Guru Purnima is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 15 of Ashadha in the amanta reckoning, and the Gregorian day it lands on moves by up to a month between years because twelve lunations fall about eleven days short of a solar year.
Tithi
Purnima, Shukla paksha
Lunar month
Ashadha (amanta)
Tithi begins
17 Jul, 6:48 PM
Tithi ends
18 Jul, 9:15 PM
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in New Delhi
18 Jul, 5:34 AM
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 5:34 AM on that day, and that is the instant the tithi has to be running at for the day to carry the observance. It is computed for this city rather than assumed, because it is what decides the date.
The two instants above are the astronomy and are not in dispute. The day is an interpretation of them: this observance is decided at sunrise, so it belongs to the day whose sunrise the tithi carries — not simply to the day the tithi begins.
All Guru Purnima 2027 muhurat · New Delhi
Guru Purnima muhurat
Guru Purnima, the full moon of Ashadha, is the day of the guru: it is Vyasa Purnima, kept as the birthday of the sage Veda Vyasa, and the day to honour every teacher, from parents to spiritual masters, with worship, gratitude and a gift. In New Delhi it falls on Sunday, 18 July 2027; Purnima runs 6:48 PM (17 Jul) to 9:14 PM, and the guru puja is done in the morning, with the moon rising at 7:17 PM for those who keep the Purnima fast.
All Guru Purnima 2027 muhurat in New Delhi
Muhurat
Time in New Delhi
What it is for
Brahma Muhurta
4:12 AM to 4:53 AMThe 14th of the night's fifteen muhurtas, ending one muhurta before sunrise.
The hour before dawn, for the bath, meditation and japa of the guru mantra that many disciples keep on this day above all.
Sunrise
5:34 AMThe upper edge of the Sun on the horizon, with refraction.
The day of Guru Purnima is decided at sunrise in New Delhi; the morning puja follows it.
Abhijit Muhurat
11:59 AM to 12:54 PMThe 8th of the day's fifteen muhurtas, around local noon.
The midday muhurta, often chosen for initiation (diksha), for the start of a course of study or for a guru puja at an ashram. There is no Abhijit on a Wednesday, by convention.
Auspicious choghadiya (day)
Chal7:17 AM to 9:00 AM
Labh9:00 AM to 10:44 AM
Amrit10:44 AM to 12:27 PM
Shubh2:10 PM to 3:53 PM
The day's Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Chal choghadiyas.
The day's Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Chal choghadiyas, for those who time the visit to their guru or teacher, a school function or the start of a new learning.
Moonrise
7:17 PMThe first moonrise after this sunrise and before the next.
For those who keep the Purnima vrat: the fast is broken after offering arghya to the rising full moon. Many families also hold the Satyanarayan katha in the evening.
Pradosh Kaal
7:20 PM to 9:23 PMFrom sunset for three night muhurtas (a fifth of the night).
The first part of the night after sunset, when the evening Satyanarayan katha, kirtan and satsang are commonly held.
Auspicious windows that day
Auspicious windows that day
Window
Time in New Delhi
What it is
Abhijit Muhurat
11:59 AM to 12:54 PM
Auspicious
Amrit Kaal
5:54 AM to 7:42 AM
Most Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat
4:12 AM to 4:53 AM
Auspicious
Windows usually worked around
These are the spans classical muhurta sets aside for beginnings. They are descriptions of a convention, not warnings: the observance is kept on its day regardless, and nothing here needs to be bought, corrected or remedied.
Windows usually worked around
Window
Time in New Delhi
Rahu Kaal
5:36 PM to 7:20 PM
Yamaganda Kaal
12:27 PM to 2:10 PM
Durmuhurta First
5:30 PM to 6:25 PM
Varjyam
8:20 PM to 10:08 PM
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Sunday, 18 July 2027, from the sunrise, sunset and the positions of the Sun and Moon for this city. The Vedic day runs sunrise to sunrise, so a window whose clock time falls after midnight still belongs to the evening before; a time on another date carries that date.
Puja vidhi · step by step at home
Guru Purnima puja vidhi
Bathe and remember the guru
Bathe early, wear clean, preferably white or yellow clothes, and sit quietly for a few minutes remembering your guru, your parents and the teachers who shaped you.
Set up the altar
On a chowki with a white or yellow cloth, place a picture of Veda Vyasa, of your own guru, or of the deity you see as your guide; some families keep the guru's padukas (sandals). Add a kalash of water and light a ghee lamp and incense.
Ganesh first
Worship Ganesh with Om Gam Ganapataye Namah, offering water, akshat and a flower.
Take the sankalp
Hold water, rice and a flower and resolve to worship Shri Guru and Vyasa on Ashadha Purnima, and, if you keep it, to fast for the day.
Vyasa puja and guru puja
Offer sandalwood paste, kumkum, akshat, flowers and a garland to Vyasa and the guru, and wash the padukas with water or panchamrit if you keep them. Recite the shloka Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu and the Vyasa vandana.
Naivedya
Offer fruits, sweets, kheer or what you have cooked, with water, and a betel leaf with supari.
Recitation and silence
Read a chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, the Guru Gita or the writings of your tradition, or sit in meditation and japa of your guru mantra; the day honours knowledge more than ritual.
Aarti
Wave a ghee lamp before the guru's picture or the padukas, sing a bhajan or aarti of your tradition, offer flowers with folded hands and ask pardon for any mistake.
Honour the living gurus
Visit your guru, teacher or the elders of the family, touch their feet, offer a gift or dakshina (a shawl, clothes, fruit, books or whatever they would value) and ask for their blessing.
Give to learning
Give books, fees, food or clothes to students in need, or to a school, gurukul or ashram; tradition counts a gift to learning as a gift to the guru.
The evening
Those who keep the Purnima fast offer arghya to the rising moon and then eat a sattvik meal; many families hold the Satyanarayan katha in the evening.
Samagri · what to keep ready
Guru Purnima puja samagri list
Picture of Veda Vyasa or of your guruOr the guru's padukas; a picture of Krishna or Shiva as the world teacher (jagadguru) also keeps the custom.
Chowki and a white or yellow clothThe altar.
Kalash of waterOn a little rice.
Sandalwood paste, kumkum and haldiFor the tilak of the guru's picture and the padukas.
AkshatUnbroken rice.
Flowers and a garlandWhite or yellow flowers are traditional for the guru.
Ghee lamp, wicks, camphor and incenseFor the puja and the aarti.
Panchamrit or waterFor washing the padukas, where it is the custom.
Fruits and sweetsNaivedya and prasad.
KheerA full-moon sweet many families make.
Paan and supariOffered at the end of the naivedya.
Gift or dakshina for the guruA shawl, clothes, fruit, a book or money in an envelope, as you can.
Bhagavad Gita or Guru GitaFor the recitation.
A malaTulsi, rudraksha or crystal, for japa of the guru mantra.
Books, stationery or clothes for studentsFor giving to learning on the day.
Items for the Satyanarayan kathaBanana leaves, panchamrit, panjiri and fruit, for families who hold it in the evening.
Meaning: The guru is Brahma, the guru is Vishnu, the guru is the god Maheshvara; the guru is the supreme Brahman itself. Salutation to that revered guru.
When and how: The best-known verse of the Guru Gita, traditionally ascribed to the Skanda Purana; said with folded hands at the start of the guru puja and before study, once or three times.
Vyasaya Vishnurupaya Vyasarupaya Vishnave Namo vai brahmanidhaye Vasishthaya namo namah
Meaning: Salutation to Vyasa, who is Vishnu in form, and to Vishnu in the form of Vyasa; salutation to the treasure-house of Vedic knowledge, the descendant of Vasishtha.
When and how: Recited in the Vyasa puja; it is one of the dhyana verses before the Vishnu Sahasranama.
Ganesh mantra
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Om Gam Ganapataye Namah
Meaning: Om, gam: salutation to Ganapati, lord of the ganas.
When and how: At the start of the puja, 11 times.
Katha · the story and its meaning
Guru Purnima katha and significance
The katha
Guru Purnima is Vyasa Purnima, kept by tradition as the birthday of Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, born to the sage Parashara and Satyavati on an island of the Yamuna. Tradition honours him as the one who arranged the single body of Vedic hymns into four Vedas, composed the Mahabharata, with the Bhagavad Gita at its heart, and gave the Puranas their form. Because all later teachers stand on his work, the day of his birth became the day of every guru, and the seat of the teacher is still called the vyasa-peetha.
Yogic tradition tells another story of the same full moon: Shiva, the Adiyogi, after sitting in stillness for ages, turned south as Dakshinamurti and began to teach the first disciples, the Saptarishis, which makes him the first guru. Buddhists keep the day as Asalha Puja, when the Buddha gave his first sermon to his five companions at the deer park of Sarnath.
There is no single vrat katha for the day. Families who keep the Purnima fast read the Satyanarayan katha, as on other full moons, and disciples read the life of their own guru or the Guru Gita, in which Shiva teaches Parvati the glory of the guru.
Why it is kept
The word guru is explained in the tradition as gu, darkness, and ru, that which removes it: the guru dispels the darkness of ignorance. Guru Purnima honours that light in every form, the spiritual master, the schoolteacher, the music guru, the parent who first taught, and asks the disciple for gratitude, humility and a renewed resolve to learn. Kabir's doha sums up its spirit: when the guru and God stand together, bow first to the guru, who showed the way to God.
It also opens the monsoon season of study and retreat. Sannyasis of the Shankara orders begin the Chaturmasya vrata on Vyasa Purnima and stay in one place for the rains, and Jain monks begin their chaturmas stay around this time. In music gharanas, gurukuls, schools and ashrams across India the day is kept with guru vandana, satsang and the giving of dakshina.
Upay · traditional practice
Guru Purnima upay: traditional remedies
Touch the feet of your teachers
Visit or call your guru, teachers and parents, touch their feet or bow, and thank them for something specific they taught you. Tradition calls the guru's blessing the root of all learning.
Give to learning
Pay a student's fees, give books, a bag or a uniform, or donate to a school, gurukul or library. A gift to learning is counted as dakshina to the guru.
Begin a learning
Start a course of study, a musical instrument, a scripture, or daily japa on Guru Purnima; many take initiation (diksha) on this day.
Recite the Gita or the Guru Gita
Read a chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, the teaching of the jagadguru Krishna, or the Guru Gita, in the morning.
Yellow gifts on the guru's day
Because the guru of the gods is Brihaspati, the planet Jupiter, many families give yellow things on this day, chana dal, turmeric, bananas or a yellow cloth, to a priest, a teacher or someone in need. It is an astrological custom, kept as a prayer for wisdom.
Serve an elder
Spend time with an elderly teacher or relative, cook for them or help them with something they need; seva is the guru dakshina tradition values most.
The custom, in short
Guru Purnima do's and don'ts
Do
Bathe early and remember your guru, parents and teachers.
Worship Vyasa or your guru with flowers, sandalwood and a lamp.
Visit your teachers and elders, touch their feet and offer a gift.
Read the Bhagavad Gita or the Guru Gita, or meditate.
Give to students, schools or ashrams.
Begin a learning or a practice you mean to keep.
Keep the day's food sattvik; break the Purnima fast at moonrise if you keep it.
Don't
Do not speak ill of a teacher or an elder, on this day above all.
Do not make the day only about messages; meet or call the people who taught you.
Do not give a guru something that burdens them; give what they would value.
Do not eat meat or drink alcohol on the day, by the custom of most families.
Do not let the puja become a show; tradition values humility over display.
Across India
Guru Purnima customs and food
By region
Shirdi and Sai devotees
Shirdi holds a three-day Guru Purnima utsav for Sai Baba, with palkhi processions, akhand parayan of the Sai Satcharitra and lakhs of devotees.
Maharashtra
Devotees of Swami Samarth at Akkalkot and of Gajanan Maharaj at Shegaon keep the day with special puja, and schools across the state hold guru vandana.
Ashrams and maths
The Shankaracharya maths and sannyasi orders hold Vyasa puja and begin the Chaturmasya vrata; ashrams hold guru puja, satsang and bhandara.
Music and dance gharanas
Students offer guru vandana and perform before their teachers, and many concerts are held in honour of the gurus of the gharana.
Buddhist communities
Asalha Puja: Sarnath and Buddhist viharas remember the Buddha's first sermon, and the monks' rains retreat (vassa) begins the next day.
Jain communities
Jains honour their acharyas on the full moon of Ashadha, and monks and nuns settle for the chaturmas rains.
Bhog, prasad and fasting food
KheerA full-moon sweet, offered to the guru and shared.
Panjiri and panchamritThe prasad of the Satyanarayan katha many families hold in the evening.
Fruits and sweetsFor the naivedya and for the guru's gift.
A sattvik mealSimple vegetarian food, eaten after the puja, or after moonrise by those who fast.
BhandaraAshrams and temples serve a community meal on Guru Purnima.
Guru Purnima across five years
Two years back, this year, and two ahead. Past years are kept rather than dropped so you can check the engine against a calendar you already have.
Guru Purnima across five years
Year
Date
Status
2024
Sunday, 21 July 2024
past
2025
Thursday, 10 July 2025
past
2026This year
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
past
2027
Sunday, 18 July 2027
upcoming
2028
Thursday, 6 July 2028
upcoming
Every row is computed for New Delhi from the same ephemeris, not looked up. Sunrise decides which day a tithi names, and sunrise differs across India by more than an hour, so a date computed for Delhi can be a day out elsewhere.
Why calendars disagree about this date
There is no single authority that settles a Hindu festival date, and the divergence is genuine rather than sloppy. Three causes account for almost all of it.
A tithi rarely starts at sunrise. One that is running at the deciding moment on two days — or on none — is claimed by both days under different rules.
Month reckoning. North India runs purnimanta, the south and west amanta. The same dark fortnight carries different month names in the two, so an observance defined as "krishna X of month Y" can land a full lunation apart.
Which moment decides. Most vratas belong to the day whose sunrise carries the tithi, but not all: this one is decided at sunrise. Almanacs that apply the sunrise rule to everything move several festivals by a day.
So this page shows its working. If your pandit or your family almanac gives a different day, the instants above will usually show you exactly why — and that is more useful than a date asserted without one.
Sunday, 18 July 2027. It is Purnima of Shukla paksha in Ashadha, and that tithi runs from 17 Jul, 6:48 PM to 18 Jul, 9:15 PM.
Why does another calendar give a different Guru Purnima date?
Three honest reasons. The tithi can be running at the deciding moment on two days or on none. North India reckons the month purnimanta and the south and west amanta, which names the same krishna fortnight differently. And almanacs differ on which moment of the day decides an observance. The instants above are the astronomy; the day is an interpretation of them.
When is Guru Purnima, and what is the timing?
In New Delhi, Guru Purnima falls on Sunday, 18 July 2027, the full moon of Ashadha. Purnima runs 6:48 PM (17 Jul) to 9:14 PM; the guru puja and Vyasa puja are done that morning, and those who keep the Purnima fast break it after offering arghya to the moon, which rises at 7:17 PM. Times differ by city, so choose yours on this page.
Why is Guru Purnima celebrated?
To honour the guru, the teacher who removes the darkness of ignorance. Tradition keeps it as the birthday of Veda Vyasa, who arranged the Vedas and composed the Mahabharata, so it is also called Vyasa Purnima; disciples worship their gurus, students their teachers and children their parents, and Buddhists remember the Buddha's first sermon on the same full moon.
What does Guru Purnima mean?
Guru Purnima means the full moon of the guru. The word guru is explained in the tradition as gu, darkness, and ru, that which removes it: the one who dispels ignorance. The full moon of Ashadha is set aside to honour that light in every teacher.
What is the significance of Guru Purnima?
It honours Vyasa, the foremost guru of the Vedic tradition, and through him every teacher; it renews the disciple's gratitude and resolve to learn. Sannyasis begin their Chaturmasya retreat on it, many take initiation, and schools, gharanas and ashrams hold guru vandana. Its spirit is humility: to bow first to the one who showed the way.
How do I do the Guru Purnima puja at home?
Bathe early, set a picture of Vyasa or your guru, or the guru's padukas, on a chowki, worship Ganesh first and take a sankalp. Offer sandalwood, kumkum, akshat, flowers, fruit and sweets, recite Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu and the Vyasa vandana, read from the Gita, do the aarti, then visit your teachers and elders with a gift and give to students in need.
Which shloka is recited on Guru Purnima?
Above all Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnuh Gurur Devo Maheshvarah, from the Guru Gita: the guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the supreme itself. With it, Ajnana-timirandhasya and Akhanda-mandalakaram, and for Vyasa the verse Vyasaya Vishnurupaya. The texts and their meanings are in the mantra section.
What is the story of Guru Purnima?
Tradition keeps it as the birthday of Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, son of Parashara and Satyavati, who arranged the Vedas into four, composed the Mahabharata and gave the Puranas their form, so all teachers stand on his work. Yogic tradition also says Shiva first taught the Saptarishis as Adiyogi on this full moon, and Buddhists remember the Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath.
Guru Purnima is dedicated to whom?
To the guru in every form: to Veda Vyasa, whose birthday it is, to one's own spiritual master, to teachers, and to parents as the first teachers. In ashrams it is the day of the guru parampara, the line of teachers going back to Vyasa, Shankara and the founders of each tradition.
What should I do on Guru Purnima if I have no guru?
Honour the teachers you have had: your parents, schoolteachers and anyone who taught you something that mattered. Many people take Krishna, Shiva as Dakshinamurti or Vyasa himself as their guru for the day, read the Gita and pray for a true teacher. Tradition holds that the guru appears when the seeker is ready.
Is there a vrat katha for Guru Purnima?
There is no separate vrat katha for the day. Families who keep the Purnima fast read the Satyanarayan katha, as on other full moons, and disciples read the life of their guru or the Guru Gita. The fast, if kept, is broken after offering arghya to the moon at moonrise.
How is Guru Purnima celebrated at Shirdi?
Shirdi holds a three-day Guru Purnima festival for Sai Baba, whom his devotees see as their guru: a palkhi procession, an unbroken reading of the Sai Satcharitra, special aartis and lakhs of pilgrims. Sai temples everywhere keep the day with puja and bhandara.
What should be given to a guru on Guru Purnima?
Something the guru would value: a shawl or clothes, fruit and sweets, books, or dakshina in an envelope, given with a bow. Many gurus ask instead for seva or for help to students in need. Tradition values the disciple's practice and humility as the truest dakshina.
Are Guru Purnima and Buddha Purnima the same?
No. Buddha Purnima is the full moon of Vaishakha, which remembers the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing. Guru Purnima is the full moon of Ashadha, two months later; Buddhists keep it as Asalha Puja, the day of the Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath.
Is Guru Purnima the same as Gurpurab?
No. Gurpurab is the Sikh celebration of a Guru's birth or a key event, above all Guru Nanak Jayanti on Kartik Purnima, in October or November. Guru Purnima is the full moon of Ashadha, in June or July, honouring Veda Vyasa and every teacher.
