Rishi Panchami: remembering the seven sages

What Rishi Panchami is

The Panchami of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada is Rishi Panchami. It is a day to honour the sages from whom the lines of the Veda, of learning and of gotra come. Tradition counts seven sages (the Saptarshi): Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Vasishtha, and with them Vasishtha's wife Arundhati. The group of seven stars in the northern sky is also called the Saptarshi, and a small star beside Vasishtha's star is taken to be Arundhati.

The vrat is kept mainly by women, though anyone may remember the sages. It is common in many families in Maharashtra, Nepal, Gujarat and north India.

How the date is decided

Shastra (Dharmasindhu): Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami is Rishi Panchami, and it is taken as present at midday (madhyahna-vyapini): the day whose midday the Panchami covers. If the Panchami is at midday on both days, or on neither, the first day is taken.

Nirnaya Sindhu also calls it the midday Panchami, and records other teachers' views too, such as Divodasa's view that the Panchami joined to Shashthi is taken. Such differences are normal in the older texts. Our calendar follows Dharmasindhu's rule and decides the day once, for Ujjain.

The vrat in the text: the sages and food from unploughed land

Shastra (Dharmasindhu): on this Panchami, after worshipping the sages, one eats greens grown on land where no plough has gone.

This is the loveliest part of the vrat: for one day, a meal of what the earth gives by itself, as in the time before farming. Today many homes keep it this way (tradition): roots and tubers, wild greens, or vegetables that came up in the yard without tilling. In Maharashtra a special ‘rishi bhaji’ is cooked, and in Gujarat many families eat sama (a wild millet). The details differ by region and family; your own home's custom is the easiest path.

The story: tradition / folk story

Rishi Panchami's vrat stories are folk tradition. They usually tell of a Brahmin family, and some mention old rules about menstruation. We keep these stories as tradition.

One thing should be said plainly: menstruation is a natural process of the body; there is nothing in it to fear or be ashamed of. Today many families see this vrat as a day of respect for the sages' learning, of simplicity, and of gratitude to nature.

How families celebrate

Nepal: it is taken as the last day of the Teej festival; women bathe at a river or at home, in many places with twigs of apamarga (chirchita) used as a tooth-stick and for the bath, then worship the seven sages. Maharashtra: rishi bhaji, and many women avoid grain raised with bullock or plough that day. Gujarat: ‘Sama Pancham’, a meal of sama. North India: in many families women fast and do the Saptarshi puja and story.

Some families keep it for a number of years and then close it with an udyapan; that too is family custom, not a requirement.

A simple puja

1. A morning bath; a low stool at the shrine.
2. Seven small betel nuts, flowers or heaps of rice for the seven sages, and one for Arundhati.
3. A lamp, water, roli, rice and flowers; bow to each sage by name.
4. Hear or read the story; remember the sage of your own gotra.
5. Through the day, a simple meal of unploughed produce, or fruit.

No paid puja is needed. Saying the seven sages' names with devotion is the heart of the day.

Health and safety

Fasting and health: keep the fast as your health allows. With diabetes, blood pressure, pregnancy, breastfeeding, older age, if you are unwell, or on regular medicine, choose a lighter form (fruit, milk, or one simple meal), or ask your doctor first. Don't change medicine timings. For health, the doctor comes first; no vrat replaces that. A waterless fast is not needed; if you feel dizzy or weak, break the fast.

Eat wild greens or roots only if you know them well; don't eat leaves you can't identify, and wash and cook vegetables properly. Bhadrapada is the rainy season: if you bathe in a river, stay at the edge, away from strong currents, and keep an eye on children.

In ePandit

In ePandit: our calendar shows the festival day with your city's sunrise and sunset. The day is decided once, for Ujjain; your city's times are shown separately. We don't compute muhurta yet, and we never call a festival good or bad for anyone.

Frequently asked questions