Sheetala Ashtami 2028 (popular practice)

Sheetala Ashtami, Basoda, in 2028: the dark Aṣṭamī after Holī, by our stated rule for your city, with the Saptamī and Rajasthan days.

City

Phalguna (amanta) / Chaitra (purnimanta), Krishna Ashtami

Sheetala Ashtami in Delhi

Saturday, 18 March

Sheetala Ashtami is in 517 days. In Delhi the Aṣṭamī runs from Fri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30, so it holds only Saturday’s sunrise, and Sheetala Ashtami is kept on Saturday.

AṣṭamīFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30

Delhi time. Popular practice; no text read gives the day.

How the day is chosen

Sheetala Ashtami, popularly Basoda, is the worship of the goddess Śītalā on the dark Aṣṭamī after Holī. Popular practice; no text read gives the day.

Our rule: Sheetala Ashtami is the day whose sunrise falls in the dark Aṣṭamī after Holī. When no sunrise falls in it, it is the day on which the Aṣṭamī falls; when two sunrises do, it is the first of them.

In Delhi the Aṣṭamī runs from Fri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30, so it holds only Saturday’s sunrise, and Sheetala Ashtami is kept on Saturday.

The Saptamī runs from Thu 16 Mar, 16:12 to Fri 17 Mar, 16:26.

Also shown: Friday, 17 March, the Saptamī’s day, kept in some regions and families; popular practice.

Also shown: Friday, 17 March, for Rajasthan, where the worship moves off a Sunday, Tuesday or Saturday and the Aṣṭamī falls on a Saturday this year; popular practice.

What the texts and old descriptions say

A census report of the Jaipur State (1903) lists Sitla Ashtami among Jaipur’s festivals of March. Census Report, Jaipur State p. 356

The texts read keep their Śītalā vow on a different day: the Śītalā-saptamī of the dark fortnight of Śrāvaṇa, Bhādrapada in pūrṇimānta reckoning. The Vratarāja keeps it at midday and gives the goddess’s image from the Skanda-purāṇa: Śītalā on an ass, with a broom, a pot and a winnow. The Nirṇaya-sindhu, after Hemādri, takes the earlier day. Vratarāja f. 110; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 183; An Indian Ephemeris p. 61

Popular practice: the food cooked the day before (Randha Pua) and eaten cold, the worship at dawn, and the fair at Seel ki Doongri near Chaksu.

Sheetala Ashtami 2028 around the world

Each city’s own sunrise

Friday, 17 March

New York CityFri 17 Mar, 06:56 to Sat 18 Mar, 08:00
TorontoFri 17 Mar, 06:56 to Sat 18 Mar, 08:00

Saturday, 18 March

DelhiFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
JodhpurFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
IndoreFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
MumbaiFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
KolkataFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
ChennaiFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
BengaluruFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
HyderabadFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
AhmedabadFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
PuneFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
JaipurFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
LucknowFri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30
LondonFri 17 Mar, 10:56 to Sat 18 Mar, 12:00
SydneyFri 17 Mar, 21:56 to Sat 18 Mar, 23:00
DubaiFri 17 Mar, 14:56 to Sat 18 Mar, 16:00
SingaporeFri 17 Mar, 18:56 to Sat 18 Mar, 20:00

The Holī it follows: Holi 2028. Other years: Sheetala Ashtami 2027, Sheetala Ashtami 2029; all Sheetala Ashtami dates.

Questions

By our stated rule; popular practice throughout, with the texts cited only for their own Śītalā vow.

When is Sheetala Ashtami 2028?

In Delhi, Sheetala Ashtami 2028 falls on Saturday, 18 March 2028: the dark Aṣṭamī runs from Fri 17 Mar, 16:26 to Sat 18 Mar, 17:30, so it holds only Saturday’s sunrise, and Sheetala Ashtami is kept on Saturday. In New York City and Toronto, it is Friday, 17 March.

Is Basoda the same day?

Yes. Basoda is a popular name for Sheetala Ashtami, and this page gives the same day under both names.

Why do some keep it on the Saptami?

Some regions and families keep the worship on the dark Saptamī, by the same sunrise rule. In 2028 in Delhi the Saptamī runs from Thu 16 Mar, 16:12 to Fri 17 Mar, 16:26, so the Saptamī day is Friday, 17 March. It is popular practice, and no text read gives either day.

Why does Rajasthan move the day?

In Rajasthan the worship moves off a Sunday, Tuesday or Saturday to the nearest earlier day that is none of these; popular practice. In 2028 the Aṣṭamī day in Jaipur is a Saturday, so Rajasthan keeps Friday, 17 March.

Do the texts give this day?

No. The Nirṇaya-sindhu, the Dharmasindhu and the Vratarāja give no Śītalā day in the dark fortnight after Holī. Their Śītalā vow is the Śītalā-saptamī of Śrāvaṇa’s dark fortnight, a different day. Vratarāja f. 110

Why can the date differ by city?

The Aṣṭamī begins and ends at the same moment everywhere, but sunrise comes at a different hour in each city, so the sunrise that falls in it can change with the place. Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Lucknow and Indore keep the same day in every year from 2005 to 2035.

How the day is found

Read the methodology

Basis: Popular practice; no text read gives the day. The rule is ours, stated in full.
The day: The dark Aṣṭamī after Holī: Phālguna kṛṣṇa in amānta reckoning, Caitra kṛṣṇa in pūrṇimānta. The day whose sunrise falls in it; when none does, the day on which it falls; when two do, the first.
The Saptamī: The day whose sunrise falls in the Saptamī, shown as the day kept in some regions and families.
Rajasthan: When the Aṣṭamī day is a Sunday, Tuesday or Saturday, the nearest earlier day that is none of these, shown as Rajasthan’s day.
One ghaṭikā: When moving either end of the Aṣṭamī by one ghaṭikā (24 minutes) would change the day, the other day is shown too. No year from 2027 to 2035 has such a case.
Sunrise: At the centre of the Sun’s disc, with refraction, for the chosen city. Every date is that city’s own.

Sunrise and sunset at the centre of the Sun’s disc, with refraction · Lahiri ayanamsa for month names · each city’s own time · Swiss Ephemeris · Method