Festival · Saraswati

Vasant Panchami

The welcome of spring and the worship of Saraswati, goddess of learning, music and the arts.

Vasant Panchami 2027
Thursday 11 February 2027
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Thursday 11 February 2027

Shukla Panchami tithi

Begins
3:05 am
Ends
3:19 am, 12 Feb
Sunrise
7:03 am
Sunset
6:08 pm
Moonrise
9:24 am
Moonset
10:26 pm

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

Full panchang for this day →

Puja times

For New Delhi, Thursday 11 February 2027

Saraswati Puja

7:03 am to 12:36 pm

Purvahna Kaal
7:03 am to 12:36 pm
Midday
12:36 pm
Panchami begins
3:05 am
Panchami ends
3:19 am, 12 Feb

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

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Worship Saraswati with books and instruments
  • Wear yellow
  • Help young children write their first letters

What it remembers

Vasant Panchami is the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Magha, when the mustard fields of the north turn yellow and spring is said to begin. It is the day of Saraswati, goddess of learning, music and the arts: books and instruments are placed before her, children write their first letters, and everyone wears yellow.

Saraswati’s day

Tradition holds that Brahma created Saraswati on this day to give the world speech, music and wisdom, and that the first sound she drew from her veena set the silent creation in motion. She is worshipped in white, seated on a lotus or a swan, with the veena, a book and a mala in her hands.

Kamadeva and spring

The day also belongs to Kamadeva, the god of love, and his wife Rati, who are said to wake the earth into spring. In the old Vasantotsava the court celebrated with music, colours and flowers; the yellow of the day is the colour of ripening mustard and new sun.

The first letters

In many homes a small child is taught to write for the first time on this day, Vidyarambham or Akshar Abhyasam, tracing letters in rice or on a slate with an elder’s hand over theirs. Students keep their books and pens before Saraswati and do not study, so that she may bless them.

Sufi spring at Nizamuddin

At the dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, Basant has been kept for seven hundred years: Amir Khusrau is said to have brought the saint out of grief with yellow flowers and songs of spring, and qawwals still sing Basant in yellow every year.

Saraswati Puja at home

A simple Saraswati Puja in the morning, in Purvahna Kaal while Panchami holds. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. Bathe early and wear yellow or white. Clean the place of worship and spread a yellow or white cloth.
  2. Set an image or idol of Saraswati on the cloth, and place books, notebooks, pens and musical instruments before her.
  3. Begin with a prayer to Ganesha, then light a lamp and incense.
  4. Offer white and yellow flowers, especially marigolds and palash, with turmeric, sandalwood paste and rice.
  5. Offer yellow sweets: kesar halwa, boondi, or in Bengal and Bihar khichuri and boondi laddoos.
  6. Chant the Saraswati Vandana, “Ya Kundendu Tushara Hara Dhavala”, and the mantra Om Aim Saraswatyai Namah.
  7. Help a small child write their first letters, and leave the books before the goddess until the next morning.

What you need

  • An image or idol of Saraswati
  • A yellow or white cloth
  • Books, pens and instruments to place before her
  • Yellow and white flowers, turmeric, sandalwood and rice
  • A lamp, incense and yellow sweets

Across India

Punjab and Haryana

Basant: yellow turbans and dupattas, sarson ka saag with makki ki roti, and kites filling the sky.

Bengal

Saraswati Puja is the students’ festival: pandals in every school and college, yellow saris, khichuri bhog, and children’s hatekhori, their first letters.

Bihar and eastern UP

Idols of Saraswati are worshipped for a day and immersed the next; schools keep the day as their own.

Odisha and Assam

Sri Panchami in Odisha, Saraswati Puja in Assam, with Khadi Chuan, the first lesson, for small children.

Rajasthan and Gujarat

Jasmine garlands and yellow dress; in Gujarat the kite flying of Uttarayan carries on into Basant.

South India

Saraswati is honoured chiefly in Navratri, at Ayudha Puja and Vijayadashami; Vasant Panchami is a quieter day of yellow and spring.

When it falls

Shukla Panchami of Magha. Kept on the day this tithi holds at midday.

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

Vasant Panchami in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2027Thursday 11 February 2027
  2. 2028Monday 31 January 2028

Questions

When is Vasant Panchami in 2027?

Thursday 11 February 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 Vasant Panchami fall?

Shukla Panchami of Magha. Kept on the day this tithi holds at midday.

How is Vasant Panchami kept?

Families worship Saraswati with books and instruments, wear yellow and help young children write their first letters. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Vasant Panchami?

Saraswati. The welcome of spring and the worship of Saraswati, goddess of learning, music and the arts.

Why is yellow worn on Vasant Panchami?

Yellow is the colour of the mustard in flower across the north at this time, of the ripening sun of spring, and of the energy and brightness Saraswati gives. Clothes, flowers and sweets are all yellow on the day.

When is Saraswati Puja done?

In Purvahna Kaal, the morning from sunrise to midday, while the Panchami tithi holds. The page shows the puja time worked out for your city.

Is Vasant Panchami the same as Basant Panchami and Sri Panchami?

Yes. Basant Panchami is the northern name, Sri Panchami the Odia one, and in Bengal the day is simply Saraswati Puja. They all fall on the fifth day of Magha’s bright fortnight.