Purnima — observances and vrat guides

Purnima marks the full-moon tithi, yet the year contains many different full-moon observances. Guru Purnima honours teachers; Sharad Purnima carries autumnal associations; Kartik Purnima connects different forms of worship and regional celebrations. Other entries focus on Satyanarayan, ancestral remembrance or Jain austerity. The civil date can vary by location and observance rule, so an astronomical full moon is not always a sufficient calendar instruction. These pages retain the festival name, tradition and deity instead of treating every full moon as one repeated fast.

The catalog currently includes 43 distinct entries in this collection. Examples are Purnima Vrat; Purnima Vrat — Buddha Purnima; Adhika Purnima Vrat; Guru Purnima; Raksha Bandhan / Purnima. Their recorded devotional focus includes Lord Vishnu / Satyanarayan; Lord Vishnu / Buddha. Follow the individual links below for the full description, calendar dates, mantra and allowed or avoided foods; each link leads to a dedicated observance page rather than a search result.

Calendar dates are references, not a substitute for the observance rules of your chosen city and community. Lunar days can cross civil-date boundaries, and regional practice can change which day is kept. Meal suggestions are optional ideas for an allowed meal, not instructions to eat during a complete fast. Children, pregnant people and anyone with a medical condition should seek appropriate advice before fasting. Compare the linked guides with your family or temple's practice and choose a discipline suited to your health.

Shared family story and aarti

📜 The story behind this vrat

Narada Muni travels to Earth and sees humans suffering greatly in Kalyug. He visits Lord Vishnu and asks how people can find relief from their misery. Lord Vishnu reveals the Satyanarayan Vrat — the simplest path to peace and prosperity — and instructs Narada to share it with the world.

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Read full katha ›
Chapter 1 — Origin of the Vrat

Narada Muni travels to Earth and sees humans suffering greatly in Kalyug. He visits Lord Vishnu and asks how people can find relief from their misery. Lord Vishnu reveals the Satyanarayan Vrat — the simplest path to peace and prosperity — and instructs Narada to share it with the world.

Chapter 2 — The Poor Brahmin and the Woodcutter

Lord Vishnu appears as an old Brahmin and instructs a poor Brahmin to perform the Satyanarayan puja. After doing so faithfully, the Brahmin overcomes all his obstacles and finds joy. A woodcutter witnesses this transformation and performs the puja himself — receiving the same blessings and abundance.

Chapter 3 — The Merchant who broke his vow

A wealthy merchant promises to perform the Satyanarayan puja after his child is born but repeatedly delays and forgets his vow. The Lord holds him accountable — the merchant is falsely accused and imprisoned. His devoted wife performs the puja with sincerity, the Lord shows mercy, and the merchant is freed.

Chapter 4 — The importance of Prasad

Continuing from Chapter 3 — the merchant's wife and daughter rush to greet him at the dockyard without first accepting the prasad. The Lord is displeased and the ship sinks. It rises again only when the wife and daughter humbly accept and eat the prasad — teaching that prasad must never be disrespected or refused.

Chapter 5 — King Tungadhwaj and the Phala Shruti

A king named Tungadhwaj goes hunting in the forest and comes upon cowherds performing Satyanarayan puja with great devotion. Out of pride he neither joins them nor bows to the Lord. When offered prasad he refuses and walks away. Upon returning to his kingdom he finds all his sons dead and his wealth gone — the consequence of disrespecting the Lord's prasad. Realising his mistake he returns, humbly performs the puja and accepts the prasad with full devotion. All is restored. He attains happiness in this life and moksha after death.

Phala Shruti

Lord Vishnu declares: Whoever hears or reads this Katha with devotion shall be freed from all sins. One who is childless shall be blessed with children. One who is without wealth shall gain prosperity. One who is imprisoned shall be freed. One who is fearful shall be liberated from fear. A widow who observes this vrat with devotion shall be blessed with a good husband in her next birth. One who performs this puja with a pure heart shall enjoy all earthly pleasures and attain moksha after death.

Your family's version of this story may differ — all versions are sacred.

🪔 Aarti

Shri Satyanarayan

Jai Lakshmi Ramana

जय लक्ष्मी रमणा, स्वामी जय लक्ष्मी रमणा । सत्यनारायण स्वामी, जन पातक हरना ॥ रत्न जड़ित सिंहासन, अद्भुत छवि राजे । नारद करत निरंजन, घंटा ध्वनि बाजे ॥ प्रकट भये कलिकारण, द्विज को दरस दियो । बूढ़ो ब्राह्मण बनकर, कंचन महल कियो ॥ दुर्बल भील कठोरो, जिन पर कृपा करी । चंद्रचूड़ एक राजा, तिनकी विपत्ति हरी ॥ भाव भक्ति के कारण, छिन छिन रूप धरयो । श्रद्धा धारण किन्हीं, तिनको काज सरयो ॥ ग्वाल-बाल संग राजा, बन में भक्ति करी । मनवांछित फल दीन्हो, दीनदयालु हरी ॥ चढ़त प्रसाद सवायो, कदली फल मेवा । धूप दीप तुलसी से, राजी सत्यदेवा ॥ श्री सत्यनारायण जी की आरती जो कोई नर गावे, ऋद्धि-सिद्धि सुख-सम्पत्ति सहज रूप पावे ॥

Lord Vishnu

Om Jai Jagdish Hare

ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे । भक्त जनों के संकट, दास जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे ॥ जो ध्यावे फल पावे, दुःख बिनसे मन का । सुख सम्पत्ति घर आवे, कष्ट मिटे तन का ॥ मात-पिता तुम मेरे, शरण गहूं मैं किसकी । तुम बिन और न दूजा, आस करूं मैं जिसकी ॥ तुम पूरन परमात्मा, तुम अंतर्यामी । पारब्रह्म परमेश्वर, तुम सबके स्वामी ॥ तुम करुणा के सागर, तुम पालनकर्ता । मैं सेवक तुम स्वामी, कृपा करो भर्ता ॥ तुम हो एक अगोचर, सबके प्राणपति । किस विधि मिलूं दयामय, तुमको मैं कुमति ॥ दीनबंधु दुःखहर्ता, ठाकुर तुम मेरे । अपने हाथ उठाओ, अपनी शरण में लाओ ॥ विषय विकार मिटाओ, पाप हरो देवा । श्रद्धा भक्ति बढ़ाओ, संतन की सेवा ॥

All 43 observances in this collection