Sharad Purnima 2026 Is the 25th, the Moon the 26th

Sharad Purnima, Kojagari, is observed on Sunday 25 October 2026 in most North Indian homes. The exact full moon falls on Monday 26 October, about 9:41 a.m. IST. The festival follows the purnima tithi at sunrise. The astronomy follows the minute. Both are right, for different jobs.

A kitchen in Pune leaves a bowl of kheer on the terrace. Someone checks an app, sees “full moon Monday,” and almost brings the bowl in. Leave it out on the night the tithi is already running, which is Sunday. Moonrise that night is the clock for the rite, and moonrise is a city time.

Chandra’s own night, with Shukra still vakri

Purnima is Chandra at full strength opposite Surya. In October 2026 Surya is in Tula by then, so the full moon falls in Mesha. Shukra is retrograde in Tula. Budha turns retrograde on the 24th, the day before the observed purnima. So Kojagari night is inside both retrogrades. The kheer and the fast are not contracts. A large silver purchase planned for that Monday morning is a contract. Eat the prasad. Delay the invoice.

Guru is still exalted in Karka for a few more days. He enters Simha on 31 October. Sharad Purnima is a Chandra festival sitting in the last week of that exaltation. If the household already keeps a Monday Chandra practice, this purnima is the honest night for it: milk, rice, and being in the room. The conch in Parashara’s dakshina list is the full rite. The bowl on the terrace is the capacity.

Dussehra’s date split is explained in Dussehra 2026. Karwa Chauth, four nights later, is Karwa Chauth and moonrise.

Questions people keep asking

Is Sharad Purnima on 25 or 26 October 2026?

Observe it on 25 October where the purnima tithi holds sunrise. The astronomical full moon is the morning of the 26th.

Does Kojagari require a special muhurat beyond moonrise?

The rite is the full-moon night and the tithi. Your city’s moonrise matters more than a single national minute.