Festival · 2027
Phulera Dooj 2027 — Wednesday, 10 March 2027
Phulera Dooj, the second day of the bright half of Phalguna, is the Braj festival of flowers, when Krishna and Radha are decorated with blossoms and the Holi season begins to gather colour.
In 2026
Thursday, 19 February 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Dwitiya: 18 Feb, 4:58 PM – 19 Feb, 3:59 PM
- Lunar month
- Phalguna
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:56 AM / 6:14 PM
Rule: Phalguna Shukla Dwitiya at sunrise; if it touches no sunrise, the day it begins.
In 2027
Wednesday, 10 March 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Dwitiya: 9 Mar, 3:41 PM – 10 Mar, 3:53 PM
- Lunar month
- Phalguna
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:37 AM / 6:26 PM
Rule: Phalguna Shukla Dwitiya at sunrise; if it touches no sunrise, the day it begins.
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 Phulera Dooj?
Phulera Dooj falls on Phalguna Shukla Dwitiya, the second tithi of the bright half of Phalguna, about two weeks before Holi. The name comes from phool, flower, and dooj, the second day. It is above all a festival of Braj, the country of Krishna around Mathura, Vrindavan, Govardhan, Barsana and Nandgaon, where the Holi season stretches over many weeks and this day is one of its sweetest moments.
In the temples of Braj, the images of Krishna and Radha are dressed in light spring clothes and decorated with flowers, and devotees and priests shower flowers on the deities and on each other. The playful tradition is that Krishna, missing Radha, is brought back to cheerfulness with flowers, and that the two play Holi with blossoms before the colours arrive. In many temples a little gulal is also touched to the deity’s waist or cheek on this day, as a first sign of the colours to come.
The festival belongs to the spring mood of Phalguna. The mustard fields are yellow, the mango trees are in blossom and the cold has broken. Braj poetry and the songs of the Vaishnava saints speak often of Krishna’s spring play, and Phulera Dooj gathers that mood into one day of fragrance and colour. At home, many families decorate their shrine with flowers and offer seasonal sweets, poha and makhan-mishri.
Phulera Dooj is also known across north India as a popular wedding day. Many families regard it as an abujh day, one considered so auspicious in itself that no separate muhurat needs to be fixed, and so marriages, engagements and other new beginnings are often planned for it. This is a matter of popular custom, and families who follow a particular almanac or priest may still prefer to fix a muhurat.
How it is observed
- Decorating the home shrine and images of Radha and Krishna with fresh flowers.
- Visiting Braj temples, where flowers are showered on the deities and on devotees.
- Touching a little gulal to the deity, as a first sign of the Holi colours.
- Offering seasonal sweets, makhan-mishri and poha as bhog.
- Singing bhajans and Holi songs of Braj in the evening.
- For many families, holding weddings, engagements or other new beginnings on the day.
How the date is fixed
Phulera Dooj is Phalguna Shukla Dwitiya, the second tithi of the bright half of Phalguna, a name that amanta and purnimanta calendars share. Our calendar keeps it on the day the Dwitiya holds at sunrise, following the common practice of taking the tithi at sunrise for the day. If the Dwitiya begins and ends without touching any sunrise (a kshaya tithi), the day it begins is taken. The date and the span of the Dwitiya above are worked out this way for your place.
Where practice differs
Phulera Dooj is celebrated most fully in Braj, in the temples of Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana, Nandgaon and Govardhan, and in Krishna temples of the Pushti Marg and other Vaishnava traditions elsewhere, including Nathdwara in Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana it is widely known as a wedding day. Outside the north the day is little observed as a festival. Temples that follow their own sampradaya almanac occasionally keep the flower celebration on the neighbouring day when the Dwitiya spans two sunrises or is kshaya.
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 is Phulera Dooj considered good for weddings?
Popular tradition treats it as an abujh day, auspicious in itself, so many families hold weddings on it without fixing a separate muhurat. Families who follow a particular almanac may still prefer to have a muhurat worked out.
How is Phulera Dooj celebrated in Vrindavan and Mathura?
The temples dress Radha and Krishna in spring clothes, decorate them with flowers and shower flowers on the deities and devotees. A little gulal is often applied to the deity, marking the start of the Holi colours.
How many days before Holi is Phulera Dooj?
It falls on the second day of the bright half of Phalguna, and Holi comes after the full Moon at the end of that fortnight, so the gap is usually about two weeks.
Is Phulera Dooj a fasting day?
It is mainly a day of celebration and flowers rather than fasting. Some devotees keep a light fast until they have offered bhog, but the tradition does not require it.