Vasant Panchami 2025
वसंत पंचमी
Vasant Panchami falls on Sunday, 2 February 2025 in New Delhi, on Shukla Panchami.
Vasant Panchami, the fifth lunar day of the bright half of Magha, is treated as spring's first day. It's above all a day for Saraswati, goddess of learning and music, and for the colour yellow.
Why this date
CalculatedIt falls on Magha Shukla Panchami, the fifth lunar day of the bright fortnight. The Panchami has to be in force in the forenoon, called Purvahna, the first half of daylight. Since the month is lunar, the date moves around in January and February.
- Panchami begins
- 2 Feb, 9:15 AM
- It ends
- 3 Feb, 6:53 AM
2025 date by city
| New Delhi | Sun, 2 Feb |
|---|---|
| Mumbai | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Kolkata | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Chennai | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Bengaluru | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Hyderabad | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Ahmedabad | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Pune | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Jaipur | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Lucknow | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Patna | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Varanasi | Sun, 2 Feb |
| London | Sun, 2 Feb |
| New York | Sun, 2 Feb |
| San Francisco | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Toronto | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Sydney | Mon, 3 Feb |
| Singapore | Mon, 3 Feb |
| Dubai | Sun, 2 Feb |
| Port Louis | Sun, 2 Feb |
Dates in bold differ from New Delhi’s. Calculated by rule; local practice can differ.
One festival, many stories
North India and BengalSaraswati's day
Sarasvati already appears in the Rigveda as a river and a goddess, for instance in hymn 6.61. Her link with this particular date comes from later practice. In Bengal, students leave their books at her feet for the day, and across much of north India it's traditionally a day for a child to begin learning letters.
Pan-IndianKama and the arrow aimed at Shiva
Lochtefeld's encyclopedia connects the day with Kama, who brings spring to Shiva's mountain and shoots him with a flower arrow, only to be burned by Shiva's third eye. Kalidasa tells this story in the Kumarasambhava. The linking of the story to this day comes from popular tradition, not from Kalidasa.
DelhiBasant at Hazrat Nizamuddin
Every year, the dargah of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya turns yellow. The story goes that the poet Amir Khusrau, seeing his teacher grieving for a nephew, dressed in yellow and brought mustard flowers to make him smile. It's an old living custom, though the story itself comes down through oral tradition, and people of many faiths take part.
Common questions
What people do
- Worshipping Saraswati, often with books and instruments placed before her
- Wearing yellow and cooking yellow food, such as sweet saffron rice
- Starting a young child on the first letters of the alphabet
- Flying kites in parts of north India
Why do people wear yellow on Vasant Panchami?
Mainly because this is when mustard fields bloom across north India, and yellow became the season's colour. That's a common and reasonable explanation, but no early text we know of lays it down as a rule.
Does spring really start on Vasant Panchami?
Not astronomically. The spring equinox comes in March, and north Indian winter often hasn't quite ended by this date. It's the festival's way of saying the season is turning.
Why don't Bengali students study on Saraswati Puja?
Because books are placed before the goddess for the day, so you're not meant to take them back until the rites are done. Most students are happy to observe this.
Ask your elders
“Ask your family who first held your hand and wrote a letter with you, and on what day. Ask your Bengali friends' parents what they secretly hoped the goddess would do about their exam marks.”
Sources
- James G. Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Rosen, 2002), entry “Vasant Panchami”
- Rigveda 6.61
- Kalidasa, Kumarasambhava
- Rana Safvi, “Basant: when mustard flowers bloom in the Khwaja's dargah”
- P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol. V, Part I (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute), on vratas and utsavas