West Bengal
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, a major household observance with a full puja, a night-long vigil, and a distinct arrangement including the owl as Lakshmi's vahan. It is one of Bengal's most important household pujas.
Loading page
शरद पूर्णिमा
The harvest moon — moonlight, kheer left out overnight, and Lakshmi's night vigil.
Counting down to Sharad Purnima 2026
Your local time · Sunday 25 October 2026
No login needed to share or download anything on TyoharHub.
Don’t miss Sharad Purnima. Add the date to your phone calendar — we will not email or notify you.
Ashwin Purnima (the full moon of Ashwin), shortly after Dussehra
Sharad Purnima is the full moon of the month of Ashwin, falling shortly after Dussehra. In 2026 it falls in late October. It is considered the brightest full moon of the year, and it is the night on which Lakshmi is believed to visit homes that are awake — from which the Bengali name Kojagari comes, meaning 'who is awake?'.
The central practice is simple and widely followed: kheer or rice pudding is made in the evening, left out in the open under the full moon overnight, and eaten the next morning. The belief is that the moonlight infuses the kheer with amrit, and there is a practical dimension to it too — the night is cool and the dew does set on the dish.
In Bengal, Kojagari Lakshmi Puja is a major household observance, with a full Lakshmi puja and a night-long vigil. In Gujarat and Rajasthan it is Sharad Purnima with a Lakshmi puja and a fast. In Odisha it is Kumar Purnima, and in Braj the night is Raas Purnima, marking Krishna's ras lila with the gopis — the subject of the entire Raas Lila performance tradition in Manipur and Braj.
It is also one of the days on which fasting is considered especially productive, and it directly follows the Navratri-Dussehra cluster, so it often serves as the last major festival before the Diwali season begins.
Copy any message in one tap. Written by hand, not pulled from a quote database.
May the brightest moon of the year bring you peace and prosperity. Happy Sharad Purnima!
Wishing you a blessed Kojagari Purnima. May Maa Lakshmi visit your home tonight.
Happy Sharad Purnima! May the moonlight bring you everything you have wished for.
May this full moon fill your life with light. Happy Sharad Purnima!
In the order a household actually does them.
Set up a puja with Lakshmi, offer lotus, rice, a kalash with coconut and a diya. In Bengal, the Kojagari Lakshmi Puja uses a specific arrangement with an owl figure and a banana stem.
Cook kheer in the evening, pour it into a wide flat vessel to maximise surface area, and leave it uncovered in the open — on a terrace, balcony or courtyard. Protect it from insects with a fine mesh tent rather than a lid.
Stay awake through the night, singing or chanting. Games, bhajan and reading are all traditional. In many households this is the whole point of the evening.
Eat the kheer the next morning after a small puja, and distribute it to family members. Do not refrigerate it overnight — the open-air exposure is the ritual.
This is where most festival sites give one national answer to a question that has several.
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, a major household observance with a full puja, a night-long vigil, and a distinct arrangement including the owl as Lakshmi's vahan. It is one of Bengal's most important household pujas.
Sharad Purnima with kheer left under the moon, a Lakshmi puja, and fasting. In Braj, the night is Raas Purnima, tied to Krishna's ras lila.
Observed with a Lakshmi puja and the moonlight kheer custom, and considered a favourable night for the kojaagari vrat.
Celebrated as Kumar Purnima, when young people worship the moon and traditional games and puja are held. It is one of Odisha's distinctive autumn festivals.
Raas Purnima is the central date of the Manipuri Raas Lila, the classical dance-drama tradition performed at the Govindji temple in Imphal and elsewhere.
Gift categories, honestly described — not a list of sponsored products.
Rice, full-fat milk, saffron, cardamom and dry fruit in one box — exactly what the night's ritual requires.
Suits: parents, family, neighbours
Silver is the traditional metal for the Sharad Purnima kheer vessel, and a dedicated bowl becomes the household's festival piece.
Suits: parents, wife, new home, family
For a household that observes Kojagari, a complete puja set with the owl and paddy arrangement is the most on-theme gift.
Suits: parents, family, new home
TyoharHub does not currently use affiliate links. These are plain links to a marketplace search, with no tracking attached. We earn nothing from them. Read the full disclosure.
With honest budget ranges and a difficulty rating for each.
A clean mat, a wide flat kheer vessel, a diya and a chair arranged on the terrace or balcony. This is the festival's entire decor requirement, and the point is to actually sit there.
Budget: ₹0–₹200
In Bengali households: a banana stem, a coconut, an owl figure, paddy, and a Lakshmi idol with a full lotus arrangement. The owl is Lakshmi's vahan in the Kojagari form and is specific to this puja.
Budget: ₹400–₹1,500
A large white and silver rangoli with a full moon at the centre and lotus petals around it, drawn near the puja or on the terrace before moonrise.
Budget: ₹150–₹400
Including a note on why each dish belongs to this festival.
The dish that is left in the moonlight on Sharad Purnima — cooked thick enough to hold its shape, then spread flat so as much surface as possible is exposed.
About 50 minutes
Ingredients
Every page below has its own content — we do not publish empty topic pages.
Sharad Purnima falls in late October 2026, on the Ashwin Purnima following Dussehra and Navratri. Check the local panchang for the exact date.
The belief is that the full moon on this night is the brightest of the year and that its light infuses the kheer with amrit, making it auspicious to eat the next morning. The dish is left uncovered in the open through the night.
Kojagari is the Bengali name for Sharad Purnima, from 'ko jagarti' — who is awake? Lakshmi is believed to visit homes whose occupants stay awake through the night, so a full vigil is kept alongside a household Lakshmi puja.
The Braj name for the same full moon, marking Krishna's ras lila with the gopis. It is the central date of the Raas Lila performance tradition in Braj and in Manipur, where it is danced at the Govindji temple.
No — the ritual requires it to be left uncovered in the open air under the moonlight. Cover it with a fine mesh to keep insects out rather than a lid, and eat it the next morning at room temperature.
Last reviewed 6 October 2026. This page covers a nationally observed festival — where practices differ, they are described separately rather than averaged. If you spot an error, tell us and we will correct it.