Magha is the month of the holy bath. In tradition a dawn dip in a river through Magha is among the most meritorious of observances, and the Magh Mela at Prayagraj is built around it. The name comes from the nakshatra Magha, whose bright star is Regulus, in which the full moon usually stands. Magha means the mighty or the great.
The month also holds the first stirrings of spring. Vasant Panchami, the fifth day of the bright half, is the herald of Vasanta, though the season proper begins with Chaitra, two months later.
Magha is the eleventh month of the lunar year as counted from Chaitra, and the first of the two months of Shishira, the season of winter. The nakshatra behind the name is Magha, with the star Regulus. To see where Magha sits between Pausha and Phalguna, read the page on the lunar year, and for the year that counts these months see Vikram Samvat.
The first month of Shishira
Magha is the first of the two months of Shishira, the winter season, and Phalguna is the second. It is a season of dew, shorter fog-bound mornings and the first warming of the Sun after its turn north.
Festivals of Magha
Vasant Panchami on Shukla Panchami is the festival of Saraswati, kept with yellow clothes and the placing of books and instruments before the Goddess; see our Saraswati vandana page. Ratha Saptami on Shukla Saptami honours the Sun and his chariot, and it is a day for the Surya mantra. Bhishma Ashtami on the eighth remembers the grandfather of the Mahabharata, and Jaya Ekadashi follows. Magha Purnima is the last great bathing day of the Magh Mela and is also the day on which Guru Ravidas is remembered. Gupt Navratri is kept by some in the bright half, as in Ashadha.
Bathing, charity and the month of Magha
Magha is the month of the dawn bath and of giving. Families who live near a river or the sea go down at sunrise, and others bathe at home with a prayer to the Ganga. Sesame, blankets, warm clothes and food are given in the cold, and some people take a vow to give a small amount each day for the whole month. At Prayagraj the Magh Mela turns the same idea into a settlement on the sand, with pilgrims who live simply through the month, a practice called Kalpavas. None of this is compulsory. Families keep the part that suits them, and an older person unable to go to a river loses nothing by a quiet prayer at home.
Maha Shivaratri and the two calendars
Maha Shivaratri falls on Krishna Chaturdashi, the fourteenth of the dark half. In the amanta reckoning, which the 2026 and 2027 tables on this page follow, that dark half belongs to Magha. In the purnimanta reckoning it is called Phalguna Krishna paksha. It is the same night, and the Maha Shivaratri puja guide sets out the worship. Vijaya Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of that dark half in the amanta count.
Magha in 2026 and 2027: dates
These are the instants at which each amanta month named Magha begins and ends, taken from a computation of the new moon in Indian Standard Time. In each row the Magha bright half (Shukla paksha) opens at the new moon and runs to the full moon about a fortnight later, and the dark half (Krishna paksha) carries on to the next new moon.
| Month | Starts (new moon, IST) | Ends (IST) |
|---|---|---|
| Magha | 19 January 2026, 01:22 AM | 17 February 2026, 05:31 PM |
| Magha | 06 February 2027, 09:26 PM | 08 March 2027, 02:59 PM |
In purnimanta reckoning, the month called Magha starts at the full moon that falls inside the amanta Pausha, so it begins about two weeks before each date in the Starts column, and it ends at the full moon inside the amanta Magha. The bright half is identical in both systems. Only the dark half changes its name: the fortnight that closes each amanta Magha in the table is called Phalguna Krishna paksha in the purnimanta count. The full moon that splits Magha in two is listed for your own city on the Purnima page, and the method page explains how these instants were calculated.
Ekadashis in Magha
The bright half of Magha has Jaya Ekadashi, and the dark half of the amanta month has Vijaya Ekadashi, which printed purnimanta lists place under Phalguna. Each Ekadashi name stays fixed in every system, and only the month label moves for the Magha dark half. How to keep the fast is in the Ekadashi vrat vidhi, and the Ekadashi festival page gives the Magha days for your city.
Magha in regional calendars
Marathi calendars write Magh and Gujarati calendars Maha. Tamil calendars follow the Sun, and the solar months that usually overlap Magha are Thai and Maasi. The overlapping Malayalam months are Makaram and Kumbham, the Bengali months are Magh and Falgun, and the Punjabi months are Magh and Phagun. In Tamil Nadu the full moon of Maasi is kept as Maasi Magham, with temple festivals and sea baths. The pairing is approximate: a solar month starts when the Sun enters a sign, so the lunar Magha overlaps those months without matching their dates.
Related pages
The month before is Pausha and the month after is Phalguna. To see why Magha can carry two labels, read the page on amanta and purnimanta, and for today’s tithi and nakshatra open the panchang. All twelve months are on the Hindu calendar hub.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Why is the month called Magha?
It takes its name from the nakshatra Magha, in which the full moon usually stands. Magha means mighty.
↳ Is Maha Shivaratri in Magha or Phalguna?
It is the dark fortnight's fourteenth day, so it is Magha Krishna Chaturdashi in amanta calendars and Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi in purnimanta calendars. It is the same night.
↳ What is Magh Mela?
Magh Mela is the annual gathering at the confluence of rivers at Prayagraj, held through the month of Magha, with the largest baths on certain days. It is a pilgrimage, and many people attend it as a month of simple living.
↳ Is Vasant Panchami in spring?
Vasant Panchami is the traditional herald of spring, but by the old division of the year the spring season, Vasanta, begins with Chaitra. The festival marks the first signs of the turn.