Guru Purnima 2026
गुरु पूर्णिमा
Guru Purnima falls on Wednesday, 29 July 2026 in New Delhi, on Shukla Purnima.
Guru Purnima is the full moon of Ashadha, when students honour their teachers, and it's also known as Vyasa Purnima after the sage traditionally credited with the Mahabharata. Hindus, Buddhists and Jains all have reasons to mark it.
Why this date
CalculatedIt falls on Ashadha Purnima, the full moon of the month of Ashadha, usually in July. It's fixed by the lunar calendar, usually reckoned at sunrise.
That’s 19 days later than 10 July 2025 last year. Why it jumped
- Purnima begins
- 28 Jul, 6:20 PM
- It ends
- 29 Jul, 8:06 PM
2026 date by city
| New Delhi | Wed, 29 Jul |
|---|---|
| Mumbai | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Kolkata | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Chennai | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Bengaluru | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Hyderabad | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Ahmedabad | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Pune | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Jaipur | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Lucknow | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Patna | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Varanasi | Wed, 29 Jul |
| London | Wed, 29 Jul |
| New York | Wed, 29 Jul |
| San Francisco | Tue, 28 Jul |
| Toronto | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Sydney | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Singapore | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Dubai | Wed, 29 Jul |
| Port Louis | Wed, 29 Jul |
Dates in bold differ from New Delhi’s. Calculated by rule; local practice can differ.
One festival, many stories
Hindu traditionsVyasa's full moon
The day is also called Vyasa Purnima, and Lochtefeld links this to Vyasa's fame as a great guru. Many people treat the day as Vyasa's birthday, a tradition we haven't traced to any specific text. In the dharma literature, a student's obedience to his guru is a central duty, and the day draws on that.
Buddhist traditionsThe first sermon at Sarnath
Theravada Buddhists mark the full moon of Asalha as the day the Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath to his five companions, a teaching recorded as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. It's the same moon, carried in a different tradition, and it's among the most important days of the Buddhist year.
Jain traditionsMahavira's first disciple
Jain tradition also marks the day as the one when Mahavira accepted Gautama as his first disciple. We've only found this in secondary sources.
Common questions
What people do
- Visiting a teacher or spiritual guide to offer thanks and a gift
- Worship of the guru's feet or sandals in some traditions
- Reading from works of Vyasa, or holding special gatherings at ashrams
- Students writing to or calling a former teacher
Why is Guru Purnima celebrated?
To honour teachers. The day is tied to Vyasa in Hindu tradition and to the Buddha's first sermon in Buddhism, and today it's often used to thank any teacher you've had.
Who is the guru in Guru Purnima?
It can be a religious preceptor or any teacher or mentor. Lochtefeld notes that the word has broadened in modern use, even though the classical picture is of a student living in a teacher's household.
Why is it on a full moon?
We don't know of a text that explains it. Lochtefeld notes that the full moon is associated with completion and perfection, qualities often ascribed to a guru, but that's an interpretation.
Ask your elders
“Ask your grandparents which teacher they'd still bow to today, and what that person did to deserve it. Was there one they were terrified of too?”
Sources
- James G. Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Rosen, 2002), entry “Guru Purnima”
- Samyutta Nikaya 56.11 (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta)
- P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute), on vratas and utsavas