Festival · The rakhi full moon
Raksha Bandhan 2027: date, tithi and muhurat
Raksha Bandhan 2027 falls on Tuesday, 17 August, on Purnima of Shravana. The times here are for Chandigarh; choose your city to see yours.
What Raksha Bandhan is
Raksha Bandhan is the full moon of Shravana, when sisters tie a rakhi, a protective thread, on their brothers’ wrists and brothers promise their care in return. Cousins, friends and neighbours share the custom, and in some regions the day is also a festival of the sea, Narali Purnima, or of the sacred thread, Avani Avittam. The name means ‘the bond of protection’, and a gift of sweets and a few kind words are the heart of it.
How the date is fixed
The festival is on Shravana Purnima. It is kept on the first day unless Purnima is still running more than six ghatis, 2 hours 24 minutes, after the next sunrise. The rakhi is tied while Purnima is present and outside Bhadra, preferably in the afternoon, Aparahna.
Dates for 2026 to 2028
Raksha Bandhan is on Friday, 28 August in 2026, Tuesday, 17 August in 2027 and Saturday, 5 August in 2028. These dates are calculated from the sky for Chandigarh, not copied from a printed calendar. It falls on Purnima of Shravana.
| Year | Date | Tithi and month |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, 28 August | Purnima · Shravana |
| 2027 | Tuesday, 17 August | Purnima · Shravana |
| 2028 | Saturday, 5 August | Purnima · Shravana |
Muhurat for Raksha Bandhan
For Chandigarh in 2027, the main time is the Rakhi muhurat (Bhadra-free): 5:50 am – 12:59 pm on Tuesday, 17 August. Sunrise, sunset and the parts of the day move with the city, so the window, and sometimes the day itself, can change elsewhere. Choose your city below and the tables follow.
| Muhurat | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rakhi muhurat (Bhadra-free) | 5:57 am – 9:48 am | 5:50 am – 12:59 pm | 5:43 am – 1:40 pm |
| Bhadra (avoid) | 9:09 am (27 Aug) – 9:33 pm (27 Aug) | 10:29 am (16 Aug) – 11:45 pm (16 Aug) | 11:52 am (4 Aug) – 12:43 am |
Sisters perform a small aarti, apply a tilak and tie the rakhi; brothers give a gift and a promise. People who cannot be together tie it by post or in a video call, and the thread can equally go to a sister, a friend or a soldier on the border.
Bhadra often runs through the morning of Purnima, so the table shows the Bhadra-free window for your city; it may start later in the day than people expect.
A share card for the Raksha Bandhan muhurat is coming. Today the app has one for Diwali only.
Questions people ask
What is the Bhadra rule for tying a rakhi?
The classical texts advise against tying the rakhi during Bhadra, the Vishti karana in the first half of the Purnima. The best window is therefore the part of the Purnima that is outside Bhadra, and the calculation shows it for your city.
Can the rakhi be tied after the Purnima ends?
Many families tie it that day regardless, since the feeling matters more than the minute. The tables give the classical window for those who like to follow it; they do not forbid anything else.
Who can tie a rakhi?
Anyone. Sisters and brothers by blood or by choice, friends, cousins, a niece for an uncle. It is a thread of care, and its meaning is whatever the two people give it.
When is Raksha Bandhan in 2026, 2027 and 2028?
Raksha Bandhan is on Friday, 28 August 2026; Tuesday, 17 August 2027; Saturday, 5 August 2028, calculated for Chandigarh. In another city the day can differ by one when the tithi starts or ends close to the time of day the rule uses.
How does JYOTISH.info calculate Raksha Bandhan?
From the sky, with the astronomy-engine library on the Lahiri sidereal zodiac: the lunar month from the Sun’s sign at the new moon, the tithi from the Moon–Sun angle, and the day part that the festival’s own rule asks for, at the city’s sunrise and sunset. Nothing is copied from a table. The rule is stated above and the full method is on the method page.
Every position on this page is calculated sidereal with the Lahiri ayanamsa from the astronomy-engine library (MIT licence). The classical texts describe tendencies; this page is for guidance and reflection, not a verdict, and no outcome is promised. How we calculate. This is the English page and the legal reference. The same page is available in Hindi. Checked October 2026.