Vat Savitri Vrat 2026 Date – 16 May

The story of Savitri and Satyavan

Savitri, the daughter of King Ashvapati, chose to marry Satyavan, the son of a blind king living in exile in the forest – even after the sage Narada warned her that Satyavan would die within a year. On the fated day she went with him into the forest, where he collapsed under a banyan tree. When Yama, the god of death, came to take his life, Savitri followed him.

Impressed by her devotion and wisdom, Yama offered her boons, but not Satyavan's life. She asked for her father-in-law's sight and kingdom, and then for sons for her own father – and finally for a hundred sons of her own with Satyavan. Bound by his word, Yama had to return her husband's life.

Why the banyan tree

Satyavan's life was restored under a banyan (vat or bargad) tree. The banyan is also revered as a symbol of longevity, since it lives for centuries and keeps putting down new roots, and its roots, trunk and branches are traditionally associated with Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Women worship it, tie raw cotton or yellow thread around the trunk while circling it 7, 21 or 108 times, and pray for their husband's long life.

Amavasya or Purnima?

In North India – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Odisha – the vrat is kept on Jyeshtha Amavasya, the new moon of Jyeshtha. In Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka it is kept fifteen days later, as Vat Purnima, on the full moon of Jyeshtha. The rituals and the story are the same.

Offerings and food

Soaked black chana (gram) is a central offering; many women swallow a few whole gram to break the fast, as Savitri is said to have received Satyavan's life in the form of a grain. Married women dress in bridal finery, exchange suhaag items, and offer fruit such as mango and litchi, puris, pua and a hand fan (pankha) made of palm leaf, a reminder of the summer heat.

Vat Savitri Vrat puja samagri (what you need)

• Raw cotton thread or yellow thread
• Roli, sindoor and akshat
• Soaked black chana (gram)
• Fruit – mango, litchi, banana
• Puris, pua or homemade sweets
• A palm-leaf hand fan (pankha)
• Suhaag items – bangles, bindi, sindoor
• A lota of water
• Flowers
• Diya and incense
• A picture or small idols of Savitri and Satyavan

How to do Vat Savitri Vrat puja, step by step

1. Bathe early, dress in festive clothes and take the sankalp to fast.
2. Go to a banyan tree with the puja items, and pour water at its roots.
3. Apply roli and sindoor to the trunk and offer akshat, flowers, chana, fruit and sweets.
4. Wind raw cotton thread around the trunk while walking around it 7, 21 or 108 times.
5. Listen to or read the story of Savitri and Satyavan.
6. Fan the tree with the hand fan, touch the feet of elders and seek blessings.
7. Break the fast with the soaked chana and prasad, as per family custom.