Guru Purnima
| Guru Purnima | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Guru Purnima |
| Observed by | Hindu,Sikhs devotees & Buddhist disciples in United States, Canada, Europe, Tibet, Bhutan, Kenya, India, Nepal and other parts of the world. |
| Type | International, religious, cultural |
| Significance | To express gratitude towards spiritual teachers |
| Celebrations | Worship of Guru and temple visit |
| Observances | Guru Puja |
| Date | Ashadha Purnima |
| 2025 date | 10 July (Thursday) |
| Frequency | annual |
| Explanatory note on Hindu festival dates | |
|---|---|
The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day).
Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar. | |
Guru Purnima (Sanskrit: गुरुपूर्णिमा, romanized: Gurupūrṇimā) is a religious festival dedicated to offering respect to spiritual and academic gurus. It is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan by Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. It is observed on the full moon day (Purnima) in the month of Ashadha (June–July) according to the Hindu calendar. It is also known as Vyasa Purnima, because it marks the birthday of Veda Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata and compiler of the Vedas.