Festival · 2026
Gita Jayanti 2026 — Sunday, 20 December 2026
Gita Jayanti remembers the day Krishna is held to have spoken the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra, and it is kept by reading the Gita.
In 2026
Sunday, 20 December 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Ekadashi: 19 Dec, 10:09 PM – 20 Dec, 8:15 PM
- Lunar month
- Margashirsha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 7:08 AM / 5:28 PM
- Arunodaya (96 min before sunrise)
- 5:32 AM
| Parana (breaking the fast) | 21 Dec, 7:09 AM – 21 Dec, 9:13 AM |
|---|
Rule: Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi by the Smarta Ekadashi rule — the same day as Mokshada Ekadashi. Smarta rule: the day with Ekadashi at sunrise, with Dwadashi left for the next morning’s parana.
In 2027
Thursday, 9 December 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Ekadashi: 9 Dec, 2:59 AM – 10 Dec, 3:20 AM
- Lunar month
- Margashirsha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 7:01 AM / 5:24 PM
- Arunodaya (96 min before sunrise)
- 5:25 AM
- Hari Vasara ends
- 10 Dec, 9:13 AM
| Parana (breaking the fast) | 10 Dec, 1:15 PM – 10 Dec, 3:20 PM |
|---|
Rule: Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi by the Smarta Ekadashi rule — the same day as Mokshada Ekadashi. Smarta rule: the day with Ekadashi at sunrise, with Dwadashi left for the next morning’s parana.
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 Gita Jayanti?
Gita Jayanti is the birthday of a book rather than of a person. Tradition holds that the Bhagavad Gita was spoken on the Ekadashi of the bright half of Margashirsha, the same day that is kept as Mokshada Ekadashi. It is fitting that the Gita itself praises this month: in its tenth chapter Krishna says that among months he is Margashirsha.
The Gita is a dialogue of seven hundred verses in eighteen chapters, set within the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata. On the eve of the great war, Arjuna sees his teachers, cousins and elders drawn up against him, lays down his bow and asks Krishna, his charioteer, what he should do. Krishna’s answer moves from the immediate question to the nature of the self, which is not born and does not die; to action done as duty, without clinging to its fruit; to knowledge, meditation and devotion; and to a vision of the divine in all things. The whole conversation is reported by Sanjaya to the blind king Dhritarashtra.
Few texts have been read as widely or in as many ways. Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya each wrote commentaries that became the foundation of their schools. Sant Jnaneshwar retold it in Marathi verse as the Jnaneshwari, and in modern times Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, Vinoba Bhave and many others wrote on it. It has been translated into most of the world’s major languages, and it is read both as scripture and as practical guidance for a life of steady action.
So Gita Jayanti is kept mainly by reading. Families, schools, temples and study groups recite the whole Gita, or chosen chapters, and talks are given on its teaching. At Kurukshetra in Haryana, where the dialogue is set, the day is the centre of a large Gita festival, with recitation, aarti at the Brahma Sarovar and crowds at Jyotisar, the spot tradition marks as the place where the Gita was spoken.
How it is observed
- The whole Gita is recited, alone or in a group, often in one sitting of a few hours.
- Those with less time read a single chapter, such as the second, the twelfth on devotion, or the fifteenth.
- A copy of the Gita is worshipped with flowers and a lamp, and some families give copies as gifts.
- Temples and study circles hold talks on the Gita’s teaching, and schools hold recitation events.
- Many keep the Mokshada Ekadashi fast on the same day and break it at the parana time the next morning.
- At Kurukshetra pilgrims gather at the Brahma Sarovar and at Jyotisar for recitation and aarti.
How the date is fixed
Gita Jayanti is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Margashirsha, fixed by the same rule as every ekadashi, so it is always the same day as Mokshada Ekadashi. Our engine follows the Smarta rule: the day on which Ekadashi is present at sunrise is taken; if Ekadashi touches no sunrise, the day it begins; if it is present at two sunrises, the second, unless Dwadashi would then leave no time for the parana, in which case the first. The month name is the same in amanta and purnimanta calendars.
Where practice differs
Gita Jayanti is kept across India and wherever the Gita is read, but Kurukshetra is its centre; the Haryana government and local institutions hold a Gita festival there that runs for several days around the Ekadashi. ISKCON temples and many Vaishnava groups mark it with recitation and the distribution of the Gita. In Maharashtra the Jnaneshwari is often read alongside. Where Smarta and Vaishnava calendars keep the Ekadashi fast on different days, some institutions hold the Gita Jayanti events on the Smarta day and the fast on the Vaishnava day; others keep both on one day. Since the observance is chiefly reading, many people simply keep it on the date their temple or school announces.
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
Are Gita Jayanti and Mokshada Ekadashi the same day?
Yes. Both fall on the Ekadashi of the bright half of Margashirsha. Mokshada Ekadashi is the fast; Gita Jayanti is the remembrance of the Gita being spoken.
How many chapters and verses does the Bhagavad Gita have?
Eighteen chapters and seven hundred verses, forming part of the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata.
How should one observe Gita Jayanti at home?
By reading the Gita, whole or in part, ideally with its meaning. Many families read one chapter together, light a lamp before the book and talk about a verse that speaks to them.
Where was the Bhagavad Gita spoken?
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in present-day Haryana. Tradition marks Jyotisar, near the town of Kurukshetra, as the place of the dialogue.