Guru Purnima is the full moon of the lunar month of Ashadha, kept in honour of the teacher and of Vyasa, the first of them. Kerala has given the tradition two of its greatest: Adi Shankara of Kalady, who walked the length of India in the eighth century, and Sree Narayana Guru, who a hundred years ago remade Kerala society with a sentence. Ashrams and mathas keep the day with Vyasa Puja.
The story
Shankara, born at Kalady on the Periyar, left home as a boy to find his guru Govindapada on the Narmada, and before he died at thirty-two had founded four seats of learning at the corners of the country.
Narayana Guru, born into a community barred from temples, consecrated a Shiva temple himself at Aruvippuram in 1888, and later installed a mirror in place of an image. His teaching, in his own words, was one caste, one religion, one God for humankind.
ഒരു ജാതി, ഒരു മതം, ഒരു ദൈവം മനുഷ്യന്
One caste, one religion, one God for humankind
Sree Narayana Guru
How it is kept
- Vyasa PujaPerformed at mathas and ashrams, and the start of Chaturmasyam for sannyasis.
- Guru vandanamStudents honour their teachers, of Kathakali, of music, of the martial art kalari, with betel and a gift.
- SatsangAshrams hold day-long gatherings.
- ReadingPassages of the Gita, or of the Guru's works, are read aloud.
Why this date
Guru Purnima is the full-moon tithi of Ashadha, on the day it is present at sunrise.
Guru Purnima in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday | |
| 2027 | Sunday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Monday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More Kerala festivals
14 JulySayana Ekadasiശയന ഏകാദശി
18 AugustChingam 1ചിങ്ങം ഒന്ന്
24 AugustAshtami Rohiniഅഷ്ടമിരോഹിണി
8 MayAkshaya Tritiyaഅക്ഷയ തൃതീയ
17 AprilThrissur Pooramതൃശ്ശൂർ പൂരം
4 SeptemberVinayaka Chathurthiവിനായക ചതുർത്ഥി
Where to see Guru Purnima
In Kerala
- KaladyKeralaShankara's birthplace, with shrines maintained by the Sringeri matha.
- Sivagiri, VarkalaKeralaThe hill where Narayana Guru lived and is entombed.
- AmritapuriKeralaThe ashram of Mata Amritanandamayi on the Kollam backwaters, where the day draws devotees from across the world.
Across India
- SringeriKarnatakaThe first of Shankara's four mathas.
- SarnathUttar PradeshWhere the Buddha first taught on this full moon.
- ShirdiMaharashtraThree days of festival at Sai Baba's samadhi.