Buddha Purnima festival

Home » Varanasi Fair & Festivals » Buddha Purnima festival

Buddhism is deeply embedded at Varanasi and Buddha Purnima comprises one of its most famous and important festivals. Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Buddha who was born on the Full Moon day in the month of Vaisakh in 563 BC. Several years later, Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment and nirvana (salvation) on the same Full Moon day. Thus, on one hand the occasion serves as the birth date of Lord Buddha and on the other the death anniversary of the former self-Gautam Buddha. It falls during the Hindu month of Vaisakh (April/May). Sarnath, the place where Buddha gave his first sermon witnesses holding of a large fair as the relics of the Buddha are taken out for public display in a procession.