Rishi Panchami is observed on the fifth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (Badrapada Shukla Panchami), the day after Ganesh Chaturthi. It is dedicated to the seven sages, or Sapta Rishi, who are remembered and honored on this day.

The seven sages (Sapta Rishi) are Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadhvaja, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Vashishta.

In 2026, Rishi Panchami falls on Tuesday, September 15.

Once there lived a couple named Sumitra and Jayashri. The husband was a great scholar. Jayashri knowingly neglected the disciplines prescribed during her menstrual cycles and continued her normal activities regardless. Though a scholar, her husband never corrected her.

As a result of this, the husband was born an ox and the wife a prostitute in their next births. They had a son and daughter-in-law, Sumati and Chandrawali, and the ox and the prostitute lived in the backyard of their son’s house.

Because of merits earned in their past lives, the ox and the prostitute were aware of their earlier birth and would often discuss their fate. Chandrawali overheard this conversation and told her husband, Sumati.

Sumati felt for his parents’ fate and wanted to free them from the sin they carried. In consultation with a rishi, he and his wife performed the Rishi Panchami Vrat and earned great merit, which he passed on to benefit his parents. Sumitra and Jayashri were relieved of their sins as a result.

A second legend tells of a widowed daughter of a Brahmin couple whose body became infested with worms. She was advised to observe a fast on Rishi Panchami. After observing the fast, she was freed from the infestation.

1. Women observe a fast on this day.
2. A small square is drawn using haldi and kumkum.
3. An image of the Sapta Rishi is placed within the square.
4. Water and panchamrut are offered to the image.
5. Flowers, chandan, and haldi-kumkum are offered.
6. Prasad is offered, a lamp is lit, and dhoop is offered.
7. After the pooja is complete, prasad is distributed among devotees.

Regional customs: In parts of Rajasthan, sisters tie a sacred thread on their brothers’ wrists. Both pray for each other’s wellbeing and promise to protect one another from harm. In Maharashtra, a special curry called Rishi bhaji is prepared using a mix of vegetables and offered as prasad.

• Reverence for the Sapta Rishi: the day honors the seven sages remembered for their work toward the welfare of mankind and society.
• Relief from problems: women who observe the fast are believed to overcome the troubles they may be facing.
• Freedom from past-life sins: the fast is believed to grant relief from sins committed knowingly or unknowingly, including neglect of menstrual disciplines, as reflected in the legends above.

Rishi Panchami is referenced across multiple Puranic texts, the Skanda Purana, Padma Purana, and Bhavishya Purana are commonly cited as sources describing the significance of Rishi Panchami vrat.