Odia Calendar 2026: July Festivals, Rituals and Important Dates

July 2026 runs from Mithuna (Ashadha) 17 to Karkata (Shravana) 15 in the Odia calendar. Its big days are Nabajaubana Darshan (15 July), Rath Yatra (16 July) and Niladri Bije (27 July). Below is every important date of the month, with its rituals.

Odia months

Ashadha and Shravana

Sankranti

Karkata Sankranti, 17 July

Purnima

29 July

Amavasya

14 July

Important dates in July 2026

Rituals, date by date

5 July: Anasara Panchami

During their rest, the deities are treated with phuluri oil, scented with flowers and herbs, to heal them.

14 July: Netrotsava

The deities' eyes are painted again, the last step before they are seen in public. A day for offerings of water and sesame to the ancestors (tarpana); many families avoid starting new work.

15 July: Nabajaubana Darshan

After their rest, the deities are seen again, freshly painted: their "new youth".

Why it matters: Devotees' first sight of the deities in two weeks, the day before the chariots roll.

16 July: Rath Yatra

Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra ride three chariots from the temple to the Gundicha temple. Before the pulling, the Gajapati king sweeps the chariots with a golden broom (Chhera Pahanra), and then crowds pull the ropes.

Why it matters: The day the deities leave the temple and come out among everyone, whatever their caste or faith.

In Koraput: Koraput's Sabara Srikhetra holds its own Rath Yatra the same day. Here a tribal village head performs Chhera Pahanra, and in 2019 three chariots were built for the first time.

17 July: Karkata Sankranti

The Sun turns south (Dakshinayana). The Sun enters a new sign and a new Odia month begins; families bathe at dawn and pray to the Sun.

20 July: Hera Panchami

Lakshmi, left behind at the temple, goes to the Gundicha temple in a palanquin and, in anger, breaks a piece of Jagannath's chariot.

24 July: Bahuda Yatra

The chariots are pulled back from the Gundicha temple, stopping at the Mausi Maa temple, where Jagannath is offered poda pitha.

25 July: Suna Besha; Harishayana Ekadashi

The deities are dressed in gold on their chariots outside the temple, and lakhs come to see them. It is Harishayana Ekadashi, when Vishnu goes to sleep for four months (Chaturmasya). Families fast from rice and other grains, worship Vishnu, and break the fast after sunrise the next day.

26 July: Adhara Pana

Tall pots of a sweet drink of milk, chhena and spices are offered to the deities on the chariots, then broken for the spirits who follow them.

27 July: Niladri Bije

The deities return inside the temple; Jagannath offers rasagola to Lakshmi, still angry, before she lets him in.

Why it matters: The end of the festival, and Odisha's Rasagola Dibasa.

29 July: Guru Purnima

Students and disciples honour their teachers and gurus, on the birthday of Vyasa, who arranged the Vedas.

Koraput in July

July is the heart of the monsoon: Duduma is at its loudest and the hills are green. Sabara Srikhetra's Rath Yatra is the town's biggest day.

June 2026 · August 2026 · How the Odia calendar works, and every month

Dates from the Kohinoor Press Sankhyepa Panjika 2026, Cuttack.