Vat Savitri Puja
Goddess Savitri, Satyavan, and the Vat (banyan) tree
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Vat Savitri Puja — observed on Jyeshtha Krishna Amavasya by married women across North India (UP, Bihar, Rajasthan), Madhya Pradesh, and parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat — for the long life and prosperity of their husbands. The vrat re-enacts the legendary devotion of Savitri, who followed Yama to the realm of death and won her husband Satyavan back through her unwavering tapasya. Observed nirjala (no food, no water) by strict observers, or as phalahar (fruits and milk only) by others. Married women dress in solah shringar, visit a banyan (vat) tree, tie sacred kalava thread around its trunk while circumambulating seven times, fan the tree with a bamboo pankha, and recite the Savitri-Satyavan katha. The bargad / vat tree — sacred home of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva — is worshipped as the symbol of immortality and marital bliss across seven lifetimes.
Dates 2026–2027
Mantra
ॐ सावित्र्यै नमः | वटमूले स्थितो ब्रह्मा वटमध्ये जनार्दनः | वटाग्रे तु शिवो देवः सावित्री वटसंश्रिता ||
Om Savitryai Namaha | Vata-mule sthito Brahma vata-madhye Janardanah | Vatagre tu Shivo devah Savitri vata-samshrita ||
Salutations to Goddess Savitri. At the root of the banyan tree resides Brahma, in the middle Lord Vishnu, and at the top Lord Shiva — and Savitri herself rests within the banyan.
How to recite
Wake before sunrise, bathe, and dress in shringar (red or yellow saree, full sixteen adornments — solah shringar). Prepare a thali with sindoor, haldi, akshat, roli, kalava (sacred red-yellow thread), incense, a diya, fresh fruits (especially mango, banana, jamun), bhigoye chana (soaked black gram), and a hand-fan made of bamboo or palm. Visit a banyan (vat / bargad) tree before noon. Offer water at its roots, apply sindoor and haldi to the trunk, and circumambulate it seven times — wrapping the kalava around the trunk on each circuit (108 wraps total in strict observance). Fan the tree with the bamboo pankha. Recite the Savitri-Satyavan katha aloud. Pray for your husband's long life, health, and prosperity. Touch the feet of elder married women and seek their blessings. Break the fast the next morning after sunrise puja, beginning with mango or another seasonal fruit followed by water.
Benefits
Vat Savitri is the most important suhagin (married woman's) vrat after Karva Chauth. Sincere observance is believed to grant the husband long life and protection from untimely death — re-enacting Savitri's victory over Yama, who was so moved by her devotion that he restored Satyavan's life. The banyan (vat), with Brahma at its roots, Vishnu in its trunk, and Shiva in its crown, is the cosmic axis-mundi — circumambulating it seven times binds the marriage with the strength of the Trimurti for seven lifetimes.
✦ Special Note
Per Drik Panchang. Vat Savitri Puja 2026: Saturday, May 16 (Jyeshtha Krishna Amavasya at sunrise, North Indian Purnimanta calendar). Vat Savitri Puja 2027: June 4. In Maharashtra and parts of South India this vrat is instead observed on Jyeshtha Purnima as 'Vat Pournima' — see the separate Vat Pournima entry. Pregnant women, the elderly, nursing mothers, and those with diabetes, BP, or kidney conditions should observe phalahar (fruits + water) rather than nirjala — Savitri herself blesses devotion of intent over physical extreme. Newly-wed brides traditionally observe this vrat for the first three years of marriage with elder women's guidance. Avoid dispute, harsh speech, and travel on this day.
Foods Allowed
Foods to Avoid
Meal Idea
Soaked black chana with jaggery, fresh mango, and a small bowl of curd — taken at sunrise the next morning after parana, with water sipped first as an offering to Savitri
📜 The story behind this vrat
Savitri was so beautiful and so accomplished that no man was brave enough to ask for her hand. Her father sent her to choose her own husband. She traveled the forests and returned with her heart given — to Satyavan, a prince living as a forest hermit after his father lost his kingdom and his sight. The sage Narada told her father in sorrow — Satyavan is blessed in every way, but the stars say he…
Read full katha ›
Savitri was so beautiful and so accomplished that no man was brave enough to ask for her hand. Her father sent her to choose her own husband. She traveled the forests and returned with her heart given — to Satyavan, a prince living as a forest hermit after his father lost his kingdom and his sight. The sage Narada told her father in sorrow — Satyavan is blessed in every way, but the stars say he will die exactly one year from today. Her father begged her to choose another. Savitri replied — I have given my heart. I will give it only once. She married Satyavan and served his blind parents in the forest with complete devotion for one year. When the fateful day came, she accompanied her husband to the forest to cut wood. He grew faint and laid his head in her lap. Yama arrived on his buffalo with his golden noose. Savitri rose and followed Yama southward, speaking words of such profound dharmic wisdom that even the god of death had to stop and listen. Three times he offered her boons, each time telling her she could not have her husband back. Each time she asked for something that unknowingly required Satyavan to be alive — eyesight for her father-in-law, his kingdom restored, a hundred sons for her own father. When Yama granted the last boon he realised his mistake. He laughed with great joy and returned Satyavan to her. "You are the truest of all devoted wives," he said. "Satyavan lives." Women tie thread around the banyan tree — the tree of eternal life — and pray for their husband's longevity. The banyan is the witness to Savitri's love that conquered death itself.
Your family's version of this story may differ — all versions are sacred.
Related vrats
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- Chhath Puja — November 13, 2026Same tradition and category
Get a reminder before the next Vat Savitri Puja
At 7pm the evening before, each time it comes around. Turn it off anytime.
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