सनातन पुस्तकालय Sanatan Cultural Library

Sharad Purnima is the year's most celebrated full moon. Autumn's air has cleared the monsoon haze, and tradition holds that on this one night the moon shines with all sixteen of its kalas — its full complement of phases and powers — and that its light carries amrita, the nectar of immortality, down to whatever it touches. Three great threads meet in the moonlight. It is Kojagari Lakshmi's night: the goddess descends asking "ko jāgarti?" — who is awake? — and blesses the households keeping vigil, which is why Bengal, Odisha and Mithila keep Kojagara as a Lakshmi Puja with all-night wakefulness. It is Raas Purnima: the night of the maha-raas, when Krishna's flute called the gopis of Vrindavan and he multiplied himself so that each danced with the Lord alone — the Bhagavata's great image of the soul's undivided union with the divine. And everywhere, it is the night of kheer under the moon.

The signature observance could not be simpler: rice kheer is cooked in the evening and set out under the open sky — on the balcony, the terrace, a windowsill — where the sixteen-kala moonlight falls on it through the night. At dawn it is shared as prasad, carrying, tradition says, the moon's nectar; Ayurveda's tradition adds that the cooled, moon-steeped kheer pacifies pitta as the season turns. Around the kheer gather the night's other observances: the Kojagara vigil with Lakshmi Puja, lamps and game-playing to stay awake; Kumar Purnima in Odisha, where young women honour Kartikeya; and in Braj, night-long raas lila singing. Some also keep the day as the end of Sharad Navratri's month of devotions — the moon closing what Ghatasthapana opened. The exact Ottawa date is in the Festivals & Dates list on this page.

The Purnima is computed astronomically, so Ottawa's night — calculated on this page for Eastern time — can differ from India's. Ottawa is generous to this festival: crisp, clear October full moons are common here, and kheer left on a balcony or porch under a Canadian autumn moon fulfils the tradition exactly — cover it with a thin muslin or mesh, as tradition itself recommends, and bring it in at dawn. The Kojagara vigil adapts to any home: a lamp for Lakshmi, the Om Jai Lakshmi Mata aarti from our library, cards or carrom to keep the household honestly awake. One practical note: an Ottawa October night is cold — the kheer minds not at all, but the vigil-keepers should bring the aarti indoors. Sharad Purnima also opens Karva Chauth's fortnight and Diwali's month: the season of lamps begins under this moon.