Shukla paksha · Margashirsha · amanta reckoning
Mon, 14 Dec
Vivah Panchami 2026 is on Monday, 14 December. It is Panchami of Shukla paksha in Margashirsha.
2027: Friday, 3 December 2027
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Monday, 14 December 2026
Vivah Panchami is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 5 of Margashirsha 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.
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 7:05 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.
Vivah Panchami is the anniversary of the wedding of Rama and Sita, kept on Margashirsha Shukla Panchami. It is celebrated most of all in Janakpur, Sita's birthplace in Nepal, and in Ayodhya, with processions and re-enactments of the wedding.
Vivah Panchami celebrates the wedding of Rama and Sita, kept on Margashirsha Shukla Panchami: Rama and Sita are worshipped together, their wedding is celebrated in temples and homes, and Janakpur, Sita's city, holds a great wedding festival. In New Delhi it falls on Monday, 14 December 2026, and Panchami runs 4:48 PM (13 Dec) to 7:16 PM.
| Muhurat | Time in New Delhi | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 7:05 AMThe upper edge of the Sun on the horizon, with refraction. | Bathe early and begin the day's worship after sunrise in New Delhi; those who fast take the sankalp in the morning. |
| Abhijit Muhurat | 11:54 AM to 12:36 PMThe 8th of the day's fifteen muhurtas, around local noon. | The midday muhurta, auspicious for most rites, and a good time for the Sita-Rama puja and the symbolic wedding at home. There is no Abhijit on a Wednesday. |
| Auspicious choghadiya (day) |
| The day's Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Chal choghadiyas, which families use to time the puja, the gathbandhan of Sita and Rama's images and the reading of the wedding episode. |
| Sunset | 5:26 PMThe upper edge of the Sun leaving the horizon. | At dusk temples hold the wedding festivities and aarti, and families light lamps and sing wedding songs at home in New Delhi. |
| Window | Time in New Delhi | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Abhijit Muhurat | 11:54 AM to 12:36 PM | Auspicious |
| Amrit Kaal | 12:19 AM to 2:06 AM | Most Auspicious |
| Brahma Muhurat | 5:15 AM to 6:10 AM | Auspicious |
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.
| Window | Time in New Delhi |
|---|---|
| Rahu Kaal | 8:22 AM to 9:40 AM |
| Yamaganda Kaal | 10:58 AM to 12:15 PM |
| Durmuhurta First | 12:36 PM to 1:17 PM |
| Durmuhurta Second | 2:40 PM to 3:21 PM |
| Varjyam | 1:39 PM to 3:25 PM |
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Monday, 14 December 2026, 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.
Bathe early, wear clean clothes, and take a sankalp to worship Sita and Rama on their wedding day; those who keep a fast take it now.
Place a picture or idols of Sita and Rama, or the whole Ram darbar, on a chowki with a yellow cloth for Rama and a red one for Sita.
Light a ghee lamp and incense, and worship Ganesh with water, roli, rice and durva.
Offer Rama water, sandalwood, yellow flowers, a yellow cloth or dhoti, tulsi leaves and a garland, chanting Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.
Offer Sita roli, a red chunari and the suhag items, bangles, bindi and sindoor, with red flowers and a garland, as a bride is honoured.
Exchange the two garlands between the images as the jaymala, and tie a gathbandhan, a knot of mauli or cloth, between Sita's chunari and Rama's cloth, as many families do on this day.
Read the episode of Sita's swayamvara and wedding from the Balkand of the Ramcharitmanas, or Tulsidas's short poem Janaki Mangal, with the family listening.
Offer kheer, puri, sweets, seasonal fruit and paan, with tulsi.
Sing Shri Ramchandra Kripalu bhaju man and the aarti, and in the evening the family's wedding songs, mangal geet, as in Mithila.
Give clothes, food or help towards the wedding of a girl from a family in need, as many families do in Sita's name.
श्री राम जय राम जय जय राम
Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
Meaning: Victory to Rama, glory to Rama; the traditional thirteen-syllable mantra of Rama's name.
When and how: 108 times on a tulsi mala while worshipping Rama, and in kirtan through the day.
ॐ जानकीवल्लभाय नमः
Om Janakivallabhaya Namah
Meaning: Om, salutation to the beloved of Janaki, Sita, daughter of Janaka.
When and how: 11 or 108 times while offering the garlands, a name of Rama that recalls the wedding.
श्रीराम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे ।
सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥
Shri Rama Rama Rameti rame rame manorame
Sahasranama tattulyam Ramanama varanane
Meaning: Shiva tells Parvati: I delight in the name Rama, Rama, Rama; the name of Rama, O fair-faced one, equals the thousand names of Vishnu.
When and how: Recited at the close of the Vishnu Sahasranama; it is Shiva's word to Parvati in the Padma Purana, whose own text opens 'Rama Rameti Rameti'. say it three times at the end of the puja.
जय जय गिरिबरराज किसोरी । जय महेस मुख चंद चकोरी ॥
जय गजबदन षडानन माता । जगत जननि दामिनि दुति गाता ॥
Jaya jaya girivararaja kishori, jaya Mahesa mukha chanda chakori
Jaya gajabadana shadanana mata, jagata janani damini duti gata
Meaning: Victory to you, daughter of the king of mountains, who gazes on Shiva's moon-like face as the chakor bird on the moon; victory to the mother of Ganesh and Kartikeya, mother of the world, radiant as lightning.
When and how: Sita's prayer to Parvati in the Balkand before her swayamvara; recited on this day, especially by those praying for a good marriage.
श्री रामचन्द्र कृपालु भजुमन हरण भवभय दारुणं।
नव कंज लोचन कंज मुख कर कंज पद कंजारुणं॥१॥
कन्दर्प अगणित अमित छवि नव नील नीरद सुन्दरं।
पटपीत मानहुँ तडित रुचि शुचि नौमि जनक सुतावरं॥२॥
भजु दीनबन्धु दिनेश दानव दैत्य वंश निकन्दनं।
रघुनन्द आनन्द कन्द कोशल चन्द दशरथ नन्दनं॥३॥
शिर मुकुट कुंडल तिलक चारु उदारु अङ्ग विभूषणं।
आजानु भुज शर चाप धर संग्राम जित खरदूषणं॥४॥
इति वदति तुलसीदास शंकर शेष मुनि मन रंजनं।
मम हृदय कंज निवास कुरु कामादि खलदल गंजनं॥५॥
मन जाहि राच्यो मिलहि सो वर सहज सुन्दर सांवरो।
करुणा निधान सुजान शील स्नेह जानत रावरो॥६॥
एहि भांति गौरी असीस सुन सिय सहित हिय हरषित अली।
तुलसी भवानिहि पूजी पुनि-पुनि मुदित मन मन्दिर चली॥७॥
जानी गौरी अनुकूल सिय हिय हरषु न जाइ कहि।
मंजुल मंगल मूल वाम अङ्ग फरकन लगे॥
Shri Ramchandra kripalu bhajuman haran bhavbhay darunam.
Nav kanj lochan kanj mukh kar kanj pad kanjarunam. (1)
Kandarp aganit amit chhavi nav neel neerad sundaram.
Patpeet manahun tadit ruchi shuchi naumi Janak sutavaram. (2)
Bhaju deenbandhu dinesh danav daitya vansh nikandanam.
Raghunand anand kand Koshal chand Dashrath nandanam. (3)
Shir mukut kundal tilak charu udaru ang vibhushanam.
Ajanu bhuj shar chap dhar sangram jit Khardushanam. (4)
Iti vadati Tulsidas Shankar Shesh muni man ranjanam.
Mam hriday kanj nivas kuru kamadi khaldal ganjanam. (5)
Man jahi rachyo milahi so var sahaj sundar sanvaro.
Karuna nidhan sujan sheel sneh janat ravaro. (6)
Ehi bhanti Gauri asees sun Siya sahit hiya harshit ali.
Tulsi Bhavanihi pooji puni-puni mudit man mandir chali. (7)
Jani Gauri anukool Siya hiya harashu na jai kahi.
Manjul mangal mool vam ang pharkan lage.
Text as it is commonly sung: the five stanzas of Tulsidas's Vinaya Patrika (pad 45), then two stanzas and a sortha from his Ramcharitmanas (Bal Kand, doha 236, where Gauri blesses Sita), which are not part of the Vinaya Patrika hymn. The Gita Press Vinaya Patrika prints only the five stanzas, in the same words. Printed text
King Janaka of Mithila found the infant Sita in a furrow of the earth while ploughing a field for a sacrifice, and raised her as his daughter. In his palace lay the great bow of Shiva, which no one could even lift, and Janaka vowed that Sita would marry the man who could string it.
The sage Vishvamitra brought Rama and Lakshmana to Janakpur. In the Ramcharitmanas, Sita and Rama first see each other in the royal garden, and Sita prays to Gauri for Rama as her husband. At the swayamvara, mighty kings failed even to move the bow; Rama lifted it lightly, and as he drew the string it snapped in two with a crash that shook the worlds. Sita placed the garland of victory around his neck.
Messengers rode to Ayodhya, and King Dasharatha came with the wedding party. Rama and Sita were married with full rites, and with them Lakshmana married Urmila, and Bharata and Shatrughna married Mandavi and Shrutakirti. Tradition keeps the wedding on Margashirsha Shukla Panchami, which is why the day is Vivah Panchami.
It is also widely said that Goswami Tulsidas completed the Ramcharitmanas on this Panchami, which is why many devotees begin or complete a reading of it on the day.
Vivah Panchami honours the marriage of Rama and Sita as the ideal of dharma in married life: faithfulness, mutual respect and steadiness through hardship. Rama is maryada purushottam and Sita the model of courage and devotion, and their wedding is remembered with joy in Ayodhya, in Mithila and wherever the Ramayana is loved.
The day falls in Margashirsha, the month Krishna calls his own in the Gita, in the season of weddings after Dev Uthani Ekadashi. In Mithila, Sita's homeland, the wedding is celebrated as a family event, with songs, painting and re-enactments, while an old local custom avoids marrying daughters on this day, remembering the sorrows Sita faced after her wedding.
Read the swayamvara and wedding from the Balkand, or Tulsidas's Janaki Mangal, with your family. It is the day's central devotion.
Unmarried women and men pray to Sita-Rama, and many recite Sita's prayer to Gauri, for a good partner; it is kept as a prayer, not as a promise of any outcome.
Married couples worship Sita and Rama together and tie the gathbandhan of the images, renewing their own promise of respect and care.
By custom, bangles, bindi and a red chunari offered to Sita are then given to a married woman, sharing the blessing of the wedding.
Give clothes, utensils or money towards the wedding of a girl from a family in need; tradition counts it among the most meritorious gifts.
Chant Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram 108 times; families keep it as a prayer for harmony at home.
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.
| Year | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Friday, 6 December 2024 | past |
| 2025 | Tuesday, 25 November 2025 | past |
| 2026This year | Monday, 14 December 2026 | upcoming |
| 2027 | Friday, 3 December 2027 | upcoming |
| 2028 | Tuesday, 21 November 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.
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.
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.
In New Delhi, Vivah Panchami 2026 is on Monday, 14 December 2026, Margashirsha Shukla Panchami. Panchami runs 4:48 PM (13 Dec) to 7:16 PM, and the Sita-Rama puja is best done while it runs; temples hold the wedding celebrations through the day and evening.
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.
It is the anniversary of the wedding of Rama and Sita, kept on the fifth day of the bright half of Margashirsha. Rama won Sita's hand by breaking Shiva's bow at her swayamvara in Janakpur, and their wedding, with those of his three brothers, is celebrated on this day.
Tradition holds that they married on Margashirsha Shukla Panchami, the fifth day of the bright half of Margashirsha, which is why that tithi is Vivah Panchami. Its Gregorian date moves each year; this page computes it for your city.
Customs differ. In Mithila and in Nepal, families traditionally avoid marrying daughters on Vivah Panchami, remembering the hardships Sita faced after her wedding, while elsewhere the day is honoured as auspicious. Either way, a family wedding needs its own vivah muhurat from the couple's charts; the site's Vivah Muhurat page lists the dates for your city.
Set up Sita and Rama on a chowki, worship Ganesh first, then Rama with yellow flowers and cloth and Sita with a red chunari and suhag items. Exchange the garlands between the images and tie a gathbandhan, read the wedding from the Balkand, offer kheer and fruit, and sing Shri Ramchandra Kripalu and the aarti.
Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram and Om Janakivallabhaya Namah for Rama, Shri Rama Rama Rameti, and Sita's prayer to Gauri from the Ramcharitmanas, Jaya jaya girivararaja kishori, especially by those praying for a good marriage. The texts and meanings are in the mantra section.
Families read the whole wedding episode of the Balkand of the Ramcharitmanas, from the meeting in the royal garden and Sita's prayer to Gauri to the breaking of the bow and the wedding rites. Sita's prayer, Jaya jaya girivararaja kishori, is given above; Tulsidas's Janaki Mangal tells the wedding in a short poem of its own.
Janakpur, in Nepal, is Sita's city, and Vivah Panchami is one of the Janaki Mandir's biggest festivals: the wedding is re-enacted with rites, songs and a grand procession of Rama's wedding party, and pilgrims come from across Nepal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Wedding songs, above all the Maithili vivah geet of Mithila, which treat Rama as the son-in-law of every home, and bhajans of the Sita-Rama wedding. Shri Ramchandra Kripalu bhaju man is sung at the aarti; folk songs differ from family to family and are passed down orally.
To celebrate the marriage of Rama and Sita as the ideal of dharma in married life, faithfulness, respect and courage. Devotees worship them together, read their wedding, help needy girls' weddings and pray for harmony at home, and Janakpur and Ayodhya hold great festivals.
A fast is not essential. Some devotees keep phalahar until the puja or the evening, and many keep the day simple and vegetarian. The heart of the day is worshipping Sita and Rama together and reading their wedding.
It is widely said that Goswami Tulsidas completed the Ramcharitmanas on this Panchami, and many devotees begin or finish a reading of it on the day. Tulsidas himself records that he began it on Ram Navami; the completion date is a tradition rather than something he states.
Orchha's Ram Raja temple, where Rama is worshipped as king, celebrates his wedding with a festive procession of Rama as the groom, music and crowds of devotees, one of the best-known celebrations outside Janakpur and Ayodhya.
