🤫 Mauni Amavasya 2027
Magha Amavasya — a silent Ganga bath, tarpan for the ancestors, sesame charity; the biggest bathing day of the Magh Mela/Kumbh at Prayag.
Mauni Amavasya is the new-moon day of Magha month — about three weeks after Makar Sankranti and five days before Vasant Panchami. It is called 'Mauni' because the rule of the day is to bathe and give charity in silence — silence purifies the mind and is a tapas of speech. The Ganga water is believed to turn to amrit on this day; it is the greatest royal bath of the Magh Mela (and Kumbh) at Prayagraj.
For the women of the house it is the day of the ancestors — tarpan, sesame charity, peepal worship, and a 'vow of silence' for as long as possible; below are this year's date, the Brahma Muhurat for the bath, vidhi, samagri, katha, food and regional customs.
Significance — why this vrat
The most fruitful day of the Magh bath (bathing at dawn all through Magha); the shastras equate the Mauni Amavasya bath with a thousand Ganga baths. Sage Manu is believed to have been born on this day — 'Mauni' from 'Manu'.
Amavasya is the tithi of the ancestors — tarpan, pind-daan/grain charity satisfy them; remedies for Kaal Sarp/Pitru dosha are special on this day; Shani-related charity (sesame, black cloth, oil) too.
The rule of silence: do not speak at least until the bath, puja and charity are done (chant in the mind); the whole day in silence is best — it is also a rare day of quiet for the woman of the house.
Puja vidhi (step by step)
This is the household vidhi — a silent dawn bath, tarpan for the ancestors, charity, peepal and Tulsi puja; a lamp in the evening.
- Rise in Brahma Muhurat (time above) and stay silent; bathe in a river/pond (or at home with Gangajal and sesame in the water) — 'Om Namo Narayanaya' in the mind; arghya to the sun.
- Sankalp (silently) — 'I do the Mauni Amavasya bath, charity and tarpan for the satisfaction of the ancestors and the family's welfare.'
- Tarpan for the ancestors: facing south, water with black sesame, kusha and akshat in a copper lota, three offerings of water for each ancestor by name — done by the man of the house, women may do it too (for mother/grandmother); water and sesame to the peepal tree and a circumambulation.
- Charity (after sunrise, till noon): black sesame, sesame laddoos, jaggery, blankets/woollens, ghee, grain, oil, shoes-umbrella (Shani) — to a Brahmin/the needy/a gaushala; green fodder to a cow, roti to crows and dogs (panch-bali).
- Worship of Vishnu-Lakshmi and Shiva at home; water to Tulsi; women keeping the Amavasya fast take fruit/one meal.
- Silence all day (or as long as possible) — reading, chanting and bhajan in the mind; no anger or quarrel; if silence must be broken, first the Lord's name.
- In the evening a mustard-oil lamp at the Tulsi platform, under the peepal and at the main door (for the ancestors and Shani); Hanuman Chalisa or Shiva mantra on the Amavasya night.
- Next morning (Pratipada) the normal routine; the Magh bath continues until Purnima.
Puja samagri checklist
The main items are sesame and the things for charity — the puja is simple.
- Gangajal, black sesame, copper lota, kusha (if available), akshat
- Charity: sesame, sesame laddoos, jaggery, blankets/woollens, ghee, oil, grain, dakshina
- Water, sesame, roli, mauli and a lamp for the peepal puja
- Picture of Vishnu-Lakshmi and Shiva, bel leaves, Tulsi, flowers, incense and lamp
- Mustard oil and clay lamps (for the evening)
- Roti and jaggery for the panch-bali (cow, crow, dog, ants, gods)
- Fasting food, rock salt
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Open panchang →Vrat katha (the story)
The marriage of Gunavati, daughter of the Brahmin Devaswami of Kanchipuri, was fixed; but an astrologer said her husband would die right after the saptapadi. Her brother went to a washerwoman named Soma, who had the power of a devoted wife through her Monday fast and peepal worship. Soma came to the wedding and, when the groom died, gave her own merit to bring him back to life.
Because she gave away her merit, Soma's own husband and son died at home; on the way back she circled a peepal tree 108 times in silence, offering sesame and water — it was Magha Amavasya. By her silent vow and peepal worship her husband and son came back to life. Since then the vow of a silent bath, peepal worship and tarpan on Magha Amavasya — Mauni Amavasya.
Another belief — the first Manu (the first of human creation) was born on this day, and the Dwapara Yuga began; that is why the bath at the Sangam of Prayag on this day is the greatest bath of the Kumbh Mela.
Amavasya food and the grain for charity
The food of Mauni Amavasya is sattvik — sesame-jaggery, khichdi; set aside portions for the ancestors/panch-bali first, then the family. Those who fast take fruit or one meal.
- Sesame-jaggery laddoos, sesame-rice khichdi (with urad dal), ghee
- Panch-bali: the first roti to a cow, to crows and dogs, flour and sugar for ants — in the ancestors' name
- Charity grain: a bundle (sidha) of raw rice, dal, flour, jaggery, ghee and salt to a Brahmin/the needy
- Fast: fruit, milk, singhara halwa; rice and grain are not forbidden on Amavasya, but nothing tamasic
- The family meal after the peepal lamp in the evening
Regional customs
Mauni Amavasya belongs mainly to North India; the south and west have their own forms of Magha Amavasya.
A custom, tale, song or dish heard from your grandmother — 2-4 lines; after reading we add it on this page with your region's name (the phone is never shown — only to ask you back).
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✅ Do
- Bathe in Brahma Muhurat; silence at least until the bath and charity are done
- Tarpan for the ancestors and sesame charity — the root of this day
- Water and sesame to the peepal and a circumambulation; a mustard-oil lamp in the evening
- Donate blankets/woollens — the cold of Magha
- Away from anger and quarrel; chanting in the mind
❌ Don't
- New work, purchases, travel on Amavasya — traditionally avoided
- Meat, alcohol, tamasic food, cutting hair and nails
- Do not pluck Tulsi leaves
- Do not neglect the needs of elders or children in the name of silence — the silence is of the mind
- Never leave children or elders alone in the ghat crowd; no deep water
Frequently asked questions
When is Mauni Amavasya in 2027?
The date at the top is this year's Magha Amavasya — from panchang calculations; the Brahma Muhurat for the bath and the span of the Amavasya tithi are shown too.
How long should the silence be kept?
The scriptural rule is the whole day; in practice, silence from waking until the bath, puja and charity are complete (at least 2-3 hours), chanting in the mind. The whole day, if you can, is best.
Can women do tarpan?
Yes — where there is no man in the house, or for their own parents, women may do tarpan (akshat-sesame-water in place of kusha); peepal worship and charity are in any case mainly done by women.
Is Shani charity also given on this day?
Amavasya is a tithi dear to Shani — charity of black sesame, mustard oil, black cloth, shoes-umbrella, iron; special if it falls on a Saturday (Shani Amavasya).
What is the link between Mauni Amavasya and the Kumbh?
Mauni Amavasya is the main royal bath of the Magh Mela/Kumbh/Ardh Kumbh at Prayag — drops of amrit are believed to descend into the Sangam on this day; in the 2025 Maha Kumbh the biggest bath was on this day.
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⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; your own family custom comes first. Safety at the ghat and fair comes first.
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