Festival · 18 September 2026
Gangaur: The 18 Days of Gauri Puja in Rajasthan
गणगौर — गौरी पूजन के 18 दिन
No festival says “Rajasthan” quite like Gangaur. The name joins Gan (Shiva) and Gaur (Gauri, or Parvati), and for eighteen days the couple — called Isar and Gangaur in Marwari songs — become guests in almost every Rajasthani home.
When does it start?
Puja begins on Chaitra Krishna Pratipada, the morning after Holika Dahan, and ends on Chaitra Shukla Tritiya. Because Rajasthan follows Purnimanta months, the dark fortnight after Holi already counts as Chaitra. In 2026 the main Gangaur day is 21 March; in 2027 it is 9 April.
The rituals, in order
- Holika ash idols — on day one, girls collect ash from the Holi fire and mix it with clay to shape small figures of Gauri and Isar.
- Daily puja with doob grass — every morning they sing “Gor gor gomti, Isar puje Parvati” and offer water, flowers and green doob.
- Ghudlia — around the seventh day, girls carry earthen pots with holes and a lamp inside from house to house at night, collecting sweets and small gifts.
- Sinjara — the day before the main festival, married daughters receive new clothes, mehendi and ghevar from their parents' home.
- Visarjan — on Tritiya, the idols are dressed in new clothes and carried in procession to a lake, well or tank and bid farewell.
Where to see it
Jaipur's royal procession leaves the Tripolia Gate of the City Palace in the evening, with caparisoned elephants, folk dancers and the Gangaur idol in a palanquin. Udaipur celebrates it as the Mewar Festival with boats on Lake Pichola, while Bikaner, Jodhpur and Nathdwara have their own processions.
Why it matters
Unmarried girls pray for a husband as devoted as Shiva; married women pray for their husband's long life. But Gangaur is also the season's welcome song — the wheat is ripening, the cold has gone and Navsamvat, the Hindu new year, arrives in the middle of the puja.
Dates on this page are calculated for Jaipur. Check the 2026 festival list and 2027 list for every related day.