Bhadrapada Purnima

Bhadrapada Purnima 2026: key dates and times

• Date: Saturday, 26 September 2026

• Purnima Tithi begins: 11:06 PM on September 25, 2026

• Purnima Tithi ends: 10:18 PM on September 26, 2026

• Satyanarayan puja muhurat: 07:42 AM to 09:12 AM (Alternatively, the holy Abhijit Muhurat

• can also be observed between 11:48 AM and 12:36 PM)

• Moonrise: 05:55 PM

• Purnima Shraddha aparahna kaal: 01:24 PM to 03:49 PM

What the day marks

Every Purnima is held to be suited to snan, daan and vrat, and the Bhadrapada one sits at a particular hinge in the year. The monsoon month is ending, the festival season around Ganesh Utsav has just closed, and the fortnight given to ancestors is about to begin. Many observers keep a fast through the day and break it after sighting the moon.

How it's observed

The day usually starts with a bath, ideally in a river or with Ganga jal added to the water at home. Households perform the Satyanarayan puja and read or hear the katha, offering panchamrit and a sheera prasad of semolina, ghee and sugar. Daan is the other half of the day: grain, cloth, ghee or a meal given to a priest or to anyone in need. In the evening the moon is offered arghya with water and the fast is broken.

Purnima Shraddha

This is also the day for Purnima Shraddha. Shraddha is performed on the tithi on which a person passed away, so those whose parents or grandparents died on a Purnima make their offering today rather than waiting for a day inside Pitru Paksha. Tarpan is offered with water, black sesame and kusha grass in the aparahna period of the afternoon, and food is set aside for crows, cows and a Brahmin before the family eats. Pitru Paksha proper begins the following day with Pratipada Shraddha.

Choosing the right time

Purnima spans two calendar days in most years, so the vrat, the puja and the shraddha can fall on different dates depending on which part of the tithi each one needs. The Satyanarayan puja is done while Purnima is running, and the shraddha is done in aparahna. Check the Purnima start and end, moonrise and aparahna window for your city in the Panchang above, or in the Kaalo app.