Kartik Purnima: What, Why, When, How

What it is

Kartik Purnima is the full moon of Kartika, about two weeks after Diwali. It closes the month of Kartika, which many families keep as a holy month of early baths, lamps and prayer, and it is one of the great bathing days of the year: pilgrims bathe at dawn in the Ganga and other rivers and float small lamps on the water.

It is also called Tripurari Purnima, the full moon of Shiva's victory over the three cities. In Varanasi the evening is Dev Deepawali, "the Diwali of the gods", when the ghats are lit with lamps. In Rajasthan the Pushkar fair reaches its height. In Odisha families float small boats of banana stem with lamps (Boita Bandana), remembering the sea traders of old. Sikh families keep this day as Guru Nanak Jayanti, and Jain pilgrims climb the Shatrunjaya hills at Palitana; those observances are their own.

Why it is kept

Shiva and the three cities. The Mahabharata (Karna Parva, sections 33 and 34 in K. M. Ganguli's translation) tells how three asuras won a boon from Brahma: they would live in three moving cities, built by the architect Maya, of gold in heaven, of silver in the sky and of iron on the earth. The cities would come together into one only after a thousand years, and only a god who pierced them with one arrow could end them. From those cities they troubled the worlds. When the cities came together, Shiva, on a chariot made of the earth, with the sun and moon as wheels and Vishnu in his arrow, destroyed them with a single shot. So he is called Tripurari, the enemy of Tripura, and many families keep the victory on this full moon.

The lamps of the gods. Varanasi tradition says that the gods themselves came down to the Ganga to celebrate Shiva's victory with lamps, and that is why the ghats are lit on this evening.

The end of the holy month. Kartika is honoured in the Vaishnava tradition as the month dear to Vishnu, kept with dawn baths, lamps offered each evening and the Damodara hymn. Kartik Purnima completes the month.

The texts behind the story

• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated into English prose (K. M. Ganguli), published by Pratap Chandra Roy: Karna Parva (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1889) (Karna Parva, Sections XXXIII–XXXIV (Duryodhana's telling of the Tripura story), pp. 105–118 (leaves n112–n125); summarised, not quoted)
• The Folklore of Bombay, by R. E. Enthoven (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923) (p. 56 (leaf n60): on the full moon of Kartik temples, above all Shiva's, are lit with earthen lamps in memory of Shiva's triumph over Tripurasura)
• Dev Deepawali of Varanasi and the Kartika month vows: tradition, summarised in our own words.

When it is kept

Kartik Purnima is the Purnima of Kartika, kept on the day on which Purnima is present at sunrise at your location, provided it lasts at least three muhurtas (three fifteenths of that day's daytime) after that sunrise. Otherwise, and also when Purnima is present at no sunrise, it is the day on which Purnima begins. This is the same test the app uses for Guru Purnima, and it was chosen because it matches published calendars; it is not read from a text.

The date, from the calendar engine

• Kartik Purnima 2027: Kartik Purnima falls on Saturday, November 13, 2027 in Washington DC (computed for this city). In New Delhi it falls on Sunday, November 14, 2027.

The date depends on your city. Every city we cover is on the year page.

Traditions and regional customs

• Purnima at sunrise for three muhurtas, else the day Purnima begins
• Varanasi: Dev Deepawali in the evening
• Odia: Boita Bandana
• Tamil: Karthigai Deepam follows its own rule, the Krittika nakshatra in the solar month Karthigai (engine id karthigai-deepam)

Why the day can differ

When Purnima holds sunrise only briefly, the test decides the day, and cities can differ: in one coming year Mumbai keeps the day before New Delhi's day, and the app marks both as close calls. Calendars that take Purnima at sunrise alone can give a day later, and some give the evening celebration, such as Dev Deepawali, on the day Purnima holds the evening. Follow your temple for the evening programme.

How to keep it at home

1. Rise before dawn and bathe; pilgrims bathe in a river, and at home many add a few drops of Ganga water or tulsi leaves to the bath. Offer water to the rising Sun.
2. Worship Shiva and Vishnu with flowers, a lamp and incense. Prayers often said: "Om Namah Shivaya", the Vishnu Sahasranama, the Damodarashtakam, and the Satyanarayan katha, which many families hold on this full moon.
3. In the evening, light many lamps at home, at the door and by water if you can. Where floating lamps is not allowed, keep them on a tray of water at home. Families in Odisha float small lamp-boats.
4. Give: food, warm clothes and lamps are the traditional gifts of the day. Many families give to a temple kitchen or a food bank.

Fasting

Many devotees keep the Purnima fast until the evening worship, or eat one simple meal. It is not required. Anyone unwell should not fast without a doctor's advice. Take care with very early cold baths in winter weather.

Food

Satyanarayan prasad (sheera with banana), kheer and simple sweets. Many Odia families eat no fish or meat during the month of Kartika, and return to it with a family feast after the full moon.

For children

Long ago, three magic cities moved around the sky and the earth, and the people inside them caused trouble everywhere. They could be stopped only if someone hit all three with one arrow when they came together. Shiva waited patiently, and when the three cities came together, he let fly a single arrow and the trouble was over. The gods were so happy that they lit lamps all along the river. On Kartik Purnima families light lamps too.

Something to do together

With a grown-up, float a small candle or a paper boat with a battery tea-light in a bowl or tub of water, and count how many lights your family can make together.

Sources

• Panchang engine rule kartik-purnima (packages/panchang/data/festivals.json), with its sources and the dates checked in packages/panchang/test/festivals-added.test.ts; the rule is listed in packages/panchang/KNOWN_DIFFERENCES.md §2.5.
• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated into English prose (K. M. Ganguli), published by Pratap Chandra Roy: Karna Parva (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1889) (Karna Parva, Sections XXXIII–XXXIV, pp. 105–118 (leaves n112–n125); the Project Gutenberg e-text (ebook 15476) has the same section numbers)
• The Folklore of Bombay, by R. E. Enthoven (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923) (p. 56 (leaf n60): the lamps of Kartik Purnima)

Related guides

• Dev Uthani Ekadashi (Prabodhini Ekadashi)
• Tulsi Vivah
• Karthigai Deepam