Vishwakarma Puja 2027
17 September 2027

Vishwakarma Puja is kept for Vishwakarma, called the divine architect and craftsman of the gods, on the day the Sun enters sidereal Kanya. He is named in the Rigveda as the one who shapes and builds, and the Puranas describe him as the builder of Lanka, Dwarka and the weapons the gods carried into battle; tradition takes him as the first of all craftsmen, whose blessing a tool or a machine is given before it is put to work.

Factories, workshops, garages and small businesses clean their tools, machines and vehicles on this day and worship them, since it is their labour on these very things that earns a household’s living. Many workers take the day as a holiday, and in parts of eastern India, kites are flown through the afternoon as part of the day’s celebration.

• Image of Vishwakarma, if kept
• Haldi, kumkum and roli
• Akshat and a garland
• Flowers
• Diya and ghee
• Sweets and fruits for bhog

Source: The Rigveda and the Puranas, which describe Vishwakarma’s works

The Rigveda names Vishwakarma as the one who sees all things and shapes them, the architect from whom all crafted things take their form; later texts call him the gods’ own engineer.

The Puranas credit him with building Lanka for Kubera (later taken by Ravana), the city of Dwarka for Krishna, and the weapons and chariots the gods carried into their own battles, including Indra’s Vajra. Craftsmen and workers take him as the first of their own trade, whichever tools or machines it uses.

What to do

• Clean and oil machines before worshipping them, since the puja is also a chance to check that tools are in good working order for the year ahead.
• Let workers who tend the tools and machines through the year take part in the puja and the bhog, since the day honours their labour as much as the tools themselves.

What to avoid

• Heavy or risky work on machinery is usually put off for the day, since tools are kept idle rather than running, out of respect.

In West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, the day is widely kept in factories and small businesses, and kite flying through the afternoon is particularly associated with Bengal’s and Bihar’s Vishwakarma Puja.