📿 Guru Purnima (Vyasa Purnima) 2027

Ashadha Purnima — the birthday of Maharshi Veda Vyasa; guru worship, guru dakshina, initiation; the beginning of Chaturmas (for ascetics); honouring parents and teachers at home; the day of the Buddha's first sermon.

Guru Purnima is celebrated on the Purnima of Ashadha month — four days after Devshayani Ekadashi, just before Sawan begins. It is the birthday of Maharshi Veda Vyasa (Krishna Dvaipayana) — the divider of the Vedas, the author of the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Brahma Sutras — hence 'Vyasa Purnima'; in the guru tradition the guru is worshipped on this day as a form of Vyasa himself (the 'Vyasa peetha').

On this day disciples offer flowers and dakshina at the feet of their guru (the initiating guru, the teacher, the parents — the first gurus), guru worship and initiation in ashrams, the beginning of the Chaturmas of the community of saints (four months in one place); in the Buddhist tradition the Buddha gave his first sermon (the turning of the wheel of dharma) at Sarnath on this very Purnima; in Jainism it is 'Treenok Guha Purnima' — Mahavira made Gautama his disciple. Women of the house have the children touch the feet of elders and teachers on this day, the Satyanarayan katha, the Purnima vrat. Below are this year's date, vidhi, samagri, katha, prasad and regional customs.

Significance — why this vrat

'Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshwarah, Guruh sakshat Parabrahma tasmai Shri Gurave namah' — the guru is the remover of the darkness of ignorance (gu = darkness, ru = remover); the fruit of guru worship on Ashadha Purnima is knowledge, learning and spiritual progress through the guru's grace; with the worship of Vyasa, the worship of Shukadeva, Shankaracharya and one's own guru lineage (the guru mandala).

Shiva the first guru (Adiyogi) — on this Purnima he gave the science of yoga to the Saptarishis (the yoga tradition); the day for taking initiation into the guru mantra, beginning a new study/sadhana, guru vandana for students and honouring teachers; children give teachers flowers and cards, guru vandana in schools.

The Purnima vrat (fruit all day, paran after seeing the Moon in the evening), the Satyanarayan katha; from this Purnima the Chaturmas of saints (until Kartika Purnima — discourses and satsang in one place); the Kokila vrat (Ashadha Purnima — the story of Sati; some regions); 'Guru Purnima/Rishi puja' in Bengal-Odisha; the 'Guru Purnima/Teachers' Day' holiday in Nepal.

Puja vidhi (step by step)

This is the household vidhi — the worship of the guru/Vyasa, honouring parents, the Purnima vrat, the Satyanarayan katha.

1. Bathe in the morning, clean clothes; at the puja place a picture of Vyasa/one's guru (if none, Shiva-Dattatreya-Shankaracharya), a white cloth, a book (the Gita/Bhagavata) — the symbol of the Vyasa peetha; kalash.
2. Sankalp: 'the Guru Purnima vrat/puja for the guru's grace and knowledge'; women keeping the Purnima vrat take fruit, paran after seeing the Moon in the evening.
3. The worship of Vyasa/the guru: roli-sandalwood-akshat, yellow/white flowers, garland, incense-lamp, naivedya (kheer/sweets/fruit) to the picture; the 'Gurur Brahma…' verse, the guru mantra (if initiated) 108 times, the guru stotra/Guru Ashtakam; to Vyasa — 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya', a reading of one chapter of the Gita.
4. If the guru is living: at the ashram or invited home, washing the feet (pada prakshalan), garland, clothes, fruit, dakshina (as means allow), pranam, blessing; if the initiating guru is far — the same to the picture, pranam by phone/letter, online satsang.
5. Parents and elders: children touch the feet of parents (the first gurus), grandparents, elder siblings; the mother herself bows to her mother-in-law/mother; flowers/gifts/letters to teachers; thanks to whoever taught something (music, a skill, a job).
6. The Satyanarayan katha (Purnima): kalash puja in the evening, panchamrit, banana leaves, panjiri prasad, the five chapters of the katha; or the Moon arghya of the Purnima vrat (moonrise above).
7. Charity: books-pens-notebooks, clothes, food to a gurukul/school/poor students; yellow clothes-gram-saffron (for Brihaspati, the guru planet — if Jupiter is weak in the chart); feeding Brahmins.
8. The Chaturmas vow: a rule from today until Kartika Purnima — daily Gita reading, giving up one habit, satsang, a period of silence — the vow before the guru.

Puja samagri checklist

The Vyasa/guru picture, a book, yellow flowers, dakshina, the Satyanarayan prasad — the Guru Purnima list.

• A picture or padukas of Vyasa/one's guru, white-yellow cloth, wooden seat, a book (the Gita/Bhagavata — the Vyasa peetha)
• Roli, sandalwood, akshat, turmeric, kumkum, mauli, yellow-white flowers, garland (marigold-jasmine-lotus)
• Incense, lamp, ghee, camphor, aarti thali, kalash, mango leaves, coconut
• Naivedya: kheer, laddoo/peda, fruit, panchamrit; panjiri for Satyanarayan (semolina-ghee-sugar-banana)
• Guru dakshina: clothes (yellow-white), fruit, dakshina (envelope), padukas, garland, water and thali for washing the feet
• The guru stotra/Guru Gita/Gita book, japa mala (rudraksha/Tulsi)
• Charity: books-pens-notebooks, yellow gram-clothes, food supplies
• Purnima vrat: fruit-milk, the pot for the Moon arghya

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Vrat katha (the story)

Krishna Dvaipayana, son of sage Parashara and Satyavati (Matsyagandha), was born on an island in the Yamuna on Ashadha Purnima — and went off to penance as soon as he was born. Since human memory and lifespan would shrink in Kali Yuga, he divided the one Veda into four (Rig-Yajur-Sama-Atharva) — 'Veda Vyasa'; one Veda each to the disciples Paila, Vaishampayana, Jaimini and Sumantu; the 18 Puranas, the Brahma Sutras, and the Mahabharata written by Ganesha's pen — which holds the Gita.

His son Shukadeva recited the Bhagavata to Parikshit; Vyasa is still regarded as immortal, in the Vyasa cave near Badrinath. All scriptural knowledge that has flowed to this day comes from Vyasa — 'Vyasochchhishtam jagat sarvam' (the whole world is the leftover of Vyasa). Hence every katha reciter's seat is the 'Vyasa peetha' and this Purnima is 'Vyasa Purnima'.

Eklavya and Drona, Aruni and Dhaumya, Kabir and Ramananda, Vivekananda and Ramakrishna — the stories of guru and disciple are told on this day; the Buddha gave his first sermon of the Four Noble Truths to five monks at Sarnath on this Purnima (the turning of the wheel of dharma); Shiva as Adiyogi taught yoga to the Saptarishis — the day of the origin of the guru principle.

Kheer, panjiri, laddoo — sattvic prasad and the beginning of Chaturmas

The bhog of Guru Purnima is sattvic — kheer (rice/sabudana), the semolina panjiri of Satyanarayan, laddoo-peda, fruit; fruit in the Purnima vrat, kheer-poori after seeing the Moon; many homes begin the Chaturmas food rules from today (giving up onion-garlic-brinjal-leafy greens — in Shravana).

• Kheer (rice-milk-saffron) — the bhog of Vyasa/the guru; kheer on Purnima is dear to the Moon
• Satyanarayan panjiri: semolina roasted in ghee with powdered sugar, banana-Tulsi, dry fruits — the sava kilo/sava pav rule
• Laddoo (besan/boondi), peda, barfi, fruit (mango-banana — the mango of Ashadha), panchamrit
• Fasting fare: sabudana kheer, fruit, milk, makhana; paran with kheer-poori-halwa
• Ashram/bhandara: poori-sabzi-halwa, kadhi-rice; yellow/white fruit and sweets for the guru (saffron peda, barfi)
• Chaturmas rules (from Shravana): no leafy greens (Shravana), curd (Bhadrapada), milk (Ashwin), lentils (Kartika) — folk Ayurveda

Regional customs

The guru worship of the ashrams, the Vyasa puja of Maharashtra, the Dharmachakra Purnima of the Buddhists, the Teachers' Day of Nepal — the customs of Guru Purnima.

Do's and don'ts

Frequently asked questions

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Also read: Devshayani Ekadashi (4 days earlier) · Jagannath Rath Yatra · Dattatreya Jayanti (the first guru) · Guru stotras & mantras

⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; your guru lineage and family custom come first. Planetary remedies are astrological advice, not a substitute for medical/financial decisions.

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