Rash Purnima, the full moon of Kartik, celebrates the Rasa Lila: the night Krishna danced in a ring with the cowherd women of Vrindavan, multiplying himself so that each believed he danced with her alone. Bengal's Vaishnava towns keep it with processions of great clay images, and Cooch Behar holds a fair that lasts a fortnight. It is the same day as Guru Nanak's birthday.
The story
The Rasa is told in the tenth book of the Bhagavata and is, for the followers of Chaitanya, the highest image of the soul's love of God.
At Nabadwip and Shantipur the festival takes forms of its own: in Nabadwip, towering images of the Shakta goddesses are also made, a rivalry of traditions turned into a single spectacle; in Shantipur, the Bhanga Rash procession carries the images through the town at night.
How it is kept
- Rash chakraA turning wheel set with figures of Krishna and the gopis.
- KirtanThrough the night.
- ProcessionsImages are carried through the town with lights and bands.
- Rash MelaFairs at Cooch Behar, Nabadwip and in the Sundarbans.
- Kartik brataThe month of dawn baths and lamps in the sky ends.
Why this date
Rash Purnima is the full-moon tithi of Kartik, on the day it is present at sunrise; the celebrations are that night.
Rash Purnima in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Sunday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More Bengali festivals
29 OctoberKali Pujaকালীপূজা
10 OctoberBijoya Dashamiবিজয়া দশমী
11 FebruarySaraswati Pujaসরস্বতী পূজা
9 OctoberMaha Navamiমহানবমী
7 OctoberMaha Ashtamiমহাষ্টমী
4 SeptemberGanesh Chaturthiগণেশ চতুর্থী
Where to see Rash Purnima
In West Bengal
- Madan Mohan Temple, Cooch BeharWest BengalThe Rash Mela of north Bengal, begun by the Koch kings, with a wheel turned by every visitor.
- NabadwipWest BengalHundreds of giant clay images, Vaishnava and Shakta, carried on men's shoulders.
- ShantipurWest BengalThe Bhanga Rash procession of the Goswami houses.
- Dublar Char, SundarbansWest Bengal and BangladeshA fishermen's Rash fair on an island at the edge of the mangroves.
Across India
- ImphalManipurThe Manipuri Ras Lila, a classical dance born of this night.
- MajuliAssamRaas Mahotsav on the river island of the satras.
- VaranasiUttar PradeshDev Deepawali: the ghats of the Ganga covered in lamps.