Rishi Panchami 2116: Pomona, California

Rishi Panchami falls on the fifth day of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of Bhadrapada, the day after Ganesh Chaturthi, and is dedicated to the Sapta Rishis, the seven sages Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadwaja, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Vasishtha, along with Arundhati, the embodiment of wifely and ascetic virtue.

It is observed mainly by women as a purificatory vrata, an expiation (prayashchitta) for any lapses in the traditional rules of ritual purity kept during the year. Observers typically fast, bathe with earth turned up by a cow's hoof or a special herbal paste, and eat only foods that grow without ploughing the earth: forest produce and root vegetables rather than grains raised by tilled cultivation.

Commonly searched as: “Rishi Panchami 2116 Pomona”, “Rishi Panchami Pomona 2117”, “Rushi Panchami Pomona 2116”