Vat Savitri Dateवट सावित्री व्रत तिथि

Vat Savitri Vrat is kept in the month of Jyeshtha, which usually falls in late May or June. Unlike most festivals, it has two main dates in the same season: Jyeshtha Amavasya, the new moon, in North India, and Jyeshtha Purnima, the full moon, in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka and other western and southern regions, where it is called Vat Purnima. This page explains why there are two dates, how they are worked out, and gives a table of both dates for the coming years.

Vat Savitri dates, 2026 to 2035

The table below gives the Vat Savitri Amavasya date and the Vat Purnima date for each year. The dates are calculated for New Delhi using the tithi in force in the afternoon, the time when the puja is usually done, and may differ by a day in your city or in your family's panchang, so please confirm with a local panchang or your family priest.

Keep the vrat on the day your family and community follow. If you have moved to a new region, the elders of your family are the best guide to which of the two days you should observe.

Why there are two dates

A Hindu lunar month can be counted in two ways.

• Purnimanta: the month ends on the full moon. This system is followed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Nepal's Madhesh and parts of Odisha. Here the vrat is kept on the Amavasya that falls in the middle of Jyeshtha.
• Amanta: the month ends on the new moon. This system is followed in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka and much of the south. Here the vrat is kept on Jyeshtha Purnima, the full moon in the middle of the amanta Jyeshtha, as Vat Purnima.

In the purnimanta calendar both days lie inside the same month of Jyeshtha: the Amavasya comes first and the Purnima about fifteen days later. In the amanta calendar the North Indian day carries a different month name, Vaishakha Amavasya, because the amanta Jyeshtha only begins after that new moon. The full moon is called Jyeshtha Purnima in both systems. So although the names can look confusing, the two observances are simply about two weeks apart in the same season.

The difference is a matter of long regional custom, not of one region being right and the other wrong. Both honour the same Savitri and the same banyan tree. Read more about the western observance on the Vat Purnima page.

How the date is decided

Festivals are fixed by the tithi, the lunar day, not by the solar calendar date. A tithi does not begin at sunrise; it can start or end at any hour, so a single tithi may touch two calendar days. Panchang makers then apply traditional rules to choose the day of observance. For Vat Savitri the tithi that prevails during the day, when women go to the banyan for the puja, is the main consideration. When the Amavasya or Purnima begins on one day and ends on the next, different panchangs and different cities can name different days. This is why the table above is a guide, and a local panchang is the final word.

Shani Jayanti on the same day

In the North Indian calendar, Shani Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Lord Shani, is also observed on Jyeshtha Amavasya. As a result, Vat Savitri Amavasya and Shani Jayanti very often fall on the same day, and many temples are busy with both. The two observances are separate: women keep the Vat Savitri fast and worship the banyan, while Shani Jayanti is marked with prayers to Shani. In regions that use the amanta calendar, Shani Jayanti is usually listed under Vaishakha Amavasya, which is the same day.

The three-day tradition

In the Mahabharata, Savitri began a three-night vow three days before the day Satyavan was fated to die. In memory of this, the vrat was traditionally kept for three days, from Trayodashi (the thirteenth lunar day) through Chaturdashi to the Amavasya, or to the Purnima in the Vat Purnima regions. Some families still keep a three-day observance. Most women today fast on the main day only and do the puja and katha then. Both are accepted; follow your family's custom.

Planning for the day

• Gather the items on the puja samagri list a day or two before.
• Find out in advance where the nearest banyan is, and when women in your area usually gather.
• Keep a copy of the story of Savitri and Satyavan ready to read during the puja.
• The vrat falls in the hottest weeks of the year in much of India. Drink enough water before and after the fast and avoid the midday sun where you can. Pregnant or nursing women, anyone unwell, the elderly and those on medication should consult a doctor and may keep a phalahar or lighter fast. This is not a substitute for medical advice.

The full method is given in the Vat Savitri puja vidhi.