Most people want to know: what is the date of Kajri Teej in 2026? Kajri Teej in 2026 is observed on Monday, August 31, on the Krishna Paksha Tritiya of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. The third tithi begins on 30 August at 9:36 AM and ends on 31 August at 8:50 AM. Since the observance is done on the basis of the tithi of sunrise (udaya), the vrat is kept on 31 August. This vrat is observed by married women for their husbands’ long life and by unmarried women for getting a better life partner. The vrat is broken by offering arghya to the moon.
Here is the quick answer. Now we will take you through an elaborative explanation of Kajri Teej, the reason for the celebration, the legend behind it, the methodology of worshipping, and the analysis behind the vrat, all the way from North India.
What Is Kajri Teej? Meaning and Overview
Kajri Teej fast is observed by married women on the third day of the Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha for Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati’s blessings for a happy married life. Kajli Teej, Satudi Teej, Badi Teej, and Kajali Teej are other names for the same Teej Vrat.
The name Kajri is not linked to any ritual. It comes from the Kajri Songs. Kajri songs are sung by the women of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and the Bhojpuri region during the rainy season. There is longing (viraha) in these songs, which is the wife’s separation from her husband during the rainy season while her husband goes for work. In earlier days, with the beginning of monsoon, men used to go for trade or labor, and women used to sing Kajri songs and perform Teej during the day. Slowly both merged and the fast came to be known as Kajri Teej.
Kajri Teej is celebrated with a lot of excitement in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, which calls it Badi Teej, in contrast to Hariyali Teej which is Chhoti Teej. Hariyali Teej has a lot of festivity around it, Kajri Teej festival has a lot of austerity around it, with a stricter fast and an evening ritual focused on the moon.
Kajri Teej 2026 Date – When Is It This Year?
Kajri Teej 2026 falls on Monday, 31 August 2026. According to the Hindu Panchang, Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya begins on 30 August 2026 at 9:36 AM and ends on 31 August 2026 at 8:50 AM. Since the vrat follows the udaya tithi (the tithi prevailing at sunrise), the fast is observed on 31 August.
| Detail | Date / Time |
| Kajri Teej 2026 | Monday, 31 August 2026 |
| Tritiya Tithi begins | 30 August 2026, 9:36 AM |
| Tritiya Tithi ends | 31 August 2026, 8:50 AM |
| Puja timing | Evening, after moonrise |
| Fast breaks | After offering arghya to the moon |
| Also known as | Badi Teej, Satudi Teej, Kajli Teej, Bundi Teej |
| Coincides with | Bahula Chaturthi |
A few things worth noting about the timing this year:
- Kajri Teej 2026 falls on a Monday, a day traditionally associated with Lord Shiva -many devotees consider this an especially auspicious alignment for a vrat centered on Shiva-Parvati worship.
- The date lands three days after Raksha Bandhan (28 August 2026) and roughly five days before Krishna Janmashtami, so it sits in the middle of a dense festival stretch on the Hindu calendar.
- It also coincides with Bahula Chaturthi, which is why cow worship is included in some regional versions of the day’s rituals.
Why Is Kajri Teej Celebrated?
Kajri Teej is celebrated to honor the union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and to seek their blessings for a happy, secure married life. Married women fast for their husband’s health and longevity; unmarried women fast in hopes of securing a good life partner.
The festival’s roots run deeper than a single legend, though. Two layers sit side by side:
- The devotional layer – Parvati’s penance to win Shiva as her husband, which frames the vrat as a symbol of devotion, patience, and marital commitment.
- The folk layer – the Kajri song tradition of the Bhojpuri and Awadhi regions, born from women’s longing during the monsoon separation from their husbands, which gave the festival both its name and its emotional character.
This is part of why Kajri Teej feels distinct from other Teej festivals: it’s not purely mythological in origin. It’s a genuine blend of scripture-rooted devotion and lived agrarian folk culture – which is also why it carries such strong regional flavor in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, each adding its own rituals on top of the shared core.
The Story Behind Kajri Teej (Vrat Katha)
The Kajri Teej vrat katha centers around the long penance of Goddess Parvati to marry Lord Shiva, and the katha must be completed before the fast is broken.
According to the katha, Goddess Parvati took years of penance in the form of tapasya (devotion) by staying in the mountains and forests to worship Shiva Ji. Due to her tapasya, she stayed in a state of fasting and reduced calorie intake and withstood the challenges of weathers. Shiva Ji ultimately granted her a marriage. Due to her example, married women keep the Kajri Teej vrat to be rewarded with the same level of commitment and patience as Goddess Parvati.
The second and regional part of the katha is from Kajali, a very thick forest that was once under the rule of King Dadurai. The people of this kingdom made songs in praise of the Kajali forest. After the demise of the king, the queen Nagamati performed sati, and the people sang songs which focused on sadness and anticipation. Longing songs were created by the people, and these songs were the basis of the Kajri songs during the monsoon. This regional legend focuses on the explanation for the name Kajri and is overlooked but is a part of the festival history.
In both versions of the katha that are recited, participants believe the ritual cannot be completed without the recitation of the katha, so it is left incomplete and unfulfilled.
Which God and Goddess Are Worshipped on Kajri Teej?
Kajri Teej worship centers on Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, worshipped together as the ideal of marital devotion. In several regions of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar, women also worship Neemdi Mata – a form of Parvati symbolically represented through a neem branch – alongside the primary deities.
The sequence typically followed during evening puja is:
- Shiva and Parvati idols or images are worshipped first with roli, akshat (rice), flowers, and a lit diya.
- Neemdi Mata is worshipped separately, usually near a small clay enclosure filled with water and milk, with a neem branch placed in it to represent her presence.
- The moon is worshipped last, once it rises, marking the close of the day’s fast.
This layered worship – Shiva-Parvati, then Neemdi Mata, then Chandra (moon) – is one of the details that separates Kajri Teej’s puja vidhi from a simple Shiva-Parvati puja and gives the festival its distinct ritual identity.
Who Celebrates Kajri Teej – And Who Can Keep the Fast?
Kajri Teej is primarily observed by married Hindu women, though unmarried women also keep the fast – married women pray for their husband’s longevity, while unmarried women pray for a suitable life partner. The festival is most widely celebrated in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
There’s no exclusion by marital status here, which is a common point of confusion:
- Married women (suhagan) keep the Kajri Teej vrat for their husband’s health, long life, and a harmonious married life.
- Unmarried women keep the same fast with the intention of being blessed with a good husband – this is explicitly part of the tradition, not a modern addition.
- Pregnant women, nursing mothers, elderly women, and those managing diabetes or blood pressure are traditionally advised to modify the fast to a phalahar (fruit-based) version rather than the strict nirjala fast, since the day-long water-free fast can pose real health risks for these groups.
In short: Kajri Teej isn’t reserved for any one group of women – it’s an open vrat, with flexibility built in for health circumstances, which many quick festival summaries tend to leave out.
Kajri Teej Fasting Rules – Is It a Nirjala Vrat?
Yes, Kajri Teej is traditionally observed as a nirjala vrat – a fast without food or water – from sunrise until the moon is worshipped that night. This makes it one of the stricter Teej fasts, closer in intensity to Hartalika Teej than to the more festive Hariyali Teej.
The core fasting rules:
- The vrat begins with a sankalp (formal vow) taken after an early morning bath, usually while wearing fresh or new clothing.
- No food or water is consumed through the day – this is what makes it nirjala rather than phalahar (fruit-permitted).
- The fast is broken only in the evening, after moonrise, by offering arghya (a water and milk offering) to the moon.
- After the moon arghya, women traditionally accept water from their husband’s hands, or follow their family’s customary practice, before eating.
- The fast is broken specifically with sattu (roasted gram flour) and fruit – not with a full meal immediately.
Because a full day without water is physically demanding, tradition itself makes room for exceptions: pregnant women, nursing mothers, elderly women, and those with medical conditions like diabetes or hypertension are advised to keep a phalahar (fruits-and-liquids-permitted) version instead of the strict nirjala fast. This isn’t a modern relaxation – it’s a long-standing part of how the vrat has always been practiced across households.
What to Eat on Kajri Teej
Kajri Teej is traditionally broken with sattu – roasted gram flour mixed with ghee and sugar, shaped into a ladoo or pind – eaten alongside fruit after the moon arghya.
This is exactly why the festival carries the alternate name Satudi Teej in some regions: sattu isn’t just an incidental snack, it’s the ritual food of the day. In many families, this sattu is sent from the woman’s maternal home (maayka) as part of the festival’s customs, similar to how certain foods are exchanged during other North Indian vrat festivals.
Beyond the sattu tradition, common foods associated with Kajri Teej include:
- Sattu ladoo – the primary ritual food, made with roasted gram flour, ghee, and sugar
- Seasonal fruits – offered to the deities and eaten to break the fast
- Cucumber and lemon – often included among the offerings placed before Neemdi Mata
- Ghee-roti for cows – since the day coincides with Bahula Chaturthi, feeding cows ghee-smeared rotis is common in several households
The emphasis throughout is on simple, unprocessed, easily digestible food – appropriate for a body that’s just come off a full day of nirjala fasting.
Kajri Teej Rituals – Puja Vidhi and Traditions
The Kajri Teej puja vidhi follows a fixed evening sequence: bathing and sankalp in the morning, a day-long fast, evening worship of Neemdi Mata and Shiva-Parvati, listening to the vrat katha, and finally breaking the fast after offering arghya to the moon.
Here’s the full sequence as it’s traditionally followed:
- Bath and sankalp – Women bathe early in the morning, wear clean or new clothes, and take a formal vow to observe the nirjala fast for the day.
- Setting up Neemdi Mata – In the courtyard, a small clay enclosure resembling a pond is made, filled with water and milk, and a neem branch is placed in it to represent Neemdi Mata.
- Puja samagri – Roli, akshat (rice), flowers, mehendi, kajal, bangles, sindoor, fruit, sattu ladoo, lemon, cucumber, and a diya are the typical offerings used during the evening puja.
- Sattu tradition – Roasted gram flour is mixed with ghee and sugar and shaped into a pind or ladoo, both offered in puja and eaten later to break the fast.
- Cow worship – Since the day coincides with Bahula Chaturthi, feeding a cow ghee-smeared roti is a common addition to the day’s rituals.
- Vrat katha – The Kajri Teej story is recited or heard in the evening; the vrat is considered incomplete without it.
- Chandra arghya – After moonrise, water and milk are offered to the moon.
- Parana (breaking the fast) – Water is typically accepted from the husband’s hands first, followed by sattu and fruit, according to family tradition.
Why Is Neem Worshipped on Kajri Teej?
A neem branch is worshipped as Neemdi Mata on Kajri Teej because neem symbolizes coolness, protection, and good health in folk tradition – qualities considered especially important during the monsoon, when illness spreads more easily. Women light a diya near the neem branch and pray for their family’s health and protection, which is why this ritual sits alongside – not instead of – the main Shiva-Parvati worship.
Why Do Women Wear Green on Kajri Teej?
Green is worn on Kajri Teej, as on other Teej festivals, because it represents the monsoon season itself – new growth, fertility, and the lushness of Sawan-Bhadrapada. Green bangles, green sarees, and mehendi (which leaves a dark green-brown stain) are all part of this symbolism, tying the festival visually to the rainy season it belongs to.
Kajri Teej vs Hariyali Teej vs Hartalika Teej – What’s the Difference?
Kajri Teej, Hariyali Teej, and Hartalika Teej are three separate Teej fasts observed at different points in the Sawan-Bhadrapada period, each with its own intensity and character – Hariyali Teej is festive and comes with a lighter fast, Kajri Teej is a stricter nirjala fast broken at moonrise, and Hartalika Teej is the most rigorous of the three.
| Festival | 2026 Date | Paksha & Month | Character |
| Hariyali Teej (Chhoti Teej) | 15 August 2026 | Shravan Shukla Tritiya | Festive – swings, mehendi, folk songs; lighter fast |
| Kajri Teej (Badi Teej) | 31 August 2026 | Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya | Nirjala vrat, broken with moon arghya |
| Hartalika Teej | 14 September 2026 | Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya | Most austere — strict nirjala fast, considered the hardest of the three |
The naming itself is a useful memory aid: Hariyali Teej is called Chhoti Teej (smaller Teej) because its fast is comparatively lighter and its mood more celebratory, while Kajri Teej is called Badi Teej (bigger Teej) because of its stricter nirjala observance and the more solemn, night-anchored ritual of moon worship. Hartalika Teej, arriving about two weeks after Kajri Teej, is widely regarded as the toughest of the three – often kept without even a drop of water and, in some traditions, without sleep the night before.
Practically, this means a woman who observes all three Teej fasts moves through a rising scale of austerity across roughly one month – from Hariyali Teej’s festive tone in mid-August to Hartalika Teej’s rigor in mid-September, with Kajri Teej as the more demanding midpoint.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kajri Navami?
–Kajri Navami falls nine days after Kajri Teej, on the Navami tithi of Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha. It’s a related but separate observance, often marked with continued singing of Kajri folk songs and, in some regions, additional worship of Lord Krishna.
Is Kajri Teej the same as Kajali Teej mela in Bundi?
-No, it is not. The fast observed at home is a personal affair. Large public processions occur during the Kajali Teej celebrations in Bundi, Rajasthan. A temple idol of Teej Mata (Parvati) is carried through the old Bundi Town, along with folk dances and musicians, and animal-mounted performers and dancers. It is larger than the Teej Sawari procession in Jaipur, yet smaller and more organized than Teej Sawaari in Jaipur.
Can the Kajri Teej fast be kept without water for health reasons?
-Traditionally it’s a nirjala fast, but a phalahar (fruit- and liquid-permitted) version is an accepted alternative for pregnant women, nursing mothers, elderly women, and those managing conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure.
What is the difference between Kajri Teej and Kajari Navami?
-The Kajri Teej fast is observed on the third day of the month, and another fast called the Kajri Teej Navami is observed on the ninth day, some time after the first fast. The Kajri Teej Navami is associated with the Kajri Song tradition in the regions where it is observed.
Conclusion
The date of Kajri Teej, which falls on Monday, 31 August, is more than a date. This is a day people wait to celebrate through scripture-based worship of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati alongside the folk tradition of monsoon. Joshi, 2021. Through the numerous worship practices- be it the Nirjala fast, worship of Neemdi Mata, the Sattu worship and practice, and the Bundi Kajali Teej Procession, one can trace the history and tradition of worship in temples and the agriculture lifestyle in North India. For those observing this fast, ensure you stay safe, and if time permits, a plethora of vrat Kathas are available. One is recommended to listen to at least one to know why this fast is considered non-negotiable.
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