Tripurari Purnima is the full moon of Kartik. In front of the old temples of Maharashtra stand deepmalas, tapering stone towers with a hundred brackets, and on this night every bracket holds a lit lamp. It is the day Shiva destroyed Tripura, the last day of Tulsi Vivah, and the one day in the year on which Kartik Swami, whom Maharashtra knows as a bachelor god, receives all comers.
The story
Three demons had three flying cities, of gold, silver and iron, which could be destroyed only by one arrow at the instant they lined up. Shiva loosed it on this full moon and was named Tripurari; the gods lit lamps.
In the south Kartikeya is married twice over; in Maharashtra he is a strict celibate, and women by custom do not visit his temples, except on this day, when the star Krittika and the full moon coincide.
How it is kept
- DeepmalaThe lamp towers are lit at dusk, with tripur wicks of 750 strands in the sanctum.
- Kartik Swami darshanQueues form at his few temples for the short hours when Krittika is in the sky.
- Tulsi VivahThe wedding of the tulsi plant, begun on Kartiki Ekadashi, is completed; the wedding season opens.
- Kartik snanA month of dawn baths ends.
Why this date
Tripurari Purnima is the full-moon tithi of Kartik, on the day it is present at sunrise; the lamps are lit that evening.
Tripurari Purnima in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Sunday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More Marathi festivals
29 OctoberDiwaliदिवाळी
28 OctoberNarak Chaturdashiनरक चतुर्दशी
15 JanuaryMakar Sankrantiमकर संक्रांत
9 OctoberDasaraदसरा
8 OctoberKhande Navamiखंडेनवमी
7 OctoberDurga Ashtamiदुर्गाष्टमी
Where to see Tripurari Purnima
In Maharashtra
- Parvati Hill, PuneMaharashtraThe Peshwas' hilltop temples, among them the Kartik Swami shrine opened to women on this day.
- Mahalakshmi Temple, KolhapurMaharashtraThe courtyard's great deepmalas are lit together.
- PandharpurMaharashtraKartiki Ekadashi, four days earlier, is the year's second great Wari.
- AlandiMaharashtraThe Kartiki fair for Dnyaneshwar's samadhi follows within days.
Across India
- VaranasiUttar PradeshDev Deepawali: every ghat on the Ganga covered in lamps.
- PushkarRajasthanThe camel fair ends with a bath in the lake.
- AmritsarPunjabGuru Nanak Jayanti at the Golden Temple.