Vat Purnima Vrat 2026: Date, Puja Vidhi & Katha

Vat Purnima Vrat 2026 falls on Monday, 29 June 2026 for married women in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and most of South India, where the vow is kept on Jyeshtha Shukla Purnima. In North India the same vrat is observed on Jyeshtha Amavasya as Vat Savitri Vrat, which already fell on Saturday, 16 May 2026. The Purnima tithi begins at 03:06 AM on 29 June and ends at 05:26 AM on 30 June (IST), so the puja is done through the morning of the 29th. Devotees in the US and Canada may observe it a day earlier, on 28 June, because the same tithi falls on that evening in Western time zones.

This guide gives you the verified 2026 dates and tithi timings, why the date differs between North and West India, the step-by-step puja vidhi, the katha of Savitri and Satyavan, and what to do if you are keeping the vrat from a city or from abroad.

When is Vat Purnima Vrat in 2026?

The vrat follows the day whose sunrise is held within the Purnima tithi — that is 29 June in India this year. The same astronomical tithi enters the afternoon of 28 June in North-American time zones, which is why panchangs set to US cities list Vat Purnima on 28 June. The tithi itself is one moment in the sky; only the local clock differs.

Why is Vat Purnima on a different day in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South?

It comes down to two ways of drawing the Hindu lunar month. North Indian states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana — follow the Purnimanta calendar, in which the month ends on the full moon. There, the Savitri vrat is kept on Jyeshtha Amavasya, the new moon, which in 2026 coincided with Shani Jayanti on 16 May.

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and the southern states follow the Amanta calendar, in which the month ends on the new moon. There the very same vow is kept fifteen days later, on Jyeshtha Purnima, the full moon — and is called Vat Purnima Vrat. The story, the banyan-tree worship and the purpose are identical in both; only the tithi changes. So a family with roots in Pune or Ahmedabad keeps it on 29 June, while a family in Lucknow kept it on 16 May.

What is Vat Purnima Vrat and why do married women keep it?

The name says it plainly: vat means the banyan tree and purnima means the full moon. Vat Purnima is the full-moon day on which married women (suhagan) fast and worship the banyan for the long life, health and prosperity of their husbands. The banyan is chosen for a reason — it is long-lived, ever-spreading and evergreen, and is held to shelter the Trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh in its roots, trunk and branches. Tying a thread around it and circling it is a prayer for a bond that endures, like the tree.

Behind the ritual stands one of the most beloved stories in the tradition — the tale of Savitri, who argued her husband back from death itself.

Vat Purnima Vrat Katha: the story of Savitri and Satyavan

Savitri, daughter of King Ashwapati, chose as her husband Satyavan, a noble but exiled prince living in the forest with his blind father. The sage Narada warned her that Satyavan was destined to die exactly one year from that day. Savitri married him anyway, and said nothing of the prophecy.

On the appointed day, Satyavan went into the forest to cut wood, grew faint, and lay his head in Savitri's lap beneath a banyan tree. There Yamraj, the lord of death, came to take his soul. Savitri followed Yama as he carried Satyavan away, and would not turn back. Moved by her devotion and the wisdom of her words, Yama offered her boons — anything except her husband's life. Savitri asked for her father-in-law's sight and kingdom restored, and for sons of her own. Yama granted them — and Savitri gently pointed out that she could not bear sons without her husband. Caught by his own word, Yama returned Satyavan's life.

It was beneath the banyan that Savitri kept her vigil and won her husband back from Yama — which is why women honour the vat tree on this day, and pray for the same long life for their own husbands.

— Vat Savitri Vrat Katha (Mahabharata, Vana Parva)

This is why the vrat is also called Vat Savitri Vrat — the fast of Savitri kept at the banyan. The Amanta regions simply observe it on the Purnima.

How to do Vat Purnima Vrat puja: step-by-step vidhi

1. Wake before sunrise and bathe. Wear traditional shringar — a saree (red, green or yellow are favoured), bangles, bindi and sindoor, the marks of a suhagan.
2. Take sankalp. Make the formal vow to keep the vrat for your husband's long life and well-being.
3. Prepare the puja thali: water, roli (kumkum), akshat (rice), flowers, a cotton thread (kalava/sutra), fruits, soaked chana, and a hand fan.
4. Worship the vat tree. Offer water at its roots, apply haldi-kumkum, offer flowers and food, and light a deepak.
5. Tie and circle. Wind the raw cotton thread around the trunk and do parikrama — commonly seven times — praying as you go.
6. Listen to the Savitri katha at the tree or at home, then offer arghya and seek blessings from elder married women in the family.
7. Break the fast after the puja, in keeping with your family's custom — some keep it nirjala until the rituals are done, others take phalahar through the day.

If there is no banyan near you — common in cities and abroad — a banyan twig or sapling in a pot, or even a clean image of the tree, is widely accepted. Devotion is held to matter more than the setting.

What is the shubh muhurat for Vat Purnima 2026?

The hard, verified fact is the tithi window: Purnima runs from 03:06 AM on 29 June to 05:26 AM on 30 June (IST), so all of the daylight of 29 June is within Purnima. The puja is traditionally done in the morning after sunrise, and the midday Abhijit Muhurat (around noon) is also considered auspicious. Exact sunrise, Abhijit, Rahu Kalam and Bhadra timings shift from city to city, so set a panchang to your town before fixing your puja time.

What can you eat during the Vat Purnima fast?

There is no single rule — it varies by family and by strength. Many women keep a nirjala fast (without food or water) until the puja is complete, then eat. Others keep a phalahar fast through the day. A common, gentle pattern looks like this:

• Usually taken: water, milk and curd; fruits; dry fruits and nuts; sabudana; singhada or shakarkandi; potatoes with sendha namak (rock salt).
• Usually avoided: grains and cereals (rice, wheat, atta), pulses, regular salt, onion, garlic and tamasic food.
• Break the fast with the food your family traditionally uses — in many homes, soaked chana and the puja prasad come first.

If you are pregnant, nursing, elderly or managing a condition like diabetes or blood pressure, keep the gentler phalahar form rather than a waterless fast — a vrat kept with care and devotion is considered complete.

Vat Purnima, Vat Savitri and Nirjala Ekadashi — how do they relate?

All three fall in Jyeshtha, the deep heat of early summer, and all three are vows of devotion. Vat Savitri Vrat and Vat Purnima Vrat are the same vow on two tithis — Amavasya in the North (16 May 2026), Purnima in the West and South (29 June 2026). Nirjala Ekadashi (25 June 2026) is a different vrat altogether — a waterless fast offered to Vishnu, kept by all, not only married women.

Vat Purnima for NRIs and devotees abroad

If you are keeping the vrat outside India, the date can shift by a day. Because the Purnima tithi enters on the evening of 28 June in North-American time zones, many panchangs set to US and Canadian cities list Vat Purnima on Sunday, 28 June 2026, while the UK is closer to the Indian date. Always go by a panchang set to your own city's sunrise. Without a banyan nearby, a sapling, a twig in a kalash, or worship of a tulsi or peepal with the same sankalp is widely accepted — and many families pair the vrat with gau seva, caring for cows, as added punya offered in their name.

Frequently asked questions

Is Vat Purnima 2026 on 28 or 29 June?

In India it is 29 June 2026 (Monday), because the Purnima tithi is held at sunrise that day. In the US and Canada, panchangs commonly show 28 June because the same tithi falls on that evening locally. Go by a panchang set to your city.

Can unmarried women or widows keep Vat Purnima?

Traditionally it is a suhagan vrat for the husband's long life, kept by married women. Unmarried women in some families keep it praying for a good husband. Customs vary by region and household — follow your family's practice.

Is Vat Purnima the same as Vat Savitri Vrat?

Yes — it is the same vow of Savitri kept at the banyan. North India observes it on Jyeshtha Amavasya (Vat Savitri Vrat, 16 May 2026); Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South observe it on Jyeshtha Purnima (Vat Purnima Vrat, 29 June 2026).

What is the next big vrat after Vat Purnima?

Devshayani Ekadashi on 25 July 2026 begins Chaturmas, and Guru Purnima follows on 29 July 2026.

Savitri did not pray for an easy life — she argued for her husband's, and won. That is the spirit of Vat Purnima: devotion that does not give up. Keep the date right for your region — 29 June in Maharashtra and Gujarat — worship the vat with a full heart, and let the thread you tie stand for a bond meant to last.