithi, paired symbolically with Amavasya’s darkness. The Atharva Veda treats Purnima as auspicious for any new commitment; the Garuda Purana names it as the day for satyanarayana vrat. The Tantric tradition treats certain Purnimas (Kojagara, Sharad) as the night of Lakshmi’s wandering, when households are asked to stay awake and play dice in her honour.
Eight of the thirteen 2026 Purnimas carry their own named festivals, which is unusually high; the Adhik Maas adds Adhika Jyeshtha Purnima as the standalone extra. The remaining four (Paush, Magha, Jyeshtha, Margashirsha) are observed primarily as household vrats and tarpana days.
The notable Purnimas of 2026
- Buddha Purnima (1 May 2026): Vaishakha Purnima. The birth, enlightenment and parinirvana of the Buddha are all traditionally placed on this date. Observed across Hindu and Buddhist communities as a major day; the Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya holds the principal observance.
- Guru Purnima (29 July 2026): Ashadha Purnima. Vyasa Puja; the canonical day for guru-honouring across Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Chaturmasya begins.
- Raksha Bandhan (28 August 2026): Shravana Purnima. The sister-brother rakhi day, with Narali Purnima, Upakarma and Pavitropana as parallel regional observances on the same tithi.
- Sharad Purnima (26 October 2026): Ashwin Purnima. Kojagara vrat: the night when Lakshmi is said to wander asking “ko jagrata” (who is awake). Kheer is prepared and left under the moonlight to absorb its rays.
- Kartika Purnima (24 November 2026): Dev Diwali at Varanasi; the ghats are lit with lakhs of diyas. Guru Nanak Jayanti also falls on this Purnima.
- Margashirsha Purnima (23 December 2026): Dattatreya Jayanti, marking the birth of the three-headed deity who is the joint form of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva. The principal observance is at Mahur in Maharashtra and Pithapuram in Andhra.
Satyanarayana Vrat: the most universal Purnima ritual
The Satyanarayana Puja is the most common Purnima observance across Hindu households nationally. It is performed on any Purnima, traditionally evening, with a chowki holding an image of Vishnu as Satyanarayana, a kalash, and the panchamrita ingredients. The Skanda Purana account is read in five chapters (Satyanarayana Katha), each chapter narrating a story of someone whose devotion to the vow brought reward or whose neglect brought misfortune.
The prasad is sapatadhanya (seven grains) cooked into a sweetened sheera-like preparation with ghee, sugar, banana and milk. It is distributed after the katha. The vrat is suitable for almost any householder concern: a child’s school admission, a job, a wedding, an illness in the family. Its accessibility is the reason for its ubiquity.
Vat Savitri and Vat Purnima
The Jyeshtha Purnima vrat (29 June 2026) is observed in Maharashtra and parts of Karnataka as Vat Purnima: married women circumambulate a banyan tree (vat) and tie threads on it while invoking the Savitri-Satyavan story from the Mahabharata. Satyavan, fated to die on a specific day, was brought back from Yama by his wife Savitri’s persuasive devotion under a banyan tree. The Jyeshtha Krishna Amavasya version, observed in north India a fortnight earlier (Vat Savitri Vrat), uses the same story.
For what it’s worth, the older form is the Vat Savitri Vrat on Jyeshtha Amavasya; the Vat Purnima form on Jyeshtha Purnima is the Maharashtrian variant. Either is canonical depending on regional tradition.
Common questions
Why are some Purnimas named after deities?
The Puranic tradition associates each lunar month with a presiding form: Vaishakha with Vishnu (and Buddha), Ashadha with Vyasa-Vishnu, Shravana with Vishnu’s protection (rakhi), Ashwin with Lakshmi (Sharad), Kartika with deva-Diwali, Margashirsha with Krishna (Gita) and Dattatreya. The Purnima of each month carries the principal festival of the deity associated with the month.
What is the kheer-under-moonlight tradition on Sharad Purnima?
On Sharad Purnima (26 October 2026) households prepare a kheer (milk-rice payasam) in the evening and leave it on the terrace or open window through the night, covered with a fine muslin cloth. The classical reading is that the moon’s rays imbue the kheer with amrita-like properties. The next morning the kheer is consumed as Lakshmi’s prasad. Lakshmi is said to wander asking “ko jagrata?” through the night, blessing those who stay awake; some households extend the kheer ritual with dice games or kirtan to maintain wakefulness.
What is the Adhika Purnima of 31 May 2026?
The Adhik Maas (intercalary month) of 2026 is a second Jyeshtha. The Purnima of this intercalary month is the Adhika Jyeshtha Purnima on 31 May. It has no named festival but is treated by Vaishnavas as particularly meritorious for satyanarayana puja and tarpana, because Adhik Maas is read as Purushottama Maas, Krishna’s month.
One limitation worth noting
Hanuman Jayanti is observed on Chaitra Purnima (2 April 2026) in north India and on a separate date (Margashirsha or Vaishakha) in different regional traditions. The dates above follow the north Indian reckoning; the Tamil and Telugu Hanuman Jayanti is a different date. Local sampradaya panchang is the source for the regional answer.
For broader reading see Wikipedia on Purnima and the Drik Panchang 2026 Purnima calendar.
