Sharad Purnima (Raas Purnima)

The full-moon night of autumn on which, according to tradition, Bhagavan Shri Krishna performed the Maha Raas with the gopis in Vrindavan.

Sharad Purnima is counted among the brightest moonlit nights of the year. The tenth canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam describes how, on just such an autumn night, when the jasmine was blooming in the forest, Bhagavan Shri Krishna began to play His flute. Hearing that sweet call, the gopis of Vraja left everything and hurried to the bank of the Yamuna. There the Lord performed the Maha Raas with them, and by His divine power He took so many forms that every gopi felt Krishna was dancing with her alone. In the devotional tradition this Raas is understood as the pure, spiritual union of the soul with the Supreme, not as worldly romance.

The festival falls on the full moon of the month of Ashvin, which usually comes in late September or October. It is believed that on this night the moon is complete in all its sixteen kalas and its rays carry a nectar-like quality. In several regions the same night is also observed as Kojagari Purnima, devoted to the worship of Goddess Lakshmi.

On this night families and temples prepare kheer of milk and rice and leave it under the open sky in the moonlight, later sharing it as prasad. In the temples of Vrindavan the deities are dressed in white garments and moonlike ornaments for a special darshan, and the Raas Lila is enacted.

In Gujarat people play Garba and Raas in the moonlight on Sharad Purnima and enjoy doodh-pauva, flattened rice soaked in sweetened milk. At Dakor in Kheda district a large fair is held at the temple of Ranchhodrai Ji on this day, and pilgrims arrive from far and wide for darshan.

Tithi

Ashvin Purnima

Month

September–October

Places

Vrindavan, Mathura, Dakor, Gujarat

Source

Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10