Purnima Dates 2021 | Importance of Purnima

Purnima (Hindi:पूर्णिमा/पूर्णचंद्र, Telugu:పూర్ణిమ/పౌర్ణమి, Malayalam:പൗർണമി/പൂർണ്ണചന്ദ്രൻ, Tamil:பூர்ணிமா/முழு நிலவு) also spelled Poornima means 'night or day of Full Moon'. It is the time when the Moon is fully illuminated. Purnima comes on the 15th tithi of the bright half (Shukla paksh or waxing phase) of the lunar fortnight. The end of Purnima tithi marks the begining of 15 days of Krishna paksha (waning) phase of the Moon.

Next Purnima is on March 28, Sunday

Purnima tithi timing - Mar 28, 3:27 am to Mar 29, 12:18 am

Purnima in the month of March is Phalguna Purnima as it falls in the Hindu lunar calendar month of Phalguna. Phalgun purnima marks the end of Holashtak and the start of 2 day Holi festival. The eve of Holi or Holika Dahan is observed on this day.

→ Full list of 2021 purnima dates

There are normally 12 Purnima days a year and each of them has their own significance. For many Hindus, Purnima is a spiritual day set aside for fasting and worship. Next Purnima, ie., Full moon in March, 2021 is on March 28, Sunday.

Festivals & Vrats on Purnima

Purnima vrat, Uma Maheshwar vrat, Satyanarayan Puja, Guru Purnima, Vat Purnima, Kartik Purnima, Holi Festival, Hanuman jayanthi, Dattatreya Jayanti, Raksha Bandhan, Buddha Purnima etc are associated with full moons of various hindu lunar months.

Purnima tithi timing on March 28, Sunday

Purnima has a special place in many religions especially Hinduism. Hindu lunar calendar puts a lot of emphasis on the lunar cycle and Purnima is considered very auspicious and is especially good for worship and observing religious vows.

Pournami Days in a Year

So, how many Purnimas are there in a year? Typically there are 12 Full Moons in an English calendar. However, if there occurs a blue moon ie., when there are 2 full moons in one month, there can be up to 13 purnimas a year. During the past decade, year 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2018 witnessed Blue Moons. The next Blue Moon will occur in the month of October, 2020.

All Purnima dates in 2021 and Purnima Tithi End