Festival · 2027
Bhishma Ashtami 2027 — Sunday, 14 February 2027
Bhishma Ashtami, the eighth day of the bright half of Magha, remembers the day Bhishma of the Mahabharata gave up his body, and is marked by a simple offering of water and sesame at midday.
In 2026
Monday, 26 January 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Ashtami: 25 Jan, 11:10 PM – 26 Jan, 9:18 PM
- Lunar month
- Magha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 7:12 AM / 5:55 PM
- Madhyahna moment
- 12:33 PM
| Puja muhurat | 11:29 AM – 1:38 PM |
|---|---|
| Madhyahna | 11:29 AM – 1:38 PM |
Rule: Magha Shukla Ashtami prevailing at madhyahna, when the tarpan is offered; if on both days, the first.
In 2027
Sunday, 14 February 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Ashtami: 14 Feb, 2:07 AM – 15 Feb, 12:41 AM
- Lunar month
- Magha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 7:00 AM / 6:10 PM
- Madhyahna moment
- 12:35 PM
| Puja muhurat | 11:28 AM – 1:42 PM |
|---|---|
| Madhyahna | 11:28 AM – 1:42 PM |
Rule: Magha Shukla Ashtami prevailing at madhyahna, when the tarpan is offered; if on both days, the first.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Bhishma Ashtami?
Bhishma Ashtami is kept on Magha Shukla Ashtami, the eighth tithi of the bright half of Magha. Tradition holds that on this day Bhishma, the grand old man of the Kuru family in the Mahabharata, left his body after lying for many days on a bed of arrows on the field of Kurukshetra. The day is observed as his death anniversary, and it is one of the few days in the year when an ancestral rite is offered for someone who is not one’s own forefather.
Bhishma was born Devavrata, the son of King Shantanu and the river goddess Ganga. When his father wished to marry Satyavati, Devavrata gave up his claim to the throne and vowed never to marry, so that her children would rule. For this formidable and selfless oath, as the epic tells it, he was called Bhishma, the one of the fearsome vow, and his father granted him the boon that he could choose the moment of his own death.
In the great war Bhishma fought for the Kauravas, though his affection for the Pandavas never wavered. Struck down by Arjuna’s arrows, he lay on a bed of arrows and, according to the Mahabharata, chose to wait until the Sun had begun its northern course, Uttarayana, before leaving his body. In the Shanti and Anushasana Parvas of the epic he spends those days teaching Yudhishthira about duty, kingship and the good life, and the Vishnu Sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu, comes from that teaching.
Because Bhishma never married and had no children to perform his rites, tradition holds that all who honour him may offer him water, a practice often explained as a debt of gratitude owed to him by everyone. Many offer this tarpan on Bhishma Ashtami even if they otherwise do not perform ancestral rites, and many use the day to read or listen to the Vishnu Sahasranama.
How it is observed
- Bathing in the morning, in a river where possible, and wearing clean clothes.
- Offering tarpan to Bhishma at midday: water with sesame and kusha grass, with his name and a short verse.
- In some families, performing an ekodishta shraddha, a rite for one person, in his name.
- Reciting or listening to the Vishnu Sahasranama, which the epic places in Bhishma’s teaching.
- Reading passages of the Mahabharata about Bhishma’s life and his teachings to Yudhishthira.
- Giving food or sesame to those in need, and for some, keeping a fast until the tarpan.
How the date is fixed
Bhishma Ashtami is Magha Shukla Ashtami, the eighth tithi of the bright half of Magha, a name that amanta and purnimanta calendars share. Because the tarpan and shraddha are done at midday, our calendar looks for the day on which the Ashtami prevails during madhyahna, the middle fifth of the daylight hours. If the Ashtami covers madhyahna on two days, the first of them is taken. The date and the madhyahna window above are worked out this way for your place.
Where practice differs
Bhishma Ashtami is kept mainly in north India and in Bengal, where tarpan to Bhishma is a familiar household practice. In Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and parts of Karnataka, the day more strongly associated with Bhishma is Bhishma Ekadashi, three days later, on which many recite the Vishnu Sahasranama, and some traditions keep Bhishma Dwadashi after it. These are different ways of honouring the same figure rather than disagreements about a single date. Almanacs that time the tarpan differently, for example by the tithi at sunrise, may show the Ashtami on the other day in years when it spans two days.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
Why did Bhishma wait for Uttarayana?
In the Mahabharata, Bhishma had the boon of choosing his time of death, and he chose to wait on his bed of arrows until the Sun turned north, a period tradition regards as especially sacred for leaving the body.
Can someone whose father is living offer tarpan to Bhishma?
Tradition holds that tarpan to Bhishma may be offered by anyone, since he had no descendants of his own, and many families treat it as open to all. Household customs vary, so many people follow their own family’s practice.
What time is the Bhishma Ashtami tarpan?
At madhyahna, the middle of the day, which is why our calendar fixes the date by the Ashtami at that time. The madhyahna window for your place is shown above.
How is Bhishma Ashtami related to Bhishma Ekadashi?
Both honour Bhishma. Bhishma Ashtami is kept as the day of his passing, mostly in the north and east, while Bhishma Ekadashi, three days later, is linked in many southern traditions with the Vishnu Sahasranama.