Gangaur
Gauri (Parvati), Lord Shiva
When it falls
The date shifts because it tracks the moon, not the Gregorian calendar.
Calculated for India (IST) using precise Panchang astronomy. Dates can shift by a day at locations far to the east or west.
The meaning of Gangaur
Gangaur honours Gauri, a gentle and benevolent form of the goddess Parvati (Gauri), and celebrates her union with Shiva. The name itself is often read as a pairing of Gan, for Shiva, and Gaur, for Gauri. The festival holds up Gauri as the model of the devoted wife, and her married life with Shiva as the ideal that women pray to share in their own homes.
Because it falls in spring, just after Holi, Gangaur also marks the turn of the season and the close of winter. Married women observe it for the long life and good health of their husbands, while unmarried girls keep it in the hope of a good husband. In this it sits among the women's festivals of the Hindu year, sharing a theme with the later autumn fast of Karva Chauth, though the two are separate observances.
Gangaur is most closely tied to Rajasthan, where it is among the most important festivals of the calendar and a point of regional pride. It is also kept in parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and by Rajasthani communities elsewhere, where the worship of Gauri carries the same spirit of devotion and seasonal celebration.
Rituals & observance
Gangaur is an extended observance rather than a single day. It begins the day after Holi and builds over about eighteen days to the final procession. The central act is the worship of clay or wooden images of Gauri, and often of Ishar (Shiva) beside her.
- Women make or bring out images of Gauri, and often of Ishar (Shiva), which are decorated daily with fresh clothes and ornaments through the festival period.
- In many households the rites begin with ash gathered from the Holi bonfire, linking Gangaur to the festival of Holi that precedes it.
- Women and girls offer daily worship to Gauri, sing traditional Gangaur songs, and pray for the well-being of their husbands or for a good marriage.
- Married women often apply mehndi (henna) and wear their finest clothes and jewellery during the days of the festival.
- On the final days, the decorated images of Gauri are carried out in colourful processions through towns and cities, with music, folk dancing, and crowds gathering to watch.
- At the close, the Gauri images are taken to a tank, well, or other body of water for a ritual farewell, marking the end of the observance.
Regional variations
How this date is determined
Observed on the Tritiya tithi of Chaitra (Shukla paksha), reckoned by sunrise (udaya tithi).
Dates are computed to astronomical precision (NASA/JPL ephemeris), in line with traditional panchang.
