Gita Jayanti: Date, Significance & How to Celebrate
Gita Jayanti 2026 is on Sunday, 20 December 2026 (Mumbai). Break the fast (parana) on Monday, 21 December 2026, between 7:06 am and 10:46 am.
Gita Jayanti celebrates the day Lord Sri Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It falls on the Ekadashi of the waxing moon in the month of Margashirsha, which is also Mokshada Ekadashi, so devotees observe the Ekadashi fast on the same day.
What is Gita Jayanti?
“Jayanti” means appearance day. More than five thousand years ago, as the armies of the Pandavas and the Kauravas stood ready for battle, Arjuna was overwhelmed by doubt and laid down his bow. Lord Krishna, acting as his charioteer, answered his questions in seven hundred verses about the self, karma, duty, and devotion to God. That conversation is the Bhagavad-gita.
The Gita is part of the Mahabharata, and it is the most widely read spiritual text of India. Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is has carried its message across the world in more than eighty languages.
How to celebrate Gita Jayanti
- Read or recite the Gita. Read a chapter with your family, or join a group recitation of all eighteen chapters.
- Gift the Bhagavad-gita. Giving the Gita to someone, known as Gita-daan, is considered one of the best ways to celebrate the day. Sponsor Gita-daan.
- Observe Mokshada Ekadashi. Fast from grains and beans, chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and break the fast the next morning within the parana time.
- Start studying the Gita. Join our free Bhagavad-gita classes in Mumbai or online.
Celebrate Gita Jayanti with Gita-daan
Support the distribution of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and share its timeless wisdom with others this Gita Jayanti.