Festival · 2027
Jitiya (Jivitputrika Vrat) 2027 — Thursday, 23 September 2027
Jitiya, or Jivitputrika Vrat, is a three-day observance in which mothers keep a strict fast on Ashvin Krishna Ashtami for the long life and well-being of their children.
In 2026
Saturday, 3 October 2026
- Tithi
- Krishna Ashtami: 3 Oct, 8:00 AM – 4 Oct, 5:52 AM
- Lunar month
- Ashvin (purnimanta) / Bhadrapada (amanta)
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:14 AM / 6:04 PM
- Nahay Khay: 2 October 2026
- Parana (breaking the fast): 4 October 2026
Rule: Ashvin Krishna Ashtami (Bhadrapada in the amanta reckoning) at sunrise; parana the next morning.
In 2027
Thursday, 23 September 2027
- Tithi
- Krishna Ashtami: 23 Sep, 4:37 AM – 24 Sep, 2:57 AM
- Lunar month
- Ashvin (purnimanta) / Bhadrapada (amanta)
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:09 AM / 6:17 PM
- Nahay Khay: 22 September 2027
- Parana (breaking the fast): 24 September 2027
Rule: Ashvin Krishna Ashtami (Bhadrapada in the amanta reckoning) at sunrise; parana the next morning.
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 Jitiya (Jivitputrika Vrat)?
Jitiya is one of the most important vrats for mothers in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Mithila and Tharu regions of Nepal. It falls on the eighth day of the waning moon of Ashvin, during Pitru Paksha. Mothers fast for their children, sons and daughters alike, and the name Jivitputrika is understood as the vow for living, thriving children.
The vrat is dedicated to Jimutavahana, a Vidyadhara prince remembered for his compassion. The story tells that Garuda was eating one naga every day, sent to him by turn. Jimutavahana met a grieving mother whose son Shankhachuda was to be the next, and he offered himself in the boy’s place, lying down on the rock wrapped in the red cloth meant for the victim. Garuda, moved by his selflessness, spared him and gave up the practice. Jimutavahana is worshipped on this day as the protector of children.
A second tale told during the puja is that of the eagle and the jackal, two friends who kept the Jitiya fast together. The jackal broke the fast secretly in the night, while the eagle kept it faithfully, and their lives in a later birth turned out very differently. It is told as a simple lesson about keeping one’s word, and figures of the eagle and the jackal are often made of clay or cow dung for the puja.
The observance is long and demanding. It opens with nahay-khay, the bath and a single pure meal the day before; the main day is a fast, often without water, lasting through the day and night; and it ends with parana the next morning. The seriousness with which it is kept reflects the depth of the wish behind it, but families have always adjusted it for mothers who are unwell.
How it is observed
- On nahay-khay, the day before, mothers bathe and eat one pure meal; in Mithila this traditionally includes marua (finger millet) roti and noni saag, and in many families fish.
- Before dawn on the main day some eat a small meal, called ogthan in the Bhojpuri region, after which the fast begins.
- Through the day and night most mothers keep the fast nirjala, without food or water.
- In the evening an image of Jimutavahana made of kusha grass is worshipped, with clay or cow-dung figures of the eagle and the jackal, and the katha is heard together.
- Many mothers wear a jitiya, a red or yellow thread with a small pendant, for their children.
- The next morning, after a bath and worship, the fast is broken with parana, often with the same simple foods of the region.
How the date is fixed
Jitiya is kept on Ashvin Krishna Ashtami in the north, which amanta calendars call Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami, on the day the Ashtami holds at sunrise. Nahay-khay is the day before and the parana is the next morning. Mithila almanacs apply their own reckoning and may differ from this by a day, so families in Mithila usually follow their local panchang. The date and the Ashtami’s start and end times are shown above.
Where practice differs
Jitiya is kept most widely in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, especially around Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Ballia, and in the Mithila and Tharu communities of Nepal. The foods of nahay-khay differ by region: marua, noni saag and fish in Mithila; satputiya, a kind of gourd, with rice and pulses in other parts. Local almanacs sometimes weigh the joining of Saptami and Ashtami differently, which is why the day can differ between them. In amanta calendars the month is Bhadrapada; in the purnimanta calendars of the north it is Ashvin.
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
Who is Jimutavahana?
A Vidyadhara prince who offered his own life to Garuda to save a naga boy, Shankhachuda. Moved by this, Garuda spared both. Mothers worship him on Jitiya as a protector of children.
Is Jitiya kept for sons only?
The name speaks of putra, but today most mothers keep it for all their children, daughters and sons alike, and many families have always done so.
When is the Jitiya fast broken?
On the morning after the Ashtami, with parana after a bath and worship. The exact time follows the local almanac; in Mithila it may be a day different.
Must Jitiya be kept without water?
Nirjala is the traditional form, but mothers who are unwell, pregnant or elderly commonly take water or fruit, and families adapt the fast to health.