🌳 Vat Savitri Vrat 2027
Jyeshtha Amavasya (Purnima in some regions) — the married woman's vrat: circling the banyan, raw thread, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the husband's long life; Shani Jayanti on the same day.
The Vat Savitri vrat is kept on the Amavasya of Jyeshtha month — on the Amavasya in North India (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan) and on Jyeshtha Purnima in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south (Vat Purnima — 15 days later). It is the vrat of married women — for the husband's long life and unbroken good fortune, like Savitri who won back the life of her husband Satyavan from Yamraj.
On this day women in solah shringar worship the banyan (vat) tree — water at the roots, 7/11/108 rounds winding raw thread around the trunk, the katha, prasad of the banyan's fruit/leaves; the same day is also Shani Jayanti. Below are this year's date, puja muhurat, vidhi, samagri, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, bhog and regional customs.
Significance — why this vrat
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 (step by step)
This is the North-Indian household vidhi — shringar and the samagri in a bamboo basket in the morning, puja, rounds and katha under the banyan, the husband's blessing on returning home.
- 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).
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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'.
- 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.
Puja samagri checklist
A bamboo basket, raw thread and soaked chana — the mark of this vrat; the rest is suhag samagri.
- 2 bamboo baskets (one with the idols of Savitri-Satyavan/Brahma-Savitri, the other with the samagri), red cloth
- Raw thread (white/red), mauli/kalava — for the rounds
- Soaked chana (black/white, 11-21 in the hand), jaggery, poori, pua/malpua, sattu
- Fruit — mango, melon, banana, litchi; banyan fruit (if available)
- Roli, akshat, turmeric, kumkum, sindoor, mehndi, bangles, bindi (suhag items — for the banyan and the mother-in-law)
- Lota of water and milk, garland, incense, ghee lamp, camphor, hand fan
- Bayana: poori-pua-chana, fruit, cloth (saree/blouse), dakshina — for the mother-in-law
- Shani Jayanti: black sesame, mustard oil, black cloth, an iron item (charity)
- Vat Savitri katha book
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Open panchang →Vrat katha (the story)
Savitri, daughter of King Ashwapati of Madra, chose as her husband Satyavan, son of the blind, exiled King Dyumatsena, in the forest. Narada said — Satyavan has one year to live. Savitri stood firm, the marriage took place, and she served her in-laws in the forest. Three days before the year ended she took a waterless vow (from Trayodashi).
On the last day (Jyeshtha Amavasya) Satyavan went to the forest to cut wood, Savitri with him; under a banyan Satyavan's head reeled, Savitri took it in her lap — Yamraj came and carried away his life. Savitri followed; Yama told her to turn back, she pleased Yama with her knowledge of dharma; Yama gave boons — her father-in-law's eyes, his kingdom, a hundred sons for her father; at last Savitri asked for 'a hundred sons by Satyavan' — Yama said 'so be it' and then realised — impossible without the husband; Yama returned Satyavan's life.
Satyavan woke beneath the banyan; on their return the father-in-law's eyes and kingdom had come back. Since then married women worship the banyan and remember Savitri on Jyeshtha Amavasya — by the wisdom and patience of a devoted wife even death turns back. (Mahabharata, Vana Parva — told by Markandeya to Yudhishthira.)
Soaked chana, pua, mango — the bhog of Vat Savitri
In the heat of Jyeshtha the bhog is cool and simple: soaked chana (of the katha), poori-pua, mango-melon, sattu sherbet; the fast waterless/fruit; paran with water and chana from the husband's hand.
- Soaked chana: black/white chana soaked overnight, with jaggery — in the hand during the katha, to the mother-in-law, as prasad; many women break the fast by swallowing 11 chanas with water (folk custom)
- Pua/malpua (flour-jaggery-fennel, in ghee), poori, kheer; 'pua-poori' in Bihar-Purvanchal, mango-coconut-soaked chana in Maharashtra (Vat Purnima)
- Fruit: mango, melon, litchi, banana; prasad of ripe banyan fruit
- On the fast day: waterless (as strength allows) or fruit and milk; pregnant/unwell with fruit without fail; paran — water, chana and fruit from the husband's hand; then a light meal
- Shani Jayanti: black sesame-jaggery laddoos, charity of urad khichdi
Regional customs
Vat Savitri on the Amavasya in the north, Vat Purnima on the Purnima in the west and south — one story.
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).
✅ Received — after reading we will add it on this page in 1-2 days. Thank you!Something went wrong — please try again.⏳ Sending…Do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Solah shringar, all the suhag items for the banyan and the mother-in-law — the essence of the vrat is good fortune
- Circle the banyan with raw thread, at least 7 times; fan it
- The katha with the married women; soaked chana in the hand, bayana to the mother-in-law
- Paran with water and chana from the husband's hand — if waterless, early in the heat
- The sesame-oil charity of Shani Jayanti; a water stall under the banyan
❌ Don't
- Do not break banyan branches or leaves — take fallen leaves/fruit for the puja
- No insisting on a waterless fast in the heat of Jyeshtha — the pregnant/unwell/elderly with fruit and water
- Quarrels, black or white clothes on the vrat day (the black cloth of Shani charity is another matter)
- No plastic/nylon as the raw thread — cotton
- Do not leave idols and puja material like litter under the banyan — into water/earth
Frequently asked questions
When is the Vat Savitri vrat in 2027?
The date at the top is this year's Jyeshtha Amavasya (the North-Indian tradition) — from panchang calculations; the span of the Amavasya tithi and the puja muhurat (Delhi) are shown too. In Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south, Vat Purnima on Jyeshtha Purnima (15 days later).
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.
What to do for Shani Jayanti on Vat Savitri?
Jyeshtha Amavasya is Shani's birthday — charity of black sesame, mustard oil, black cloth, iron and urad; an oil lamp at the peepal in the evening; special for those in Sade Sati/Dhaiya. See your Shani position on the Kundali page.
Enter your WhatsApp number — a day before every major vrat you get the date, muhurat and samagri checklist. Free; stop any time.
✅ Saved — you will get a message a day before the next vrat.Something went wrong — please try again.⏳ Saving…Also read: Vaishakha Purnima (15 days earlier) · Ganga Dussehra (10 days later) · Hariyali Teej (the suhag vrat of Sawan) · Sade Sati / Shani
⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; the custom of your family and region comes first. A waterless fast in the heat of Jyeshtha only with regard to health.
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