Vat Savitri Vrat 2026 in Canada: Sat, May 16 — Puja Time by City

How the Vat Savitri Vrat date is decided

The tithi prevailing at local sunrise (Udaya tithi).

Significance

Brahma (roots), Vishnu (trunk) and Mahesh (branches) are held to dwell in the banyan — the Akshaya Vat is immortal; it was beneath a banyan that Savitri took the head of the dying Satyavan in her lap and asked Yama for her husband's life — hence circling the banyan and 'binding' it with thread (the protective thread of the husband's life).

The vrat is also kept for three days (Trayodashi to Amavasya) — the sankalp on Trayodashi, fasting on Chaturdashi-Amavasya; usually a single day on the Amavasya — waterless or fruit, water/fruit from the husband's hand after the puja and katha.

Jyeshtha Amavasya = Shani Jayanti (the birth of Shani) — hence Shani charity of black sesame and oil and oil at a Shani temple on this day too; in the heat of Jyeshtha, the banyan's shade and the charity of water and fans.

Puja vidhi (brief)

1. Sankalp on Trayodashi night (or at dawn on the Amavasya) — 'I keep the Vat Savitri vrat for my husband's long life and unbroken good fortune'; on the Amavasya bathe in Brahma Muhurat, solah shringar, red/yellow saree, mehndi, bangles, sindoor (a new bride's first vrat by the custom of her parents'/in-laws' home).
2. A bamboo basket/two baskets: in one the idols of Savitri-Satyavan-Yama (clay/picture) or Brahma-Savitri, in the other the puja samagri; the basket on the head, with friends and married women, to the puja spot under a banyan tree (temple grounds/the village vat).
3. Water and milk at the roots of the banyan, roli-akshat-turmeric-kumkum, flowers, incense and lamp; rounds winding raw thread/mauli around the trunk — 7 (or 11/21/108) times, 'Om Vataya Namah'/remembrance of Savitri in each round; after the rounds bow to the thread with folded hands.
4. Bhog: soaked chana (black/white), poori, mango, melon, banyan fruit, jaggery, pua/malpua, sattu; fanning the banyan (the heat — Savitri fanned Satyavan); listen to the katha holding 11-21 soaked chanas in the hand.
5. The story of Savitri and Satyavan (below) — the married women together; give the chana of the katha to the mother-in-law/eldest married woman and touch her feet, bayana (poori-pua-chana-fruit-cloth-dakshina); keep the banyan leaf/fruit prasad.
6. On returning home apply tilak to the husband and bow; break the fast (if waterless) with water and chana/fruit from the husband's hand; keep a banyan leaf in the hair/at the puja place; a piece of the raw thread in the safe.
7. Shani Jayanti (the same day): black sesame, mustard oil, black cloth, iron — to a Shani temple/the needy; an oil lamp at the peepal in the evening; 'Om Sham Shanaishcharaya Namah'.
8. Those who cannot reach a banyan — a potted/pictured banyan branch or a clay banyan at home with the same vidhi; the custom of the south and Maharashtra (Vat Purnima) 15 days later with the same vidhi.

Frequently asked questions

Is Vat Savitri Vrat 2026 on the same day in Canada and India?

Yes — Saturday, May 16, 2026.

What is the puja time for Vat Savitri Vrat 2026 in Toronto?

Purvahna (morning) Puja time: 5:51 AM to 11:45 AM (EDT). Other cities are in the table above.

Which time zone are these timings in?

Each row is in that city's own local time with daylight saving applied (Eastern Time (EST/EDT) for Toronto).

Amavasya or Purnima — which is right?

Both are sanctioned — the Amavasya in the Skanda and Bhavishya Puranas (North India), the Purnima in the Nirnayamrita etc. (Maharashtra-south); the katha and vidhi are the same; follow the custom of your family and region.

What if there is no banyan?

A potted banyan/bonsai at home, or a banyan branch (fallen/from a temple), or a picture/clay banyan — the same vidhi; wind the thread and circle around that.

Why wind raw thread?

Savitri won back her husband's life from Yama — the binding of thread symbolises the protection of the husband's life (the 'raksha sutra'), the banyan is immortal; the 7 rounds recall the seven rounds of the wedding.

Where should a new bride keep her first vrat?

In folk custom the first Vat Savitri is at the in-laws' home with the mother-in-law (bayana to her); in some regions (Mithila) the bayana comes from the parents' home; the vrat is valid wherever you are — the katha and banyan puja are the main things.

Daily panchang in Canada

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