🌕 Purnima Vrat (Satyanarayan Katha) 2026

When is the next Purnima — the vrat on the full-moon day of every month, the Satyanarayan katha, the Moon arghya, charity and a holy bath; the big Purnimas such as Kartika, Magha, Vaishakha and Guru Purnima on their own pages; the next 12 Purnima dates with names above.

Purnima is the fifteenth tithi of every lunar month, when the Moon is full — 12 in a year (13 in a year with an Adhika month). It is the day of Vishnu-Lakshmi and the Moon — the Satyanarayan katha in homes, the Purnima vrat (fruit all day, paran after seeing the Moon in the evening), a river bath, charity; many families make kheer on every Purnima and offer it to the Moon.

Every Purnima has its own name and festival — Kartika (Dev Deepawali), Magha (the Maghi bath), Phalguna (Holi), Chaitra (Hanuman Jayanti), Vaishakha (Buddha Purnima), Jyeshtha (Vat Savitri/Snana Purnima), Ashadha (Guru Purnima), Shravana (Raksha Bandhan), Bhadrapada (the start of Pitru Paksha), Ashwin (Sharad Purnima), Margashirsha (Dattatreya), Pausha (Shakambhari) — the big festivals have their own pages, this page is for the monthly Purnima vrat and the Satyanarayan katha. Above are the date of the next Purnima, the moonrise and 12 dates; below the vidhi, the rules of the katha, prasad and regional customs.

Significance — why this vrat

The Moon is at full strength on Purnima — its influence on the mind (Moon) is intense, hence the vrat's restraint and the Moon arghya; the most auspicious day for Vishnu puja and the Satyanarayan katha (Skanda Purana, Reva Khanda) — the katha may be held on any day but Purnima and the Sankranti are best; the fruit of the Purnima bath (Ganga-Yamuna-Narmada) and charity is multiplied.

The vrat rule: the Purnima by the udaya tithi or moonrise-vyapini — the fast on the udaya tithi day, the Satyanarayan katha and Moon arghya on the evening when the Purnima is present at moonrise (usually the same day; sometimes a day earlier — the list above follows the udaya rule, choose the katha evening from the tithi window); paran after seeing the Moon or the next morning.

A weak Moon/Chandra dosha in the chart (restlessness, less comfort from the mother) — the Purnima vrat, the gift of white things (milk-rice-silver-mishri), 'Om Som Somaya Namah', the Shiva abhishek as remedies; women for children, marital fortune and household peace; a vow of 12 Purnimas (a year), the udyapan on Kartika/Magha Purnima.

Puja vidhi (step by step)

This is the household vidhi of the monthly Purnima — the fast, the Satyanarayan katha (five chapters), the Moon arghya, paran; the customs of the big Purnimas on their own pages.

1. Morning: bathe in the Brahma muhurat (river/Gangajal at home), white/yellow clothes; sankalp — 'the Purnima vrat and Satyanarayan puja, for (wish), paran after seeing the Moon'; the Sun arghya; worship of Vishnu-Lakshmi, Tulsi water.
2. Through the day: fruit (fruit-milk-sabudana) or waterless (as strength allows); charity — grain, white things (rice-milk-sugar-clothes), water; 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya'/the Vishnu Sahasranama; no sleeping in the day.
3. Evening (Pradosh — time above) the Satyanarayan katha: yellow cloth on the wooden seat, banana stems/leaves, kalash (water-mango leaves-coconut), the Satyanarayan (Vishnu) picture/shaligram; Ganesha and Navagraha puja, panchamrit, Tulsi leaves, yellow flowers; panjiri (semolina-ghee-sugar-banana-Tulsi — sava pav/sava kilo), panchmewa, fruit; the 5 chapters of the katha by a priest or oneself; 'Satyanarayan Bhagwan ki jai' at every chapter; the aarti 'Jai Lakshmiramana'; prasad to family and neighbours.
4. The arghya at moonrise (time above): water-milk-akshat-flowers to the Moon, 'Om Som Somaya Namah'/'Dadhishankha-tusharabham…', the bhog of kheer in the moonlight (all night on Sharad Purnima); the sight of the Moon.
5. Paran: after the Moon arghya and katha the prasad (panjiri-panchamrit), then a sattvic meal — kheer-poori-sabzi; strict vratis take paran the next morning (Pratipada).
6. The Purnima bath and charity: a pilgrimage bath in the morning/day (if possible), charity to cows, Brahmins and the poor; water and a lamp for the peepal/Tulsi; remembrance of the ancestors (the Purnima shraddha — Bhadrapada).
7. Women's custom: married women ask the Moon for the long life of husband and children, girls for a groom; no katha during menstruation (later or the next Purnima); fruit and the sight of the Moon are auspicious for the pregnant.
8. Udyapan: on completing 12 Purnimas — the Satyanarayan katha + havan, feeding 12 Brahmins/couples, the gift of white things; on Kartika or Magha Purnima.

Puja samagri checklist

The Satyanarayan katha items + the Moon arghya — the list for every Purnima.

• A Satyanarayan/Vishnu-Lakshmi picture or shaligram, wooden seat, yellow cloth, banana leaves/stems, kalash, mango leaves, coconut
• Panchamrit (milk-curd-ghee-honey-sugar), Gangajal, Tulsi leaves, yellow sandalwood, roli, akshat, mauli, sacred thread, yellow flowers and garland
• Panjiri: semolina, ghee, sugar, banana, Tulsi, panchmewa (sava pav/sava kilo — the 'sava' rule); fruit, paan-supari, dakshina
• Lamp (ghee), incense, camphor, aarti thali, conch, bell; the Satyanarayan katha book (5 chapters)
• Navagraha/Ganesha puja: supari-akshat (Navagraha), a turmeric root; havan (udyapan)
• The Moon arghya: copper/silver pot, water-milk-akshat-flowers; kheer (in the moonlight)
• Charity: rice-milk-sugar-white clothes-silver (Moon), grain-water
• Fasting fare: fruit, milk, sabudana, makhana, rock salt

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Vrat katha (the story)

The five chapters of the Satyanarayan katha (Skanda Purana, Reva Khanda) are read on Purnima — Vishnu told Narada this simple vrat for the suffering people of Kali Yuga: (1) the poor Brahmin of Kashi — learnt the vrat from Vishnu in an old man's form and grew wealthy; (2) the woodcutter — received the katha prasad at the Brahmin's home, kept the vrat, was happy; (3) King Ulkamukha and the merchant Sadhu — Sadhu vowed the vrat for a child, the daughter Kalavati was born, but he forgot the vrat; (4) Sadhu and his son-in-law were falsely accused of theft and jailed; Kalavati heard the katha, his wife Leelavati kept the vrat — they were freed; on the boat home Sadhu called the prasad-wealth 'creepers and leaves', the boat sank, then was saved by the vrat; (5) Kalavati ran to meet her husband leaving the prasad — the boat sank, when she returned and took the prasad it rose; King Tungadhwaja refused the cowherds' prasad — lost sons and wealth, regained them by taking the prasad.

The lesson: Satyanarayan = truth itself is Narayana — forgetting a vowed vrat, disrespecting/leaving the prasad, lies — bring calamity; the katha, prasad and truth with faith bring happiness; hence distributing the prasad (panjiri-banana-panchamrit) to all and taking it oneself is essential, and one does not get up leaving the katha midway.

The tale of the Moon: wasting from Daksha's curse, the Moon worshipped Shiva at Prabhas, and Shiva placed him on his head and made him full on Purnima — since then Moon and Shiva worship on Purnima; the Moon is lord of the mind, the mother, water and herbs — the Purnima vrat brings peace of mind and the mother's comfort (folk astrology).

Panjiri, panchamrit, banana, kheer — the Satyanarayan prasad and the Moon's kheer

The Satyanarayan prasad by the 'sava' rule — sava pav/sava kilo of semolina panjiri, panchamrit, banana-Tulsi; kheer for the Moon (rice-milk — white, dear to the Moon); fruit on the vrat day; kheer-poori-sabzi at the paran; the 'sinni/shirni' of Satyanarayan (flour-milk-banana-jaggery) in Bengal, the 'sheera' of Satyanarayan (semolina halwa) in Maharashtra.

• Panjiri: sava pav/kilo of semolina roasted in ghee with powdered sugar, banana (chopped), Tulsi leaves, panchmewa — to all with panchamrit after the katha
• Panchamrit (milk-curd-ghee-honey-sugar + Tulsi-Gangajal) — as charanamrit
• Kheer (rice-milk-saffron-dry fruits) — the bhog with the Moon arghya, kept in the moonlight (all night on Sharad Purnima)
• Fruit (banana essential, apple-pomegranate-grapes), mishri, coconut, paan-supari
• Paran: kheer-poori-potato sabzi, dal-rice (rice is not forbidden on Purnima — unlike Ekadashi)
• Regional: Bengal — sinni/shirni (a raw mix of flour-milk-banana-jaggery), payesh; Maharashtra — the semolina sheera of Satyanarayan (sava measure), puran poli; Gujarat — sheero-lapsi; south — the sapada bhakshya (sava measure of wheat-jaggery-banana-ghee) at the Satyanarayan puja, payasam

Regional customs

The Satyanarayan katha of the north, the sinni of Bengal, the sheera of Maharashtra, the sapada bhakshya of the south, the Purnima bath at the tirthas — the customs of every full moon.

Do's and don'ts

Frequently asked questions

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Also read: Sharad Purnima (Kojagari) · Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) · Guru Purnima · Amavasya (ancestors, bath, charity)

⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; the custom of your family and region comes first. Dates are by the sunrise tithi of Delhi — match your city's panchang and moonrise; planetary remedies are astrological beliefs.

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