Sharad Purnima 2026: Date and Kojagara Lakshmi Puja

Sharad Purnima 2026: date, Purnima tithi and Kojagara night timings

Sharad Purnima 2026 is Sunday, 25 October 2026, and the Kojagara vigil is the night of Sunday 25 into Monday 26 October. The Purnima tithi, computed with the Swiss Ephemeris, begins at 11:56 am IST on 25 October and ends at 9:41 am on 26 October, so it is the night of the 25th that the full moon governs; the daytime Purnima by the sunrise rule is the 26th, which is why some calendars print 26 October for Purnima and 25 October for Sharad Purnima. Both are right; they answer different questions.

Readers in other Indian cities: moonrise shifts by up to 40 minutes east to west; the tithi times are the same everywhere in IST. Abroad, convert the tithi to local time and keep the night on which the Purnima holds after moonrise.

Kojagara Lakshmi Puja: how the night is kept

1. Evening: bathe, light a lamp for Lakshmi and Chandra, and set the kheer (rice, milk, sugar, cardamom, saffron) to cool.
2. After moonrise: place the kheer in an open vessel under the moon, on the terrace or in the courtyard, covered only with a thin cloth or net.
3. Nishita muhurat, 11:41 pm to 12:29 am: Lakshmi puja with lotus or white flowers, rice, coins and the lamp; the vigil (Kojagara: "who is awake?") is kept through the night with bhajans, dice or cards in the old custom.
4. Morning of 26 October: the kheer is taken as prasad, first by the elders and the ill, and shared with the household.

Kheer under the moonlight: the tradition and what it means

The best-known ritual of Sharad Purnima is kheer kept under the moonlight. Rice kheer made with milk is covered with a fine cloth and set out in the open after moonrise, usually on a terrace or courtyard, and eaten the next morning as prasad. Tradition holds that on this one night of the year the Moon shines with all sixteen kalas and its rays carry amrit, so the kheer is left to receive them; it is a belief about the night's sanctity rather than a medical claim.

Other rituals and traditions of the night: staying awake (the Kojagari vigil, from "ko jagarti", "who is awake?", when Lakshmi is said to bless those awake), Lakshmi puja at Nishita, and in Vrindavan the celebration of Krishna's Maha Raas. The fast, where kept, is broken after the Moon is offered water.

Why this full moon: the sixteen kalas and amrit

Ashwina Purnima is the one night of the year on which the moon is said to shine with all sixteen kalas, and its rays to carry amrit; this is the reason the kheer is left in the moonlight and eaten the next morning, and the reason Ayurvedic tradition treats the night's moonlight as cooling and restorative at the turn of the season. In Braj it is also Raas Purnima, the night of Krishna's raas with the gopis, and the Kojagara Lakshmi vrat of Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Mithila keeps the vigil for Lakshmi, who is said to visit those awake.

Sharad Purnima across India

• North India: kheer under the moon; Kojagara vigil in Bihar and eastern UP; new sons-in-law are honoured in Mithila.
• Bengal, Odisha, Assam: Kojagari Lakshmi Puja at home on this night, the alpana drawn to the door; the Bengali year's main Lakshmi puja is this one, not Diwali.
• Gujarat: Sharad Poonam garba through the night; doodh-pauva (milk and flattened rice) set out under the moon.
• Maharashtra: Kojagiri Purnima with masala milk on the terrace; the first-born child is honoured.
• Braj and Vrindavan: Raas Purnima, the Maharaas at the temples; in Odisha it is Kumar Purnima for unmarried girls.

Dos and don'ts on Sharad Purnima

• Do put the kheer out only after moonrise, and bring it in before sunrise.
• Do keep the Lakshmi puja inside the Nishita window; it is the timing that defines Kojagara.
• Don't keep the vigil on the night of the 24th: the Purnima tithi has not yet begun, and that night is Chaturdashi.
• Don't leave the kheer uncovered to dew and insects; a fine net keeps it clean without blocking the moonlight.

Frequently asked questions