Guru Purnima 2019: Know the Date, Pooja Timings and Significance

New Delhi, July 14: Guru Purnima 2019, also known as Vyasa Purnima, is celebrated on full moon day or Purnima of the Shukla Paksh or the waxing moon in the Ashadha month of the Hindu calendar.

As the name denotes, the day is dedicated to gurus or teachers. On Guru Purnima, the students worship their gurus or teachers, by offering puja and paying respect to them.

Guru Purnima commemorates the birth anniversary of Ved Vyasa, the author and a character in the epic Mahabharata. The day is also believed to be the day when Gautam Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.

On this auspicious day, students pay respect to their favourite gurus by sending them wishes, messages and quotes.

Guru Purnima 2019: Date

The word 'Guru' is derived from Sanskrit and means 'remover of darkness'. The festival this year falls on July 16.

Guru Purnima 2019 Tithi:

The Guru Purnima Tithi will begin at 01:48 am on Tuesday, July 16, and will end at 03:07 am on July 17. Interestingly, July 17 will also the mark the partial Lunar Eclipse 2019 or Chandra Grahan 2019 in India.

History of Guru Purnima 2019

Buddhists celebrate Guru Purnima in honour of Lord Buddha, who gave his first sermon on this day. After five weeks of achieving enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, Buddha went from Bodhgaya to Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh where he gave the sermon on the full moon day.