Gita Jayanti Puja Vidhi · गीता जयंती पूजा विधि

How Gita Jayanti is kept on Mokshada Ekadashi: the fast, worship of Krishna and Vishnu, and reading the Bhagavad Gita, as the published guides describe it.

How the puja is done

When

Gita Jayanti falls on Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi, the same day as Mokshada Ekadashi; see the Mokshada Ekadashi page for the date.

The fast

Many keep the Ekadashi fast, eating only simple, sattvic food or fasting fully, and break it the next morning after the puja.

The puja

Bathe early and worship Krishna, or Lakshmi-Narayana, with dhoop, a lamp and naivedya.
Place a copy of the Bhagavad Gita beside the image and worship it with flowers.

Reading the Gita

Read the Bhagavad Gita, the whole text or a chapter, alone or with the family. Many begin with the Gita Dhyanam, the verses traditionally recited before reading the Gita.
The Vishnu Sahasranamam is also recited on this day.

Through the day

Remember Krishna's teaching to Arjuna, and many keep vigil at night with bhajans.

These steps are written in our own words; each appears in at least two of the published sources linked below, and steps found in only one source are left out. Puja customs differ by family, region and tradition; your family priest or family custom comes first.

About this text

Gita Jayanti marks the day Krishna is said to have taught the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It falls on Mokshada Ekadashi, "the Ekadashi that grants liberation", so the day joins the Ekadashi fast with the reading of the Gita. This page gives the observance as the published guides listed below describe it. Customs differ by region and community: follow your family's way where it differs.