Vat Savitri Vrat 2027

About Vat Savitri Vrat

Vat Savitri Vrat is a fast kept by married Hindu women, who worship the banyan tree and pray for their husband's long life, recalling Savitri, who won her husband back from Yama. In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Odisha it falls on Jyeshtha Amavasya, which in 2027 is Friday, 4 June 2027. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa keep it as Vat Purnima about two weeks later.

Vat is the banyan, and Savitri is the princess whose story the fast retells. On the day, women in saris and bangles gather at the oldest banyan in the neighbourhood with a thali of fruit, thread and water, walk around the trunk winding cotton thread as they go, and sit in its shade to hear the story told once more.

Two dates for the same vow

The fast follows the Hindu lunar calendar, and India uses two ways of counting the month. In the purnimanta reckoning used across the north, the month ends on the full moon, and the vrat falls on the new moon of Jyeshtha. In the amanta reckoning of Maharashtra and Gujarat, the month ends on the new moon, and the vrat is kept on the full moon instead, as Vat Purnima. The story and the puja are the same. Only the moon is different.

In most years the two observances are a fortnight apart. In years with an extra lunar month the gap grows: in 2026 an adhik Jyeshtha fell between them, so Vat Savitri was on 16 May and Vat Purnima on 29 June.

In the north, Jyeshtha Amavasya is also Shani Jayanti, so the two fall on the same day. Odisha's government fixes its holiday after consulting the traditional almanac; in 2025 it moved the holiday by a day after the Mukti Mandap of Puri and panjika experts gave a different date.

The story of Savitri and Satyavan

The story comes from the Mahabharata, and the method of the vrat is attributed to the Skanda Purana. As tradition tells it, Savitri, the daughter of King Ashvapati, chose to marry Satyavan, the son of Dyumatsena, a blind king living in exile in the forest. The sage Narada warned her that Satyavan would die within a year. She married him anyway and, as the day came near, began a fast.

On that day Satyavan went into the forest to cut wood, and Savitri went with him. He fell ill and died with his head in her lap, under a banyan. When Yama, the god of death, came to take his life, Savitri followed him and would not turn back. Pleased with her persistence, Yama offered her boons, anything short of Satyavan's life. She asked for her father-in-law's sight and kingdom, and at last for children of her own with Satyavan, a wish Yama could only keep by giving Satyavan back.

People who keep the vrat often point out that Savitri wins by argument and nerve, not only devotion. It is a story about a woman who talks death out of its decision.

How the puja is done

Practice varies by family and region, but most pujas follow the same order.

1. Bathe and dressWomen bathe early, put on new or festive clothes and bangles, and apply sindoor.
2. Prepare the thaliFruits, flowers, a coconut, incense, a diya, sindoor, water, and raw cotton or sacred thread.
3. Worship the treeAt a banyan, offer water at the roots, then flowers, fruit and sindoor on the trunk.
4. Wind the threadWalk around the trunk, usually seven times, winding thread around it as a sign of protection.
5. Hear the kathaSit together under the tree to hear or read the story of Savitri and Satyavan.
6. Break the fastEat the prasad offered to Savitri, usually in the evening, after seeking blessings from elders.

Some women keep a strict fast without water; others eat fruit. In Maharashtra some keep it for three days ending on the full moon. In Odia homes the fast is known as Sabitri Brata, and many women worship a grinding stone, the sila pua, as Savitri. The offering, or bhoga, is usually rice, soaked pulses and the season's fruit, such as mango, jackfruit and banana, and the fast ends by eating it.

The banyan, not a branch

In cities without an old banyan nearby, vendors sell cut branches for women to worship at home. In 2008 Maharashtra's Social Forestry Directorate in Pune started a banyan plantation drive on Vat Purnima for exactly this reason, and the appeal still stands. Worship a living tree, even if it means walking a little further, or plant a banyan sapling in a park or temple compound as part of the day.

What to write

Someone keeping Vat Savitri has usually been up since dawn and fasting in the heat. A short message that wishes them strength, or offers help, means more than a long poem.

Other fasts kept for a spouse include Karwa Chauth in autumn and Hartalika Teej in the monsoon. For other dates, see the 2027 calendar.

How to wish someone on Vat Savitri Vrat

Women keeping Vat Savitri are fasting through a hot May or June day, so a kind message is short and practical. Wish them strength for the fast, a peaceful puja under the banyan, and an easy evening. Mention Savitri's courage and quick thinking, not only devotion. Avoid "sada suhagan raho" for widowed, divorced or single women, and remember that not every married woman keeps the fast. In Maharashtra, wait for Vat Purnima.

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 + Marathi and Odia.

When is Vat Savitri Vrat in each year?

Vat Savitri Vrat is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 19 days later than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions