2024 Purnima Days | Pournami Days | Full Moon Days
Purnima or Pournami is the Full Moon Day or the Full Moon and is important in Hinduism for important rituals and fasting. On this day Moon remains a well-illuminated full disc, causing high tides, and on this day lunar eclipses occur.
There are some Purnima that are considered highly auspicious like Kartika Purnima, Magha Purnima, Sharad/ Ashwina Purnima, Guru Purnima, and Buddha/ Vaishakha Purnima. Special pujas like Satyanarayan puja, Maha Mrityunjaya Havan are conducted on this day and many spiritual gurus were born on Purnima day.
Purnima 2024 Dates
Paush Purnima (Thursday) January 25th, 2024:
Paush Purnima marks the beginning of a month-long austerity period that is observed during Magha month. People flock at the banks of the river Ganga and the Yamuna to take a holy dip. People also worship Shakumari Goddess an incarnation of Shakti on the earth hence this day is also called Shakambari Purnima.
Maghi Purnima (Saturday) February 24th, 2024:
Maghi Purnima is the full moon day in Magha month. Magh Purnima is regarded as auspicious because the Sun is in the Capricorn sign and the Moon in the Cancer Sign. On this day famous Kumbh Mela (held every 12 years) and the Magha Mela (an annual event) takes place at Triveni Sangam (a confluence of three rivers) in Prayag or Allahabad. Maghi Purnima day is dedicated to Lord Satyanarayana. Devotees perform Satyanarayana pooja by offering fruits, honey, banana leaves, sweets, etc to Lord Satyanarayan. The deities worshiped on this day are God Brihaspati and Goddess Parvati. Guru Ravidas Jayanti is also celebrated on this day.
Phalgun Purnima (Sunday) March 24th, 2024:
Phalgun Purnima is also known as Dol Purnima, Vasanta Purnima. The Dol Purnima festival is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The day is also observed as Lakshmi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the Hindu Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Holika Dahan is the main festival celebrated on Full Moon Day (Purnima) of Phalguna month.
Chaitra Purnima (Tuesday) April 23rd, 2024:
The Purnima that falls in the month of Chaitra (March-April) is called Chaitra Purnima. It is the first Purnima after the start of the Hindu New Year. On this day people celebrate Hanuman Jayanti which is the birthday of Lord Hanuman. People worship God, Chitra Gupta. As per legends, Chitra Gupta was a scribe to Lord Yama. He was in charge of maintaining the life record of all humans, their sins, and good deeds. Taking a dip in any holy river on this day is considered very auspicious.
Vaishakh Purnima (Thursday) May 23rd, 2024:
Vaishakh Purnima is also called Buddha Purnima, on the day when Gautama Buddha was born. For the Buddhist community, the day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and attainment of Mahasamadhi by Gautama Buddha and holds great importance.
It is also celebrated as Kurma Jayanti, the birthday of Lord Kurmadev (tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu). As Narasimha Jayanti or Narasimha Chaturdashi is celebrated a day prior to Vaishakh Purnima, the celebrations also continue on the Full Moon day. It is believed that the devotees get full enlightenment from all the sins by fasting and worshipping on Vaishakha Purnima day.
Jyestha Purnima (Friday) June 21st, 2024:
Jyeshtha Purnima is also known as Vat Purnima or Purnima Chavan. It celebrates the festival related to the sacred banyan tree. Vat Savitri is a 3-day long festival which is concluded on the Jyeshtha Purnima. During this festival, married women tie a thread around a Banyan tree and pray for the longevity and well-being of their husbands. It is believed to be the day when Lord Jagannath appeared. This festival is hence also known as Jagannath Purnima, Snan Purnima, and Devasnana Purnima.
Ashadha Purnima (Sunday) July 21st, 2024:
Guru Purnima is celebrated on the full moon date of the Hindu month Ashadha. On this day, the Guru (teacher or mentor) is worshiped. In general terms, Guru is the person who brings us out to the light from the darkness by enlightening us with knowledge. This day is dedicated as a thanksgiving day to our living Gods, our teachers.
Shravan Purnima (Monday) August 19th, 2024:
Shravan Purnima is the full moon day of Shravan Maas, an auspicious day for Shiva devotees. The famous Raksha Bandhan festival celebrated on this day; so it is also famous as Rakhi Purnima. Apart from the rakhi celebration, there are many spiritual activities and rituals performed on Shravan Purnima.
Bhadrapada Purnima (Tuesday) September 17th, 2024:
The Full Moon day of Bhadrapada month is celebrated as Bhadrapada Purnima, Bhado Poornima, or Bhadra Poonam. This Purnima is considered special to Lord Vishnu and Satyanarayan Puja is performed on this day. The next day after Bhadrapada Purnima, Pitru Paksha Shraddha begins. Bhadra Purnima also called Ambaji Bhadra Purnima in Gujarat and is dedicated to Ambaji consecrated at Ambaji village at the foothills of Aravali in Banaskantha district.
Ashwin Purnima (Thursday) October 17th, 2024:
Ashwin Purnima is also known as Sharad Purnima, Kojagari Purnima, and Kumar Purnima. It is the occasion of the full and bright moon which falls during the Ashwin month. On this day, people worship goddess Laxmi and receive immense blessings and wealth, even if they don’t have any Dhan Yoga in their birth chart. In Odisha, this day is celebrated as Kumar Purnima when girls observe fast and worship Lors Kartikeya to get a suitable life partner.
Kartik Purnima (Friday) November 15th, 2024:
The Full Moon Day or 15th Purnima day of the Shukla Paksha (waxing moon) of the Kartika month (November – December) is considered very auspicious for Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. It has many names including Tripuri Purnima and Tripurari Purnima, Dev Diwali (the Diwali of the Gods). On Kartik Purnima, we also celebrate the birthdays of Vishnu’s Matsya avatar, the personification of the tulsi plant, Vrinda, and Shiva’s warrior son, Kartikeya. The Kartik Purnima festival also coincides with the Jain light festival and Guru Nanak’s Birthday.
Margashirsha Purnima (Sunday) December 15th, 2024:
Margashirsha Purnima is the full moon day in Margashirsha Month. Lord Satyanarayan Puja (Lord Satyanarayan Puja) Archana is also performed on this day along with bath and donation (Snan or Daan). Margashirsha Purnima is also known as ‘Dattatreya Jayanti‘. Lord Dattatreya is known to be an avatar of the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) and this day is believed to be his birth anniversary. In some regions of India, Margashirsha Purnima is also referred to as ‘Battissi Purnima’, ‘Korala Purnima’, ‘Naraka Purnima’, or ‘Margashirsha Poonam, Udyatithi Purnima’.
