Occasion Wiki
What every tradition shares first — then how each community does it differently. Free to read, always.
Festivals
- Akshaya Tritiya
Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya.
- Anant Chaturdashi
Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturdashi.
- Ashadhi Ekadashi
Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi.
- Buddha Purnima
Vaishakha Purnima.
- Chaitra Navratri
9-day Durga worship.
- Chhath PujaN-Indian Hindi-belt
Sun-worship festival.
- Deepavali
Festival of lights.
- Dhanteras
Kartika Krishna Trayodashi.
- Dhanu Sankranti
Sun enters Sagittarius.
- Ganesh Chaturthi
Birth of Ganesha.
- Geeta Jayanti
Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi (different calendar convention).
- Govardhan Puja
- Guru Purnima
Ashadha Purnima.
- Hanuman Jayanti
Chaitra Purnima (North).
- Hariyali Teej
Shravana Shukla Tritiya.
- HoliGujjar / Gurjar · Jat (Hindu) · Bengali Baidya · Bengali Brahmin · Bengali Kayastha · Bengali Kshatriya · Bengali Mahisya
Festival of colours; spring.
- Holika Dahan
Phagun Purnima eve bonfire.
- Kajari Teej
Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya.
- Kartik Purnima
Kartika Purnima.
- Karva Chauth
Spousal-longevity fast (predominantly north/west).
- Krishna Janmashtami
Birth of Krishna.
- LohriJammu Brahmin (Dogra region) · Jammu / Dogra Rajput
Night before Makar Sankranti.
- Maha Shivaratri
Great night of Shiva; night vigil and fasting.
- Mahalaya Amavasya
End of Pitru Paksha.
- Makar SankrantiBengali · Punjabi
Solar harvest / winter-solstice transition.
- Nag Panchami
Shravana Shukla Panchami.
- Narak Chaturdashi / Choti Diwali
Kartika Krishna Chaturdashi.
- Narasimha Jayanti
Vaishakha Shukla Chaturdashi.
- Navaratri / Durga PujaPatidar · Bengali Baidya · Bengali Brahmin · Bengali Kayastha · Bengali Kshatriya · Bengali Mahisya
Nine nights of the Goddess; culminates in Vijayadashami.
- Onam
Kerala harvest festival (return of Mahabali).
- Parashuram Jayanti
Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya.
- Raksha Bandhan
Sibling-protection rite (rakhi tying).
- Rama Navami
Birth of Rama.
- Ratha Saptami
Sun-worship.
- Regional New Year
Regional solar/lunar new-year observances.
- Sharad Purnima
Ashwin Purnima.
- Tulsi Vivah
Kartika Shukla Dwadashi.
- Vaikuntha Ekadashi
Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi.
- Varalakshmi Vrat
Shravana last Friday before Purnima.
- Vasant PanchamiBengali Baidya · Bengali Brahmin · Bengali Kayastha · Bengali Kshatriya · Bengali Mahisya
Worship of Saraswati; spring onset; common day for Vidyarambha.
- Vijayadashami / Dussehra
Ashwin Shukla Dashami.
- Vishwakarma Puja
Solar: Sun enters Virgo.
Lifecycle rites
- AnnaprashanaBengali Baidya · Bengali Brahmin · Bengali Kayastha · Bengali Kshatriya · Bengali Mahisya
First feeding of solid food (rice).
- Antyeshti
Last rites / cremation; final samskara.
- Asthi Visarjana
Immersion of the cremated remains in a sacred river.
- Bhimaratha Shanti
70th-birthday longevity rite.
- Chudakarana
First tonsure / head-shaving.
- Garbhadhana
Conception rite; first of the Shodasha (sixteen) samskaras.
- Jatakarma
Birth ritual welcoming the newborn.
- Karnavedha
Ear-piercing rite.
- Keshanta
First shaving of the beard (boys); a coming-of-age rite, sometimes with a brahmacharya vow.
- Namakarana
Naming ceremony.
- Nishkramana
Infant's first outing / first sight of the sun.
- Pinda Daana
Offering of rice/barley balls (pinda) to nourish the departed soul.
- Pumsavana
Prenatal rite for the wellbeing of the foetus.
- Ritu Kala Samskara
Girl's coming-of-age rite after menarche.
- Sahasra Chandra Darshana
Rite at sighting of the 1000th full moon (~81 years 8 months).
- Samavartana
Rite marking the end of studentship / return from the guru's house.
- Sapindikarana
Rite formally uniting the departed with the ancestors (preta becomes pitri).
- Shashtiabdapoorthi
60th-birthday rite, often a re-solemnising of the marriage vows.
- Simantonnayana
Hair-parting / blessing of the expectant mother; basis of the regional baby-shower.
- Tarpana
Offering of water (with sesame) to the departed / ancestors.
- Tehravi
13th-day ceremony marking the close of the principal mourning period.
- UpanayanaChandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) · Chitpavan / Kokanastha Brahmin · Deshastha Brahmin · Gujarati Brahmin (Nagar / Audichya / Modh etc.) · Maithil Brahmin · Bengali Brahmin · Kanyakubja Brahmin · Hill Brahmin (Garhwali/Kumaoni) · Kunbi
Sacred-thread initiation; investiture with the yajnopavita and Gayatri upadesha.
- Vedarambha
Commencement of Vedic study (follows Upanayana).
- Vidyarambha
Initiation into learning / writing the first letters.
- VivahaMaithil Brahmin · Gujjar / Gurjar · Hill Brahmin (Garhwali/Kumaoni) · Hill Rajput (HP) · Jammu Brahmin (Dogra region) · Jammu / Dogra Rajput · Maratha · Patidar (Kadva) · Patidar (Leva / Leuva) · Khatri / Arora · Garhwali / Kumaoni Rajput · Khandayat / Agrarian OBC · Kurmi · Bania / Aggarwal · Rajput · Rajput (Marwari / Bundela) · Bengali Baidya · Bengali Kayastha · Bengali Kshatriya · Bengali Mahisya · Odia Brahmin · Gujarati Rajput / Darbar · Jat (Hindu) · Kanyakubja Brahmin · Kulin / Rarhi Brahmin · Rajput / Thakur · Sarayuparin / Sarupariha Brahmin · Yadav / Ahir · Gujarati Bania / Vania
Marriage; the most elaborate samskara, with extensive pre/post-wedding rites.