Poson Poya · Mihindu Maha Poya Festival 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.
The name
The same day, written in each of the six scripts this app keeps
- English
- Poson Poya · Mihindu Maha Poya
- සිංහල
- පොසොන් පොහොය
Only the names actually in use are listed. A blank script is not an omission: the day may simply not be kept there, or be kept under a different festival's name.
UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place: 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
Looking for the calendar this day belongs to
This day does not fall again in the next three years at this place. A few days are tied to the solar month rather than to the civil year, so a year can hold two of them or none.
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.
The hour
The rule in words
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 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.
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.
Fixing a day for it
The muhurtham rules that go with this festival
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. 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.