Nepal's Fasting & Festival Calendar: Ekadashi, Purnima, Sankranti, Navaratri

Nepal's civil calendar is the solar Bikram Sambat (BS), which is why the Nepali year 2083 BS overlaps mid-2026 to mid-2027 in the Gregorian (AD) calendar. But recurring religious observances are reckoned by the panchang, a lunisolar almanac that tracks the phases of the moon. The moon's cycle is divided into two fortnights (paksha): the waxing bright half (Shukla Paksha) leading up to the full moon, and the waning dark half (Krishna Paksha) leading up to the new moon.

Each fortnight is split into 15 lunar days called tithi. The observances that anchor the year are tied to specific tithi: the 11th tithi of each fortnight is Ekadashi, the 15th (full-moon) tithi is Purnima, and the 15th (new-moon) tithi is Amavasya. Because a lunar month (about 29.5 days) is shorter than a solar month, these tithi-based days drift roughly 10 to 11 days earlier against the Gregorian calendar every year, then jump forward when an extra lunar month is inserted.

That extra month is the Adhik Maas (also called Purushottam Maas or mala maas), added roughly every 32 to 33 months to keep the lunar and solar years aligned. The Nepali year 2083 BS is an Adhik Maas year, which is why 2026 has an extra Purnima and two extra Ekadashi. This lunar reckoning is the single reason the same festival falls on a different date every year, and why a fresh panchang (Nepali patro) must be consulted each year for exact dates.

Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day of both the waxing and waning fortnights, is the most widely observed recurring fast in the Hindu calendar and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It falls twice every lunar month, giving 23 Ekadashi in an ordinary year and 24 in an Adhik Maas year such as 2083 BS (2026). Each Ekadashi has its own name, story (vrat katha) and merit, from Nirjala Ekadashi (a waterless fast in Jyeshtha) to Devshayani, Putrada, Vaikuntha and Yogini Ekadashi.

Observance ranges from a strict nirjala (no food or water) fast to abstaining only from grains, beans and rice while eating fruit, milk and phalahar (fasting foods). Devotees typically break the fast the next morning during a prescribed parana window. Two Ekadashi mark the boundaries of Chaturmas, the four holy monsoon months: Devshayani (Harishayani) Ekadashi in Ashadh, when Vishnu is said to begin his cosmic sleep, and Haribodhini (Prabodhini) Ekadashi in Kartik, when he awakens. In 2026 these fall on about 24 July and 20 November respectively (dates vary by panchang).

In an Adhik Maas year the extra month contributes two additional, specially named Ekadashi: Padmini Ekadashi in the bright fortnight and Parama Ekadashi in the dark fortnight, both dedicated to Purushottam, an exalted form of Vishnu. Ekadashi is observed nationwide but is especially central for Vaishnava communities, older devotees and pilgrims; many Nepali families keep at least the major Ekadashi such as Nirjala, Devshayani and Haribodhini even if they do not fast on all twenty-four.

Purnima, the full-moon day closing each bright fortnight, is a recurring day of worship, bathing at holy sites, and several of Nepal's best-known festivals. Because it depends on the moon, each Purnima moves annually and, in an Adhik Maas year, an extra Adhika Purnima appears; 2026 has 13 full moons including that extra one. Some Purnima days carry major festivals in Nepal while others are quieter days of vrat and temple visits.

Baisakh Purnima is Buddha Jayanti (Buddha Purnima), which marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of Gautama Buddha, born in Lumbini in present-day Nepal; in 2026 it falls on about 1 May. Ashadh Purnima is Guru Purnima, a day to honour teachers and spiritual gurus. Shrawan Purnima is Janai Purnima (Raksha Bandhan / Kwati Purnima), when Hindu men renew the sacred janai thread, sisters tie rakhi on brothers, and families eat kwati, a soup of nine sprouted beans. Ashwin Purnima (Sharad Purnima) and Kartik Purnima are further widely observed full moons.

The Newar community also keeps Purnima-linked celebrations such as Yomari Punhi on Marga (Poush) Purnima and Swanti-adjacent full moons, while the month-long Swasthani Brata Katha recital concludes on Magh Purnima. Fagu Purnima (the full moon of Falgun) is Holi, the festival of colours. Together these make Purnima the busiest recurring anchor in the festival year after Ekadashi, and a common search as 'purnima list Nepal'.

While Ekadashi and Purnima follow the moon, Sankranti follows the sun. A Sankranti is the day the sun transits from one sign of the zodiac (rashi) into the next, and there are twelve in a year, one marking the start of each solar month. Because they are solar rather than lunar, Sankranti dates move very little year to year, usually staying within a day or two of the same Gregorian date.

The most important is Maghe Sankranti, marking the sun's entry into Makar (Capricorn) around 14-15 January and celebrated as the coldest day turning toward longer days; Nepalis bathe in rivers and eat til (sesame) sweets, chaku, ghee, sweet potato and yam. It is a public holiday and one of the few festivals fixed to a near-constant date. Other transits such as Baisakh Sankranti (the solar new year) and the Sankranti that opens each Nepali month are marked with smaller rituals and river bathing.

The first day of every Bikram Sambat month is effectively a Sankranti, so devout Nepalis treat each month's opening as an auspicious day for donation (dan) and worship. Maghe Sankranti and Maghe Sankranti-adjacent observances are the ones most searched, but the underlying pattern - a monthly solar checkpoint alongside the lunar Ekadashi and Purnima - is what gives the Nepali religious year its dual lunar-solar structure.

Navaratri means 'nine nights' and is the worship of the Goddess Durga in her nine forms (Nava Durga) across the first nine tithi of a bright fortnight. In the classical reckoning Navaratri can occur up to four times a year, but two are prominent: Chaitra Navaratri in spring (Falgun-Chaitra) and, far more importantly for Nepal, Sharadiya Navaratri in autumn during the bright fortnight of Ashwin. The other two, in Magh and Ashadh, are observed quietly as Gupta (secret) Navaratri by tantric practitioners.

In Nepal the autumn Navaratri is inseparable from Dashain (Bada Dashain / Vijaya Dashami), the country's longest and greatest festival. It begins on Ghatasthapana, when a jamara barley seed is sown and Durga is invoked, runs through nine nights of worship culminating on Maha Navami, and reaches its climax on the tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, when elders give tika and jamara and blessings to the young. Fasting, temple pilgrimage to Shakti Peeths, and readings of the Durga Saptashati mark the nine days.

Navaratri thus sits at the intersection of a recurring lunar observance and Nepal's single biggest cultural event: the fasting-and-worship cycle of the nine nights is the religious engine, while Dashain is its national, family-centred expression. Because it depends on the Ashwin bright fortnight, Dashain and its Navaratri fall in September-October each year and shift with the moon.

Shrawan (Saun), the fourth month of the Bikram Sambat year falling roughly mid-July to mid-August, is the holiest month for the worship of Lord Shiva and coincides with the monsoon. Throughout the month, and especially on each Monday (Shrawan Somvar / Sombar, Shiva's day), devotees fast and visit Shiva temples; Pashupatinath in Kathmandu draws its longest queues of the year. The Somvar fast is the searched 'shrawan somvar' observance.

The month is strongly associated with women's devotion: many wear green sarees and green glass bangles, apply mehendi, and unmarried women fast on Shrawan Somvar in the belief it brings a good husband, while married women fast for their husband's long life. Green is worn because it evokes the fertile, rain-fed landscape of the season. Because Shrawan is a lunar-solar month in the panchang, the exact start date and the number of Mondays (usually four or five) vary each year.

Shrawan also frames two of the year's landmark days: Nag Panchami, when serpent deities (Naga) are honoured with images pasted above doorways, and Janai Purnima at the full moon, which closes the month's Shiva-centred devotion. For pilgrims, the whole of Shrawan functions as an extended vrat, layering the Monday Shiva fasts on top of the regular Ekadashi and Purnima observances that continue through the month.

To find the exact dates for any given year, Nepalis consult a panchang or Nepali patro, which lists each day's tithi, paksha, nakshatra and any observance. Because the tithi that anchors a fast can begin and end at inconvenient hours, panchang authorities also specify udaya-tithi rules (which day 'counts' when a tithi spans two sunrises) and the parana window for breaking a fast; this is why two calendars occasionally show a major Ekadashi or Purnima on adjacent days.

This calendar hub explains the recurring cycle; for the story, rituals and year-specific detail of individual festivals, see the site's dedicated pages. Buddha Jayanti (Baisakh Purnima), Holi (Fagu Purnima), Maha Shivaratri, Teej, Maghe Sankranti, Yomari Punhi, the sacred month of Shrawan and Dashain (the autumn Navaratri) each have their own entry under the festivals section.

The practical takeaway is that Nepal's religious year is a layered clock: a monthly lunar Ekadashi fast (twice), a monthly Purnima full moon, and a monthly solar Sankranti, overlaid with seasonal peaks at Navaratri/Dashain and the Shiva month of Shrawan. Once the tithi-paksha logic is clear, the shifting dates make sense, and any current-year patro can be read with confidence.