पौष पूर्णिमा Paush Purnima, Supermoon and Thiruvathirai 03.01.2026 Rohit Kumar Parmar
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Picture of Paush Purnima (Full Moon) on 03.01.2026
पौष पूर्णिमा Paush Purnima, Supermoon and Thiruvathirai
03.01.2026
-Rohit Kumar Parmar [1]
Purnima or full moon is visible/ occurs, when the Sun and the Moon, are in a straight line (as seen from the equator) and form an angle of 180 degrees, i.e., they are on opposite sides of the earth.
The last day of Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of the moon) is known as Purnima (Full Moon).
According to the lunar (Indian/ Hindu) calendar, full moon occurs once a month. This is because the duration of the lunar month, nearly equals the duration of the rotation of the moon around the earth.
In the Indian system of astronomy, पूर्णिमा (Purnima, full moon) are named after the respective month, and sometimes with an additional name, such as Guru Purnima in the month of आषाढ़ Ashadha.
The dates of Purnima during 2026 are given in the table below
Name and date of Purnima and Full moon during 2026 | |||
Date | Name | Name as per farmer’s Almanac | |
1 | January 3, 2026 | Paush Purnima | Wolf (hungry Wolves howling) |
2 | February 1,2026 | Magha Purnima (Guru Ravidas Jayanti) | Snow (heavy snowfall) |
3 | March 3, 2026 | Phalguna Purnima (Holika Dahan) | Worm (earthworms signalling thaw) |
4 | April 2, 2026 | Chaitra Purnima (Hanuman Jayanti) | Pink (wild pink phlox flowers) |
5 | May 1, 2026 | Vaishakha Purnima (Buddha Purnima) | Flower (abundance of flowers) |
6 | May 31, 2026 | Jyeshtha Adhik Purnima (Adhik Maas #) | Also a Blue Moon No name since this is an additional month |
7 | June 29, 2026 | June 29 (Jyeshtha Purnima) | Strawberry (time for strawberry harvest) |
8 | July 29, 2026 | Ashadha Purnima (Guru Purnima) | Buck (deer antlers growing) |
9 | August 28, 2026 | Shravana Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) | Sturgeon (abundant sturgeon fish) |
10 | September 26, 2026 | Bhadrapada Purnima | Harvest/ Corn (gathering crops) |
11 | October 26, 2026 | Ashwin Purnima (Sharad Purnima) | Hunter’s (game for hunting) |
12 | November 24, 2026 | Kartika Purnima | Beaver (beavers busy building dams) |
13 | December 23, 2026 | Margashirsha Purnima | Cold (coldest month) |
Note: # Adhik Maas (अधिक मास), also called Purushottam Maas or Mala Maas, is an extra month added to the Luni-solar (Indian/ Hindu) calendar roughly every 2.5 to 3 years to synchronize it with the solar year, correcting the approximately 11 day annual lag of the lunar calendar.
Source: Compiled by the Author |
In the western system (farmer’s Almanac) of nomenclature, every full moon has a unique name, that relates to agriculture/ nature.
When there are `two full moons in a single Gregorian calendar month’ the second full moon in the month is called a Blue Moon, so the idiom `once in a blue moon’.
A Blue moon does not happen in the Lunar (Indian/ Hindu) Calendar, since the duration of the month, nearly equals the duration of the rotation of the moon around the earth.
During 2025, there were three supermoons (when the moon's monthly perigee, or closest point to Earth, coincides with its full phase) and two total lunar eclipses, the first since 2022.
During 2025, there were 13 full moons.
Starting January 3, 2026, the full moon is a supermoon, the first full moon of the year. The supermoon of January 3, 2006, is called a Wolf Moon, and with Jupiter featuring nearby.
The full moon on January 3, 2026, a supermoon, was preceded by three consecutive full and supermoons in late 2025 on October 7, 2025, on November 5, 2025 and on December 4, 2025. These were also the three supermoons of 2025.
The three supermoons of 2025, followed by the supermoon of January 3, 2026, make four consecutive supermoons.
The year 2026 will feature 13 full moons.
The full moon on January 3, 2026, a supermoon, is followed by two supermoons, on November 24, 2026 (Beaver Moon), and on December 24, 2026 (Cold Moon).
In 2026, there will be two lunar eclipses, a Total Lunar Eclipse on March 3, 2026 and a Partial Lunar Eclipse on August 27-28, 2026.
Thiruvathirai (Arudra Darshan)
Thiruvathirai (Arudra Darshan) on January 3, 2026, in the Tamil month of Margazhi, celebrates Lord Shiva's cosmic dance (Nataraja) when the Thiruvathirai star coincides with Purnima (Full Moon).
Devotees perform special puja, fast, and celebrate with devotional music and dance, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, honouring Shiva, the Cosmic Dancer.
Special pujas and prayers are held for Lord Nataraja at temples, particularly Chidambaram temple, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu.
Women gather to perform the traditional Thiruvathirakali dance around a lamp, singing devotional songs.
Women dress up in traditional Kanjeevaram silk sarees, with vibrant colours, heavy gold zari, intricate designs and borders.
Thiruvathirakali symbolizes creation, preservation, and destruction, representing the eternal rhythm of the universe.
[1] Author, Economics, Law, Consumer Issues, Content Creator, Data Analysist, Performance Evaluator. Indian Economic Service, Senior Economic Adviser (Retired), Government of India, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and former Adviser (P 4) UNDP, Yemen has in posts
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