When Holi falls

Dates are computed astronomically against Kashi sunrise.

The significance of Holi

Holi puja vidhi

1. 1Days before, gather wood and dried cow dung cakes at the chosen spot and raise the pyre.
2. 2Place an effigy of Holika with Prahlada on her lap, made of dung cakes, at its centre.
3. 3At pradosh kaal, once Bhadra has ended, offer water, roli, akshat, flowers, haldi, gulal and a raw thread wound around the pyre.
4. 4Light the fire and circumambulate it three, five or seven times, offering grain and coconut.
5. 5Roast fresh barley and gram in the flames and eat them as prasad; take a little ash home.
6. 6The next morning, apply the ash to the forehead, then begin with gulal — dry colour first, on the feet of elders.
7. 7Visit, forgive, and settle what was left unsettled. The day is understood to close old quarrels rather than continue them.

Mantra

Vrat rules

• No fast is prescribed. The observance is the dahan on the first evening and the colour on the second morning.
• Holika Dahan is performed at pradosh kaal, only after Bhadra has ended and after Purnima has begun.
• Circumambulate the pyre an odd number of times — three, five or seven — offering grain to the fire.
• New harvest grain, particularly barley and gram, is roasted in the fire and eaten as prasad.
• Ash from the bonfire is applied to the forehead the next morning, before the colours begin.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using synthetic chemical colours — they harm skin and eyes; herbal or tesu-flower colours are the older, safer way.
• Forcing colour on people, children or animals who don't wish to play — 'bura na mano' is an invitation, not a compulsion.
• Wasting large volumes of water; traditional Holi is mostly dry gulal.
• Adding bhang to thandai without care or consent, and giving it to those who shouldn't have it.
• Playing roughly with egg, grease or mud, which turns a festival of goodwill into harm.

The vrat katha of Holi

Holi timeline

1. Purnima eve — Holika Dahan

   The bonfire is lit at the pradosh muhurat, burning Holika and the year's ill; new grain is roasted in the flames.

2. Next morning — colours begin

   Rangwali Holi (Dhuleti): dry gulal and coloured water are played, doors open to all, differences set aside.

3. Midday

   The play peaks; thandai, gujiya and sweets are shared, and music and dance fill the streets.

4. Evening — cleaning & greetings

   People bathe, dress afresh and visit elders and neighbours to embrace and exchange sweets.

Famous places & temples

Interesting facts

• ◆In Braj, Holi runs almost sixteen days — beginning at Barsana long before the one-day Holi elsewhere.
• ◆The widows of Vrindavan now play Holi at the Gopinath temple, overturning a centuries-old social taboo.
• ◆Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib turns the season into a Sikh festival of martial display, begun by Guru Gobind Singh.
• ◆Tagore reimagined Holi as Basanta Utsav at Shantiniketan — a graceful festival of song rather than wet colour.
• ◆The traditional colours came from nature — tesu (flame-of-the-forest) flowers, turmeric, beetroot and neem.

Common questions