About Vasant Panchami
Vasant Panchami, also called Shri Panchami and, in eastern India, Saraswati Puja, falls on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Magha. Hindus worship Saraswati, goddess of learning, speech and music, and welcome the spring season. In 2027 it falls on Thursday, 11 February 2027.
Vasant means spring and panchami the fifth lunar day. The name tells you both the season and the date. Most of India knows the day for Saraswati, but it is also the day north India first puts on yellow after winter, Braj starts its forty days of Holi, and a Sufi shrine in Delhi turns its green sheets yellow.
When is Vasant Panchami, and how is the date fixed?
Vasant Panchami falls on Magha Shukla Panchami, the fifth day of the waxing moon in Magha, which lands in late January or February. Like other tithi-based festivals, it moves by up to eleven days from one year to the next.
Drik Panchang sets the day by one rule: Vasant Panchami is kept on the day when Panchami is running during purvahna, the stretch between sunrise and midday. Because a tithi can begin at any hour, the festival sometimes falls on a calendar day that started as Chaturthi, the fourth. The puja itself should be done while Panchami lasts, which is why temples and schools in Bengal and Odisha often hold it in the morning.
Many families treat the whole day as abujh muhurat, a day auspicious enough that no separate time needs to be looked up. That is why weddings, housewarmings and a child's first lessons are often booked for Vasant Panchami.
Why is Saraswati worshipped on Vasant Panchami?
Saraswati is the goddess of vidya: knowledge, language, music and the arts. Students, teachers, writers and musicians see Vasant Panchami as her day, and the common practice is to place books, pens and instruments before her image to be blessed. In many Bengali homes students leave their books there and do not study until the next morning.
The day has other associations too. Some traditions keep it as Madana Panchami for Kamadeva, the god of love, whom the rishis sent to break Shiva's meditation. In Braj, the country around Mathura and Vrindavan, Vasant Panchami is the first day of Holi. Krishna is dressed in yellow, temples such as Banke Bihari in Vrindavan begin throwing gulal on devotees as prasad, and a wooden pole is planted where the Holika Dahan fire will be lit forty days later.
How is Vasant Panchami celebrated in different regions?
| Region | What the day is called | What people do |
|---|---|---|
| West Bengal | Saraswati Puja | Idols in homes, schools and colleges; morning anjali; young children write their first letters in hate khori; khichuri and basanti pulao as bhog; yellow saris and shirts |
| Odisha | Saraswati Puja, Basanta Panchami | Schools hold puja and havan; children of four or five begin lessons in khadi chuan, touching chalk for the first time |
| Punjab | Basant | Kites, yellow clothes, and sweet yellow rice to match the mustard fields; Maharaja Ranjit Singh held Basant fairs in the nineteenth century |
| Braj (Mathura, Vrindavan) | Basant Panchami | Holi season opens; Krishna in yellow; gulal in temples; mustard flowers offered |
| Delhi, Nizamuddin Dargah | Sufi Basant | Yellow chadars on the tombs of Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusrau; qawwals sing Khusrau's Basant verses |
| Andhra Pradesh, Telangana | Sri Panchami | Some families choose the day for aksharabhyasam, a child's first writing |
The Delhi custom has a story behind it. Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, the thirteenth and fourteenth century Chishti saint, was in grief after the death of his nephew. His disciple Amir Khusrau saw women carrying mustard flowers to a temple for Basant, dressed himself in yellow, and went to his teacher singing. The saint smiled for the first time in months, and the dargah has marked Basant ever since. Devotees of every faith come in yellow.
How is Saraswati Puja done at home?
In a Bengali household, Saraswati Puja follows a set order, and some of its rules are learnt in childhood.
- Bath with neem and turmericStudents bathe early; in Bengal a paste of neem and turmeric is traditional, said to guard against spring illness.
- Set up the goddessAn idol or picture on a clean seat, with books, pens and instruments placed in front. Some homes add a reed pen and an earthen inkpot filled with milk.
- OfferingsPalash flowers, marigolds, fruit, and kul (Indian jujube). Many students do not eat kul until it has been offered to Saraswati.
- AnjaliFamily members fast until the anjali, when flowers are offered with the priest's mantra.
- Hate khoriSmall children are guided to write their first letters on a slate in front of the goddess.
- Bhog and visarjanKhichuri, basanti pulao and sweets are shared. The next day the books come back, and in many West Bengal homes the family eats gota sheddho, whole vegetables cooked the night before, with no fire lit.
Why do people wear yellow on Vasant Panchami?
Yellow is the colour of ripening mustard, which covers the fields of the north Indian plains at this time of year. People wear yellow clothes, cook yellow food and offer yellow flowers. In Punjab that means sweet saffron or turmeric rice; in Bengal it is khichuri and basanti pulao. In Braj the idols and even the priests are dressed in yellow for the day.
What to write for Vasant Panchami
Most Vasant Panchami wishes are about learning, so they read well when they name a real person's work: an exam, a new school, a riyaz, a book being written. Keep it light. This is a hopeful day, not a solemn one.
Happy Vasant Panchami. Today you write your first letters. May Saraswati keep your handwriting neat and your questions endless.
Shubho Saraswati Puja. Leave the books at her feet today and pick them up tomorrow with a fresh head. You've got this.
On Vasant Panchami, thank you for every scale you made me repeat. Wishing you a year of good students and better concerts.
Vasant Panchami ki shubhkamnayein, Maa and Papa. Thank you for the first slate, the first books and all the homework you sat through.
Happy Basant. Hope the sky over your terrace is full of kites and none of them are yours going down.
Wishing you a happy Vasant Panchami. May the season bring clear thinking and a few good ideas at work.
Happy Saraswati Puja. May the words come easily this spring and the deadlines stay kind.
- Shukla Panchami
- The fifth day of the waxing half of a lunar month.
- Purvahna
- The part of the day between sunrise and midday, used to fix the festival date.
- Abujh muhurat
- A day considered auspicious throughout, with no need to look up a special time.
- Anjali
- The offering of flowers to the goddess with mantras, made after a morning fast.
- Hate khori
- Bengali rite in which a child writes the first letters of the alphabet.
- Kul
- Indian jujube (ber), a winter fruit offered to Saraswati before it is eaten.
The season Vasant Panchami opens ends with Holi. For another festival of learning and first letters, see Teachers' Day, and for all festival dates see the 2027 calendar.
How to wish someone on Vasant Panchami
A good Vasant Panchami wish is about learning and new beginnings: a child's first letters, an exam season ahead, a musician's practice, a fresh start at work. Yellow, mustard fields and spring are the day's images. For Bengali friends, "Shubho Saraswati Puja" is the right name; for Punjabi friends the day is Basant, with kites.
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 + recipient language.
When is Vasant Panchami in 2026 and 2027?
Vasant Panchami 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.
- 2026may vary by location
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Vasant Panchami in 2027?
Vasant Panchami 2027 falls on Thursday, 11 February 2027.
Is Vasant Panchami the same as Saraswati Puja?
Yes. Vasant Panchami and Saraswati Puja are the same day, Magha Shukla Panchami. Bengal and Odisha usually call it Saraswati Puja, north India says Vasant or Basant Panchami, and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana use Sri Panchami.
What food is made on Vasant Panchami?
Vasant Panchami food is usually yellow. Punjabi homes make sweet saffron or turmeric rice, Bengali households cook khichuri and basanti pulao as bhog for Saraswati, and kul (Indian jujube) is offered to the goddess before anyone eats it.
Is Vasant Panchami a good day to start something new?
Many Hindu families consider Vasant Panchami an abujh muhurat, a day auspicious from sunrise to sunset, so they begin a child's education, hold weddings or move house without consulting a separate muhurat. Families that follow a panchang closely may still check the timing of Panchami tithi.
Why do Bengali students not eat kul before Saraswati Puja?
Kul, the Indian jujube, ripens in winter and is one of the fruits offered to Saraswati. Bengali students traditionally wait to eat it until it has been offered to the goddess, a custom tied in popular belief to doing well in exams.
Why is Basant celebrated at Nizamuddin Dargah in Delhi?
Tradition says Amir Khusrau cheered his grieving teacher, the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya, by coming to him in yellow with mustard flowers and songs of Basant. The dargah has marked the day since then, with yellow sheets on the tombs and qawwali.
What is hate khori?
Hate khori is the Bengali ceremony in which a young child writes the first letters of the alphabet on a slate, guided by a priest or elder, in front of Saraswati on Saraswati Puja. Odisha has a similar rite called khadi chuan.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .