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Bathing Days and Amrit Snans

Paush Purnima 2027 and the start of kalpvas

KumbhMela.info Editorial Team 3 min readUpdated Fri 16 Oct 2026

Paush Purnima, the full moon of Paush, is the day kalpvas begins at the Sangam, according to tradition. In 2027 it is expected on Friday 22 January, a week after the Magh Mela's first bath on Makar Sankranti.

ExpectedChecked on Fri 16 Oct 2026

Paush Purnima, the full moon of the month of Paush, is the day kalpvas begins at the Sangam, according to tradition. In 2027 it is expected on Friday 22 January, a week after the Magh Mela’s first bath on Makar Sankranti, Friday 15 January.

What Paush Purnima is

The Prayagraj Mela Authority describes Paush Purnima as the full moon on the fifteenth day of the bright half of Paush. It calls the day the unofficial opening of the mela and the start of kalpvas. A Government of India release on the 2019 Kumbh described kalpvasis the same way, as devotees who spend one month, from Paush Purnima to Maghi Purnima by the Hindu calendar.

Kalpvas is the month that many pilgrims spend in tents near the Sangam, keeping a simple life of prayer and a daily bath. According to tradition it runs from Paush Purnima to Maghi Purnima. The mela authority’s page on rituals counts it another way, from an Ekadashi in Paush to the Ekadashi of Magh, so families follow their own custom. Our article on kalpvas sets out its rules.

Bright flags of pilgrim groups fluttering over boats and people at the Sangam during the Magh Mela of 2014.Photo: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tents on the mela ground at Prayagraj, where kalpvasis spend their month

How kalpvas begins

Official accounts of 2025 describe the start simply. On Paush Purnima, 13 January 2025, kalpvasis took a holy dip at the Sangam to begin their retreat, with vows of celibacy, simplicity and regular prayer, a government backgrounder recorded. Tirthpurohits and Prayagwals, who conduct rituals for pilgrims at Prayag, were given extra facilities that year. The same note pointed out that Paush Purnima fell on a Monday in 2025, a day kept for the worship of Mahadev.

Does the mela always open on Paush Purnima?

No. Paush Purnima follows the Moon, while Makar Sankranti marks the Sun’s move into Makara, so the order of the two changes from year to year. Recent melas show both patterns:

MelaFirst main bathPaush Purnima and kalpvas
Kumbh 2019Makar Sankranti, 15 January 2019After Makar Sankranti; kalpvasis were still arriving on 13 January (PIB)
Maha Kumbh 2025Paush Purnima, 13 January 2025Opening day; kalpvas was set to run from 13 January to 12 February
Magh Mela 2026Paush Purnima, 3 January 2026Opening day of the mela
Magh Mela 2027Makar Sankranti, Friday 15 January (expected)Friday 22 January (expected)

So in 2027, as in 2019, the mela’s first bath comes before kalpvas begins. By the calendar, the Sun enters Makara on the night of 14 January 2027, which puts Makar Sankranti on the 15th.

Paush Purnima and kalpvas in 2027

  • Paush Purnima: Friday 22 January 2027, tithi Pausha Purnima. Expected, from the Hindu calendar.
  • Kalpvas by the calendar: Friday 22 January to Saturday 20 February 2027, Maghi Purnima. At sunrise on 20 February the tithi is still Shukla Chaturdashi; the Purnima begins later that day.
  • Camps for kalpvasis: land and camp arrangements for 2027 have not been announced.
  • Makar Sankranti first: the mela’s first bath, on Friday 15 January 2027, is the day the mela authority says charitable giving (daan) begins at the mela.
  • Official list: the mela authority had not published its 2027 bathing days on 16 October 2026. A Government of India tourism listing gives the mela as 15 January to 6 March 2027.

Main bathing days usually draw the most pilgrims; follow police and mela instructions on the day. See the Magh Mela 2027 bathing days for all six days, daan at the Kumbh for the giving that goes with them, and where to stay for Magh Mela 2027 if you plan to stay for the month.

Plan your trip

How to reachTrains, buses, roads and the last stretch
Where to stayAreas, camps and what to check
Ghats and placesWhere the bathing happens

Sources

12 sources · checked 16 Oct 2026
  1. Bathing Dates: Maha Kumbh 2025, descriptions of Paush Purnima, Makar Sankranti, Maghi Purnima and Maha Shivaratri · Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh ·
  2. The Beginning of Maha Kumbh 2025: A Grand Spiritual Spectacle · Press Information Bureau / Ministry of Culture, Government of India ·
  3. Rituals of Kumbh (Maha Kumbh 2025 official website) · Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh ·
  4. The Beginning of Maha Kumbh 2025: A Grand Spiritual Spectacle (Paush Purnima and kalpvas) · Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture ·
  5. 45 Crore Devotees at Maha Kumbh 2025: Maha Kumbh 2025 Witnesses Record-Breaking Footfall · Press Information Bureau, Government of India (Ministry of Culture) ·
  6. Know about Kumbh: Historical Significance (2019 Kumbh layout and kalpvasis) · Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture ·
  7. First Shahi Snan of Kumbh held today at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh · Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture ·
  8. 43-day-long Magh Mela begins in Prayagraj, over 21 lakh devotees take holy dip at Sangam on the first day · News On AIR (All India Radio News, Prasar Bharati) ·
  9. Magh Mela 2026 to host 12-15 crore pilgrims says UP CM; preparation in full swing · Press Trust of India, via The Tribune ·
  10. Panchang: tithi, sunrise and lunar month · TravNext Tech Private Limited (Tirth.com) ·
  11. Magh Mela 2027 · Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (listing credited to Uttar Pradesh Tourism) ·
  12. Culture & Heritage: Prayagraj (Annual Magh Mela) · District Prayagraj, Government of Uttar Pradesh ·