Festivals — the year as it is kept
उत्सव
Also written: hindu festivals · diwali · holi · navratri · shivaratri · hindu calendar festivals · त्योहार
The festival calendar is lunisolar, so most dates move against the Gregorian year. Underneath the variety there is a pattern: the solar turning points, the lunar phases, the seasonal transitions, and the great mythic events are all marked.
| Festival | When | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Makara Saṅkrānti / Pongal / Bihu / Lohri | c. 14 January | The sun's entry into Makara — the northward turn. One of the few solar-fixed festivals |
| Mahā Śivarātri | Phālguna Kṛṣṇa 14 | The great night of Śiva; night-long vigil and abhiṣeka |
| Holī | Phālguna Pūrṇimā | Spring; the burning of Holikā, and the day of colour |
| Ugādi / Gudi Pāḍvā / Cheti Chand | Caitra Śukla 1 | The lunar new year in the Deccan and the west |
| Rāma Navamī | Caitra Śukla 9 | The birth of Rāma |
| Akṣaya Tṛtīyā | Vaiśākha Śukla 3 | A day held wholly auspicious, needing no muhūrta |
| Guru Pūrṇimā | Āṣāḍha Pūrṇimā | Honouring the teacher; Vyāsa's day |
| Nāga Pañcamī | Śrāvaṇa Śukla 5 | The serpents |
| Rakṣā Bandhana | Śrāvaṇa Pūrṇimā | The thread of protection between brother and sister |
| Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī | Bhādrapada Kṛṣṇa 8 | The birth of Kṛṣṇa, at midnight |
| Gaṇeśa Caturthī | Bhādrapada Śukla 4 | Gaṇeśa installed, worshipped, and immersed |
| Pitṛ Pakṣa | Bhādrapada Kṛṣṇa pakṣa | A fortnight for the ancestors; śrāddha and tarpaṇa |
| Navarātri and Vijayadaśamī | Āśvina Śukla 1–10 | Nine nights of the Goddess; the tenth of victory; Durgā Pūjā in the east |
| Dīpāvalī | Kārttika Amāvasyā | Lamps; Lakṣmī; Rāma's return; the new year in the west |
| Kārttika Pūrṇimā | Kārttika Pūrṇimā | Deva Dīpāvalī; lamps on the ghāṭs |
| Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī | Mārgaśīrṣa Śukla 11 | The gate of Vaikuṇṭha; fasting and vigil |
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Last revised 2026-08-16. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.