Hera Panchami 2026
20 Jul, 2026
Monday
Hera Panchami 2026 on
(20-07-2026)
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Introduction to Hera Panchami (ହେରା ପଞ୍ଚାମି)
Hera means seeing and Panchami means fifth day. It is celebrated in the Gundicha temple on the fifth day from the date of commencement of the Rath Yatra. Hera Panchami is an important and unique ritual of Jagannath culture. Hera Panchami is an important and unique ritual of Jagannath culture in Jagannath temple Puri.
Significance & Story of Hera Panchami
Legend has it that to vent her anger on Lord Jagannath for being left behind, his consort Devi Mahalakshmi leaves for the Gundicha temple in a palanquin on the fifth day and asks Lord Jagannath to return soon. To please them, Bhagavan accepts them by offering them garlands of consent. However, the servants of Lord Jagannath, seeing the goddess angry, close the main gate of the Gundicha temple. Humiliated by this incident, Mahalakshmi returns to the main temple through the Nakachana gate. In a unique ritual, the goddess orders one of her servants to damage a part of Nandighosh's chariot. After some time, she secretly escapes to her home temple through a different route. Hera Panchami is a unique festival associated with the famous chariot festival of Puri.
Hera Panchami Celebrates in Jagannath Puri, Odisha
The temple of Lord Jagannath is known as Shri Mandir. "Shri" means Lakshmi, hence the name of the temple "Shri Mandir" reflects the fact that Goddess Mahalakshmi is the presiding deity of the grand temple. This ritual marks the separation of Mahalakshmi from Lord Jagannath. On the day of Ratha Utsav, Lord Jagannath leaves the temple and goes to Gundicha temple with his siblings for 9 days and his wife Mahalakshmi stays in the main temple.
Popular belief is that Lord Jagannath had promised his consort Goddess Mahalakshmi that he would return the next day. But Lord Jagannath does not come back the next day. Goddess Mahalakshmi waits and 5 days pass but Lord Jagannath does not return to the temple and there is no information about him. After waiting for 5 days, Goddess Mahalakshmi becomes impatient and anxious. Finally, she makes up her mind to meet Lord Jagannath at the Gundicha temple, where she currently lives with her brother and sister. At night, people participating in the procession of Goddess Mahalakshmi, the representative idol of Goddess Mahalakshmi, and servants sing the Hera Panchami song. Goddess Mahalakshmi's anger towards her husband is expressed in Hera Panchami song. After learning that Goddess Mahalakshmi is coming in anger to meet him, Lord Jagannath asks his servants to close the doors of the Gundicha temple quickly. It is said that the origin of this case is the sacred Hindu scripture Skanda Purana. So, this is all about Shri Jagannath is described in Skanda Purana.
When is Hera Panchami in 2026?
Hera Panchami falls on the date of 20 July, Monday 2026
