Purnima is the full Moon day. It is the fifteenth tithi, the last of the bright fortnight, and it ends at the instant when the Moon stands exactly opposite the Sun, a hundred and eighty degrees away. After it the Moon begins to wane and the dark fortnight, Krishna paksha, begins with Pratipada.
The name means full, and the day has a place in nearly every month of the devotional year. Some of the most widely kept festivals of the calendar fall on Purnima, and the full Moon is also the day on which many families keep a vrat and the Satyanarayan puja each month.
The tithi at a glance
| Detail | Purnima |
|---|---|
| Where it falls | Last tithi of Shukla paksha, tithi number 15 of 30 |
| Moon ahead of the Sun by | 168 to 180 degrees |
| Group | Purna (with Panchami and Dashami) |
| Deity in a common list | Chandra (the Moon) |
Group and deity
Purnima is the third member of the Purna group, with Panchami and Dashami. Purna means full or complete, and muhurat summaries describe the group as favourable for ceremonies of all kinds and for work one wants to bring to a good completion. The full Moon is the plainest picture of that idea.
A common list gives Chandra, the Moon, as the deity of Purnima. The assignment is natural, since the Moon is complete on this day, and it fits the devotional use of the tithi: fasting until moonrise, offering water to the Moon, and the idea of the Moon as the mind. A different list in another text may give a different name, and your family’s tradition comes first.
Festivals on Purnima through the year
Chaitra Purnima is celebrated as Hanuman Jayanti in much of north India, described on the Hanuman Jayanti page and in the puja vidhi. Vaishakha Purnima is Buddha Purnima, the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha in one tradition of observance, and Ashadha Purnima is Guru Purnima, the day of honouring teachers, with the worship in Guru Purnima Puja Vidhi.
Shravana Purnima is Raksha Bandhan, the sister’s thread tied on a brother’s wrist, with the steps in Raksha Bandhan Puja. Ashvin Purnima is Sharad Purnima, also called Kojagari, the night of the clear autumn Moon on which many families keep a vigil. Kartika Purnima is Dev Diwali and the day of the lamps at Varanasi, and also a day of the river bath in many places.
Phalguna Purnima is the night of Holika Dahan, the bonfire that comes before the colour day of Holi. Besides these, the vrat of the full Moon is kept every month, as described in Purnima Vrat Vidhi, and the Satyanarayan puja is often performed on the day, as in Satyanarayan Puja. The dates for the monthly Purnimas are on the Purnima page.
How Purnima ends and begins the month
In the purnimanta reckoning, used across much of north India, the month ends on Purnima and the dark fortnight that follows belongs to the next month. In the amanta reckoning, used in the south and west, the month ends on Amavasya and Purnima falls in the middle of the month. This is why the dark half after a given full Moon has a different month name in the two systems. The page on amanta and purnimanta explains it.
Purnima also gives the lunar months their names: tradition says each month is named for the nakshatra in which the Moon stands at its full Moon, so the month of Chaitra has its full Moon in or near Chitra. The month pages in the Hindu calendar section show the details.
What muhurat practice says
Purnima is in the Purna group and is not Rikta, and Shukla Purnima is described in many almanacs as an auspicious day. Practice varies on what to use it for: it is widely used for religious ceremonies, vows and a housewarming prayer, while many lists leave it out of the favoured days for marriage, so it is worth asking an astrologer rather than assuming.
Practice around the full Moon is not uniform. Some families treat it as the best day of the month for charity and prayer, and others prefer quieter days for starting new work, so follow the custom your own family keeps.
The weekday, nakshatra and individual charts count in any choice. Treat the tithi as one input: the muhurat section shows the rest, and a family astrologer can confirm a date.
A simple way to observe the day
A monthly Purnima observance can be as simple as a morning bath, a lamp before Vishnu or the family deity, a prayer, a gift of food, and a look at the Moon in the evening, with a little water offered as a gesture. Many families read or hear the Satyanarayan katha.
If you keep a fast, it is a personal choice. Speak to a doctor if you have a health condition, are pregnant, nursing, elderly or on regular medicine, and keep a lighter observance if you need to.
Reading the tithi in the calendar
Purnima is the tithi that ends at one exact instant, so the end time is the most useful number: the full Moon is the same moment everywhere, and only the local clock time and the date change. The vrat usually takes the tithi in force at the evening moonrise, while some festivals, such as Raksha Bandhan and Guru Purnima, use other rules of the day.
Purnima can begin on one civil day and end on the next, and the calendar then names the day on which the tithi covers the evening, and often lists a second day when a morning bath is kept. The daily panchang shows the tithi in force today.
To see whether Purnima is the tithi running today in your own city, open the daily panchang. Purnima follows Chaturdashi in the cycle and is followed by Pratipada; the whole set is described in the guide to the thirty tithis.
Related pages
- Purnima dates: the monthly full Moon days for 49 cities.
- Purnima Vrat Vidhi: the monthly vrat.
- Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandhan and Holi: the best-known full Moon festivals.
- Hanuman Jayanti: Chaitra Purnima.
- Satyanarayan Puja: often performed on the full Moon.
- Muhurat: how Purna tithis are used.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is Purnima tithi?
Purnima is the fifteenth and last tithi of Shukla paksha, the full Moon day, when the Moon is a hundred and eighty degrees away from the Sun. It falls once a month.
↳ Which festivals fall on Purnima?
Hanuman Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandhan, Sharad Purnima, Kartika Purnima and Holika Dahan, among others, fall on the full Moon of their months.
↳ Is Purnima good for auspicious work?
Purnima is in the Purna group and is widely used for religious ceremonies. Many almanac lists leave it out of the favoured days for marriage, so an astrologer should check a specific date.
↳ Why is the dark half after Purnima in a different month in different calendars?
In the purnimanta reckoning the month ends on Purnima, and in the amanta reckoning it ends on Amavasya, so the same dark half has two month names.