Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the month the north holds holiest, closes the season that began at Dussehra. It is the day of the Kartik Snan, the bath in the Ganga before dawn that many have taken every morning for a month, and the night of Dev Deepawali, when the gods themselves are said to come down to bathe at Varanasi and the ghats are lit for them.
The story
On this day Shiva, as Tripurari, destroyed the three flying cities of the demon Tripurasura with a single arrow; the gods celebrated with lamps. It is also the day Vishnu took the form of the fish, Matsya, and four days after he has woken from his sleep on Devuthani Ekadashi, so weddings have begun again.
For Sikhs it is Guru Nanak Jayanti, the birthday of the first Guru.
गंगे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वति । नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् सन्निधिं कुरु ॥
Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri: be present in this water
Said before bathing
How it is kept
- Kartik snanThe bath at dawn in the Ganga or another sacred river, which ends a month of such baths.
- Deep daanLamps are floated on the water in leaf cups and set along the steps.
- Ganga aratiThe evening worship of the river is at its grandest of the year.
- Tulsi VivahThe wedding of the tulsi plant to Vishnu, begun on Ekadashi, is completed in many homes.
- MelasCattle and camel fairs gather on this full moon across the north.
Why this date
Kartik Purnima is the full-moon tithi of Kartik, on the day it is present at sunrise, the time of the bath. The lamps are lit that evening.
Kartik Purnima in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Sunday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More North Indian festivals
4 NovemberChhath Pujaछठ पूजा
29 OctoberDiwaliदीपावली
15 JanuaryMakar Sankrantiमकर संक्रांति
18 OctoberKarwa Chauthकरवा चौथ
9 OctoberDussehraदशहरा
8 OctoberMaha Navamiमहा नवमी
Where to see Kartik Purnima
In North India
- The ghats of VaranasiUttar PradeshDev Deepawali: more than a million lamps on eighty-odd ghats, seen best from a boat.
- PushkarRajasthanThe camel fair ends today with a mass bath in the lake beside the temple of Brahma.
- GarhmukteshwarUttar PradeshThe nearest point on the Ganga to Delhi, with a fair of lakhs.
- SonepurBiharThe Harihar Kshetra Mela, long the largest cattle fair in Asia, begins at the meeting of the Gandak and the Ganga.
Across India
- Golden Temple, AmritsarPunjabGuru Nanak Gurpurab, with the shrine lit through the night.
- CuttackOdishaBoita Bandana and the opening of Bali Jatra.
- TiruvannamalaiTamil NaduKarthigai Deepam, the beacon lit on the hill of Arunachala.