Festival · Gowri (Parvati)

Gowri Habba

Karnataka’s festival of Gowri, Goddess Parvati as Lord Ganesha’s mother, on the bright Tritiya of Bhadrapada, usually the eve of Ganesha Chaturthi. She comes home like a married daughter, and Ganesha comes next day to take her back.

Gowri Habba 2027
Friday 3 September 2027
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Friday 3 September 2027

Shukla Tritiya tithi

Begins
4:50 pm, 2 Sept
Ends
2:19 pm
Sunrise
6:00 am
Sunset
6:41 pm
Moonrise
8:40 am
Moonset
8:06 pm

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • An image of Gowri of turmeric or clay, on grain
  • The Gowri daara, a thread of sixteen knots
  • Baginas given to married women
Ganesh Chaturthi, the next day →

What it remembers

Gowri Habba, also called Swarna Gowri Vrata, is Karnataka’s festival of Gowri, Goddess Parvati as the gentle mother of Lord Ganesha. It falls on the Tritiya of the bright half of Bhadrapada, the same day as Hartalika Teej in the North, and is usually the day before Ganesha Chaturthi, so that the two are kept together as Gowri Ganesha Habba. Married women worship Gowri and give one another the bagina, a gift of the signs of a happy married life.

The daughter comes home

On this day, it is told, Gowri comes to her parents’ home on earth, as a married daughter comes back to her mother’s house. She is welcomed and worshipped as a daughter of the family.

Ganesha comes to take her back

The next day her son Lord Ganesha follows her, to take her home to Kailash. So the mother is worshipped first and the son after, and in Karnataka the two days are one festival, Gowri Ganesha Habba.

The mother’s home sends gifts

As Gowri is welcomed by her mother’s house, parents send gifts to their married daughters on this day, from the tavaru mane, the mother’s home: a sari and the things of the puja. A woman newly married gives bagina to the married women of the family.

Keeping Swarna Gowri Vrata

The vrata is kept by married women in the morning, at home, at a relative’s or friend’s house or at a temple. The items and the number of baginas differ from family to family; follow your own tradition.

  1. Rise early, bathe, and put on new clothes.
  2. Build a small mandapa with banana stems and mango leaves.
  3. Set the image of Gowri, of turmeric or clay, on a plate of rice or other grain, and dress it.
  4. Worship her with turmeric, kumkum, flowers and a lamp.
  5. Worship the Gowri daara, the yellow thread of sixteen knots, and tie it on your right wrist.
  6. Offer one bagina to Gowri, and give the others to married women.
  7. Offer holige, also called obbattu, chitranna and the other dishes of the day, then share them.

What you need

  • An image of Gowri of turmeric or clay, and a plate of rice or grain
  • Banana stems and mango leaves for the mandapa
  • Turmeric, kumkum, flowers and a lamp
  • The Gowri daara, a yellow thread of sixteen knots
  • For each bagina: turmeric, kumkum, bangles, beads, a comb, a mirror, a blouse piece, a coconut, grain and jaggery

Across India

Karnataka

Gowri Habba is kept in homes across the state, the morning before Lord Ganesha comes. The married women of the house worship Gowri and give the bagina to the married women they know.

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Gowri’s vrat is kept on the same day in parts of both states.

North India and Maharashtra

The same Tritiya is Hartalika Teej, when women fast without water and worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati through the night.

When it falls

Shukla Tritiya of Bhadrapada. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Gowri Habba in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2027Friday 3 September 2027
  2. 2028Tuesday 22 August 2028

Questions

When is Gowri Habba in 2027?

Friday 3 September 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Gowri Habba fall?

Shukla Tritiya of Bhadrapada. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Gowri Habba kept?

Families an image of Gowri of turmeric or clay, on grain, the Gowri daara, a thread of sixteen knots and baginas given to married women. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Gowri Habba?

Gowri (Parvati). Karnataka’s festival of Gowri, Goddess Parvati as Lord Ganesha’s mother, on the bright Tritiya of Bhadrapada, usually the eve of Ganesha Chaturthi. She comes home like a married daughter, and Ganesha comes next day to take her back.

Why is Gowri Habba kept before Ganesh Chaturthi?

Because Gowri, the mother, comes first. She comes to her parents’ home as a married daughter does, and the next day Lord Ganesha, her son, comes to take her back to Kailash.

Can Gowri Habba fall on the same day as Ganesh Chaturthi?

Yes, in some years. When the Tritiya ends soon after sunrise and the Chaturthi follows at once, both are kept on one day. In 2026 Karnataka’s own holiday list put Swarna Gowri Vrata and Varasiddhi Vinayaka Vrata on 14 September together, though some almanacs put Gowri on the day before. Follow your family’s panchanga.

What is a bagina?

A gift for a married woman, of turmeric, kumkum, bangles, beads, a comb, a mirror, a blouse piece, a coconut, grain and jaggery. One is offered to Gowri and the others are given to married women; the items differ by custom.

What is the Gowri daara?

A yellow thread with sixteen knots, each worshipped during the vrata, which married women then tie on the right wrist.

Are Gowri Habba and Hartalika Teej the same?

They are the same day, the bright Tritiya of Bhadrapada, and both honour Goddess Parvati as Gauri. In Karnataka it is a festival of the visiting mother and the bagina; in the North it is Hartalika, a strict fast and a night of prayer.

Related

All festivals and vrats →