Vat Purnima Vrat
🗓️ Jyeshtha Purnima (May–Jun)
The story behind Vat Purnima Vrat
Vat Purnima is the Jyeshtha Purnima observance kept in Maharashtra, Goa and parts of southern India, in which married women fast and tie thread around the vat, the banyan. It recalls Savitri, who followed Yama when he took her husband Satyavan's life and argued with him until he returned it. The banyan is chosen because it sends down roots that become trunks and so outlives generations. In northern India the same vrat is kept a fortnight earlier, on Jyeshtha Amavasya, as Vat Savitri Vrat.
Vat Purnima Vrat Puja Vidhi
- 1
Snana & Vrat Sankalpa
Bathe early, wear the ornaments of a married woman, and take the sankalpa of the fast — kept nirjala or with fruit according to capacity.
- 2
Vat Vriksha Puja
Worship the banyan with water, haldi, kumkum, akshata and flowers, offering soaked chana and seasonal fruit at its root.
- 3
Sutra Veshtan
Circle the trunk while winding raw cotton thread around it, traditionally seven times, with a prayer for the husband's long life.
- 4
Katha & Parana
Listen to the Savitri-Satyavan katha, offer the vayan to an elder married woman, and break the fast after the puja.
Vat Purnima Vrat Mantra
ॐ सावित्र्यै नमः॥
Meaning
Salutations to Savitri, who brought her husband back from Yama by the strength of her resolve.
How to chant
Recited at each circumambulation while winding the thread around the banyan.