Magadh · Middle & Lower Gangetic Plain
Festivals
| Festival | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Pitru Paksha Mela | The dark fortnight of Ashwin (September–October), seventeen days | Pilgrims come from every part of India, and from the diaspora, to perform pind daan for their ancestors at Gaya's fifty-odd ritual sites. It is among the largest ancestor-rite gatherings in the world, and the Gayawal priestly families have organised it for centuries by region of origin. |
| Chhath | Kartik (October–November) and Chaitra (March–April) | Four days of fasting and offerings to the sun, standing in water at dawn and dusk. The Deo sun temple in Aurangabad and the Patna Ganga ghats hold the region's largest gatherings. |
| Buddha Purnima | Vaishakh (April–May) | Marks the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death on one day. Bodh Gaya holds an all-night observance and the monasteries process together. |
| Rajgir Malmas Mela | The intercalary month, every third year, for a month | Held in the extra lunar month, when the deities of all pilgrimage places are said to reside at Rajgir. A month-long fair around the hot springs, attended by lakhs. |
| Mahavir Jayanti at Pawapuri | Chaitra (March–April), and Diwali for the nirvana observance | Jains observe Mahavira's birth in spring, and his death at Pawapuri on the Diwali night — the origin of the festival's Jain meaning. |
| Urs of Makhdum Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri | Shawwal, lunar | Five days at Bihar Sharif's Bari Dargah, with qawwali, langar and a fair. |
| Rajgir Mahotsav | Winter | A state dance and music festival in the natural amphitheatre of the Rajgir hills. |
| Makar Sankranti | 14 or 15 January | Dahi-chura, tilkut and til-gur eaten across the region, with fairs at the river ghats and kite flying at Patna. |
The festival calendar of Magadh — what is celebrated, when it falls and what happens. (8)