Festival Buddha, Mahinda Thera
Poson Poya · Mihindu Maha Poya
The Poson full moon, held to be the day Mahinda Thera, the son of Ashoka, met King Devanampiya Tissa on the rock at Mihintale in the third century before the Common Era, asked him the riddle of the mangoes to find whether he could follow an argument, and so brought the Dhamma to the island.
Poson Poya · Mihindu Maha Poya 2027 falls on Friday, 18 June, computed for Chennai.
Latitude, longitude and time zone 13.08, 80.27
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place.
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A tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Sri Lanka calendar, computed for Chennai
- Friday, 18 June 2027
- Tuesday, 6 June 2028
- Monday, 25 June 2029
Where Poson Poya · Mihindu Maha Poya falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2027: 18 Jun
- 2028: 6 Jun, 11 days earlier
- 2029: 25 Jun, 18 days later
The dates, year by year
Sri Lanka calendar, computed for Chennai
What the day is
The Poson full moon, held to be the day Mahinda Thera, the son of Ashoka, met King Devanampiya Tissa on the rock at Mihintale in the third century before the Common Era, asked him the riddle of the mangoes to find whether he could follow an argument, and so brought the Dhamma to the island. It is the second great Buddhist day of the Sri Lankan year after Vesak. Pilgrims in white climb the steps at Mihintale and fill Anuradhapura, and dansal and lanterns go up as at Vesak, more soberly.
- Deity
- Buddha, Mahinda Thera
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
Significance
Poson remembers how the teaching came to the island not by conquest but by conversation: an elder monk, a king out hunting, and a question about mango trees that the king was clever enough to answer. Families keep it as the island's own day, the beginning of a Buddhist Sri Lanka, and the climb at Mihintale is made by grandparents and grandchildren together. The discourse Mahinda is said to have preached to the king that day, the Culla Hatthipadopama Sutta, is often the bana heard in the evening. For many households Poson is the gentler and more reflective of the two great full moons, kept more by walking and listening than by lights.
How it is kept
The puja as a household does it, in order. Tick each step as it is done.
Poson Poya · Mihindu Maha Poya: how it is kept
Keep ready
- white clothes
- flowers
- a lamp with oil and wick
- incense
- water for the Bodhi tree
- sturdy sandals and water for the climb
- clay pahan
The steps
0 of 8 done
What is cooked
The Poson dansal line the roads to Anuradhapura and Mihintale: rice and curry, kadala, kola kenda, ginger tea and cool drinks for the pilgrims. At home kiribath is made in the morning, and those on sil keep to the one meal before noon.
The hour
Clock times for Friday, 18 June 2027 at Chennai
The civil day the Poson full moon falls on by the local clock; sil is taken at dawn and the climb at Mihintale goes on through the day and the night.
The main rite. The Poson full moon by the local clock. The precepts are taken at dawn; the climb at Mihintale goes on through the day and the night, and the lanterns are lit at dusk.
This day's rule names no hour of its own: it is fixed by the tithi or the nakshatra running at sunrise. The rule above is the whole of it, and the day's own times are below.
The day itself
| What | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi | Shukla Pournami from 04:35 until next day 06:14 | then Krishna Prathamai until 2 days later, 08:16 |
| Nakshatra | Jyeshtha until 23:41 | then Mula until 2 days later, 02:13 |
| Rahu kaal | 10:33 to 12:10 (1 h 37 min) | the eighth of the daylight left alone for a beginning |
| Yamaganda | 15:23 to 17:00 (1 h 37 min) | the eighth ruled by Yama, also avoided |
| Gulika | 07:20 to 08:57 (1 h 37 min) | the eighth of Saturn’s son; what is done in it is said to repeat |
| Abhijit | 11:44 to 12:36 (0 h 52 min) | the midday muhurta, good for most things |
| Moonrise | 18:12 | moonset next day 05:41 |
For Friday, 18 June 2027 at Chennai. A time marked "previous day" or "next day" is on the clock of that day.
The fast
Those who take sil keep the eight precepts, with nothing solid after midday. Others keep the day meatless and go to the temple in white.
What is avoided
No meat, fish or liquor is sold or served, and nothing is killed; the shops for them are closed across the island. Those on sil eat nothing solid after noon. At Mihintale the sacred ground is walked barefoot and in silence, and nothing is picnicked on the rock.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
Where the regions differ
Mihintale and Anuradhapura are the centre and the whole island keeps the Poya as a public holiday. In a year with an intercalated month the almanac holds an Adhi Poson Poya as well, so the name comes round twice.
In other regions
- Sri Lanka (the dates above)
- Sri Lanka alone keeps Poson as a great festival; Mihintale and Anuradhapura are its centre, with a Poson perahera at Anuradhapura, and the whole island keeps the Poya holiday.
The dates above are the Sri Lanka reckoning, because that is the calendar this key belongs to. Switch the tradition on the calendar page to see how another one dates the same day.
Greeting
What is said to family and friends on the day
සුබ පොසොන් මංගල්යයක් වේවාSuba Poson mangalyayak vēvā
Mantras
The prayers said with the day. Each opens with its words and meaning.
A name without a link is a long reading, read in full from the family’s own copy or at the place of worship; the library prints the shorter prayers.
Fixing a day for it
The muhurtham rules for a puja held alongside, whose day the family chooses
Poson Poya · Mihindu Maha Poya's own date is set by the rule in "The hour" above, and no muhurtham moves it. For a temple visit around it, whose day the family does choose, the finder below applies these rules.
A temple visit, or the first darshan at a new temple. No weekday is ruled out: Tuesday belongs to Murugan and the Amman, Saturday to Perumal and Sani, so the day usually follows the deity rather than the almanac. Ashtami and Chaturdasi are the two tithis held back for darshan, with the standing exceptions of Sivaratri on Krishna Chaturdasi and Kala Bhairava Ashtami, which are kept on those very days. Rahu kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika kaal are not scored here; the panchangam page prints them for the day you pick, and most families simply wait them out.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it.
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A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.