Kajari Teej 2027

About Kajari Teej

Kajari Teej is the second of the monsoon Teej festivals, kept on the third day of the waning moon after Raksha Bandhan, and in 2027 it falls on Friday, 20 August 2027. Married women and girls in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar fast until moonrise, worship a neem branch and break the fast with sattu. Rajasthan calls it Satudi or Badi Teej, and in Mirzapur and Varanasi it is the season of kajari songs.

North India keeps three Teejs in the rains, each on a Tritiya, the third day of a lunar fortnight. Hariyali Teej comes first, in the bright half of Sawan. Kajari Teej follows about fifteen days later, three days after Raksha Bandhan and five days before Janmashtami. Hartalika Teej closes the season in the bright half of Bhadrapada, usually a day before Ganesh Chaturthi.

Because Kajari comes second and is kept with a stricter fast, Rajasthan calls it Badi Teej, the big Teej, and Hariyali Teej the Chhoti, or small, one. Other names come from its customs: Satudi or Satva Teej from sattu, Neemdi Teej from the neem tree, and Kajli or Kajjali Tritiya from kajal, or kohl.

Why the month has two names

Drik Panchang lists the day as Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya in the purnimanta calendar used across most of north India, where a month ends on the full moon. In the amanta calendar used in Gujarat, Maharashtra and the south, where months end on the new moon, the same day is Shravan Krishna Tritiya. It is one date with two labels. Wikipedia's Teej article gives both in different places, which is why searches turn up both.

The fast is kept on the day the Tritiya tithi is in force, but it ends at moonrise, so calendars sometimes disagree when the tithi starts in the morning of one day and ends in the morning of the next. In 2026, Drik Panchang gave 31 August, the Bundi fair ran on 31 August and 1 September, and some calendars listed 30 August. Go by the calendar the family uses.

The fast, the neem and the moon

Married women keep Kajari Teej for their husband's long life, and unmarried girls for a good match. Wikipedia notes that many go without food and water from sunrise. Others take water or fruit. The fast lasts until the moon rises, which in the dark fortnight is well after dark.

1. MorningBathe, dress in new or festive clothes, apply mehndi if not done the night before
2. AfternoonPrepare sattu dishes and the puja plate with roli, rice, flowers and a lamp
3. Evening, the neem pujaA neem branch is planted and decorated, often beside a small pool of water, and worshipped as Neem Mata with sattu, roli, flowers and a lamp
4. Listen to the kathaThe vrat katha is read or told while the women sit around the branch
5. MoonriseOffer arghya, water poured towards the moon, then break the fast with sattu

Drik Panchang describes the neem puja in the evening, called Neemdi, and says Maheshwari families mix sattu of barley, wheat, gram and rice with ghee, sugar and dry fruit and eat one meal of it after moonrise. The story usually read is of a poor Brahmin couple whose fortunes turned after the wife kept this vrat faithfully. Families tell it in different versions.

Satudi Teej in Rajasthan

In Rajasthan the day revolves around sattu. Women start making it days ahead from wheat, rice and gram flour, then press it with ghee and sugar into sweets topped with dry fruit, which the household eats once the moon is up. Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur keep this as their main Teej. In Jodhpur couples visit Shiva temples on the day, and in Udaipur women in lehariya saris join a procession to the ghats of Lake Pichola.

Bundi in the Hadoti region holds the Kajli Teej fair. Incredible India, the government's tourism site, describes a two-day festival organised by the district administration, with Teej Mata, a form of Parvati, carried in a palanquin procession through the town. The custom dates from the Hada Chauhan rulers of Bundi, who turned the royal Teej into a public celebration.

Kajari songs of Mirzapur and Varanasi

In eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Bhojpuri belt of Bihar, the day is tied to kajari, a monsoon song form. Kajari songs are about separation. A young wife at her parents' home longs for her husband, or waits for her brother to come and fetch her, and a crow is often asked to carry her message. Women sing them in groups through the weeks around the festival.

Mirzapur claims the songs as its own. The district's official site says the Kajari Mahotsav is its grandest festival and links it to Kajali, a daughter of the Kantit king, who sang sad songs about her absent husband. Another tradition ties the name to Vindhyavasini, the goddess of nearby Vindhyachal, who is also called Kajali Devi for her kohl-dark complexion. Banaras musicians, including Rasoolan Bai, Siddheshwari Devi and Girija Devi, carried the kajari into the classical repertoire.

What to write

Most people sending a Kajari Teej wish are writing to a wife, a mother, a daughter-in-law or a friend who is fasting. Name the thing she is doing. If you are her husband, a line of thanks lands better than a blessing. If she is a widow or single, wish her for the season, the songs and the women she keeps it with, not for a husband.

How to wish someone on Kajari Teej

A Kajari Teej wish speaks to a woman keeping a day-long fast that ends only when the moon comes up. Wish her strength through the day, a clear sky for the moon and a good plate of sattu at the end. Mention the neem puja, the kajari songs or the swing if they are part of her family's day. For a Rajasthani friend, call it Satudi or Badi Teej. Keep it warm and personal, and don't joke about the hunger or the late moon.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Hindi + Bhojpuri, Rajasthani.

When is Kajari Teej in each year?

Kajari Teej is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions