Ratha Saptami 2027
13 February 2027

Ratha Saptami is Magh Shukla Saptami, kept as Surya’s own day: tradition holds it the day the Sun set out on his chariot behind the seven horses read as the seven colours of light or the seven days of the week, which is why many homes draw a small chariot and seven horses in rangoli at the doorstep before sunrise.

Families bathe before sunrise with seven leaves of arka, or another leaf their custom uses, placed on the head and shoulders while the Sun’s names are recited, before offering arghya to the rising Surya. In several temples, above all the Sun shrines of the south and east, the day is kept with a grand procession of the deity’s chariot, drawing large crowds.

• Arka (or erukku) leaves
• Rangoli materials for the chariot
• Rice and jaggery for kheer
• Red flowers
• Lota of water for arghya
• Til and akshat

What to do

• Try to be up and bathing before sunrise, since the day’s whole puja is built around greeting the Sun as he rises.
• If a temple procession passes near you, take children to see it; the chariot and its crowd are as much a part of the day as the home puja.
• Share the kheer or payasam offered to Surya with neighbours, as many households do on this day.

What to avoid

• Avoid skipping the morning bath for a later one; the arka leaves and the arghya are both kept for the hours just before and at sunrise.
• Many families keep the meal light through the day, built around the kheer offered to Surya rather than anything heavy or oily.

Ratha Saptami is kept with particular grandeur at Sun temples in Andhra Pradesh, such as Arasavalli, and at Konark in Odisha, where the day draws large processions and crowds; in many other homes across the country it passes as a quieter morning puja to Surya.

The day is read by the Saptami running at sunrise, so its date can differ by a day between cities and countries when the tithi changes close to that hour.