Something about Shravana Purnima slows you down in the best possible way. As the full moon rises in the heart of August, this is a moment that brings together coastlines, rituals, sibling love, Vedic vows, and ancestral prayers. All on the same sacred day. This year, Shravana Purnima falls on August 9, a potent full moon day that carries a multi-layered spiritual and cultural energy. Wherever you are, there is something quietly powerful about Shravana Purnima. So, let’s break it down.

Shravana Purnima 2025: Time and Tithi details

Purnima Tithi Begins: 02:12 pm on August 8, 2025

Purnima Tithi Ends: 01:24 pm on August 9, 2025

Moonrise: 07:21 pm on August 9, 2025

Depending on where you are in India, this full moon comes with its own flavour of tradition, and yet, it all roots back to one thing: reconnecting with the sacred.

If you are by the sea, it’s Narali Purnima

In Maharashtra’s Konkan coast and nearby areas, Shravana Purnima is celebrated as Narali Purnima. It is a festival of sea prayers and community. Fisherfolk offer coconuts to the ocean to please Lord Varun, praying for calm waters and bountiful fishing seasons. If you join the celebrations, you will see people walking waist-deep into the sea with coconuts in their hands, singing and chanting. Children trail behind, giggling, while older women hum old bhajans passed down through generations like an heirloom. It is tradition, but it is never rigid. You can celebrate it by:

• Offering a coconut to a local water body (a lake will do too)

• Lighting a lamp and chanting a simple mantra for gratitude

• Consuming coconut-based foods to honour the sea’s nourishment

If you are at home, it’s Raksha Bandhan

Of course, the main celebration for many on Shravana Purnima is Raksha Bandhan. This day of rakhis, puja thalis, sweets, and sibling selfies is older than you can imagine. In its heart, it’s rooted in a promise of care. As sisters tie the rakhi, they invoke a kind of protective energy that transcends the thread, and brothers pay in kind with a promise to show up for them, year after year, without fail.

For the spiritual souls: Vedic and Ancestral rituals

Shravana Purnima is not just about celebration; it is also about a sacred reset. In many parts of India, this day is marked by Upakarma, the sacred thread changing ceremony observed by Brahmins. It is a day to recommit to spiritual discipline. Think of it as the spiritual new semester. In cities like Gaya, Rishikesh, and Prayag, this is also a day of ancestral rites. Rituals like Shraddha, Tarpana, and Pinda Daan are performed to honour one’s ancestors. It is emotional, raw and incredibly human.

Hayagriva Jayanti and Avani Avittam

In Southern parts of India, Shravana Purnima is also the celebration of Avani Avittam and Hayagriva Jayanti.

Avani Avittam: This marks a spiritual renewal for Yajurveda followers. It is considered ideal for journaling your intentions or starting a mantra practice.

Hayagriva Jayanti: Celebrated as the birth of Lord Hayagriva, a form of Vishnu known for wisdom. Students and seekers of knowledge worship him on this day. It is the perfect time to begin a new course, take up a mantra, or even restart that one book you left halfway.

Benefits of observing Shravana Purnima

Even if you are not deeply religious, engaging with this full moon can bring tangible shifts. Here is how:

• Creates emotional and energetic space for clarity and intention

• Strengthens spiritual grounding through mantra, ritual or fasting

• Enhances familial and ancestral connections

• Clears inner clutter: mental, karmic, or just chaotic

• Helps you reconnect with elements, i.e. earth, water, and sky

• Invites abundance through small but symbolic acts (like offering coconut or lighting a lamp)

• Restores inner balance as the monsoon begins to shift

How to celebrate Shravana Purnima

If elaborate pujas aren’t your thing, try this simple ritual:

• Wake up before sunrise

• Light a ghee lamp or candle

• Offer water or coconut to the earth or a water body

• Say a small prayer to your ancestors, the divine, or simply your higher self

• Tie a thread of intention on your wrist, your journal and your altar

• And if you’re feeling the call for spiritual grounding or clarity, chant the Gayatri Mantra, or listen to its soothing vibrations. (Yes, Astrosure.ai’s mantra playlist works wonders here.)

Shravana Purnima reminds us that even in the busiest months, the universe holds space for realignment. Whether you are celebrating Raksha Bandhan, offering to the sea, or starting a new mantra journey, this full moon asks you to pause and honour what sustains you.

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