FestivalBhadrapada Shukla Ashtami

Radha Ashtami 2027

राधा अष्टमी

Radha Ashtami, fifteen days after Janmashtami, celebrates the appearance of Radha, Krishna's beloved, with fasting, midday abhishek and festivities in Barsana.

Next: Wednesday, 8 September 2027

Quick answer

Radha Ashtami 2027 falls on Wednesday, 8 September 2027 (Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami). In 2026 it fell on Saturday, 19 September 2026.

Dates follow the Delhi panchang and can shift by a day in your region, so confirm the muhurat with a local panchang.

Radha Ashtami 2027 falls on Wednesday, 8 September, fifteen days after Krishna Janmashtami. Held on the eighth day of the bright half of Bhadrapada, it celebrates the appearance of Radha, the beloved of Krishna and, in Vaishnava devotion, the highest expression of love for God. Her birthplace, Barsana, and the temples of Vrindavan and Mathura hold their biggest celebrations of the year, and devotees around the world, including ISKCON communities, keep a fast.

Radha Ashtami 2027 date

Radha Ashtami 2027 is on Wednesday, 8 September 2027 (Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami). In 2026 it fell on Saturday, 19 September. The main puja is held at midday, the hour tradition gives for Radha’s appearance; check a local panchang.

The story of Radha

Tradition holds that Radha was born in Rawal near Barsana to King Vrishabhanu and Queen Kirti; one popular account says Vrishabhanu found her on a lotus in a pond. Another tradition says she kept her eyes closed until Krishna first came before her. Radha is not named in the Bhagavata Purana, which speaks of an unnamed favourite gopi; she is celebrated by name in the Brahma Vaivarta and Padma Puranas and in Jayadeva’s twelfth-century Gita Govinda, and the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition honours her as Krishna’s hladini shakti, his energy of divine joy. In Vrindavan the greeting “Radhe Radhe” is heard everywhere, because devotees believe Krishna is reached through Radha.

How Radha Ashtami is observed

Fast: many devotees fast until noon, some for the whole day.
Abhishek: at midday the images of Radha are bathed with panchamrit and dressed in new clothes and flowers.
Barsana: the Shriji temple on Bhanugarh hill holds its grandest festival, with crowds singing through the town.
Charan darshan: at the Radha Raman and Banke Bihari traditions of Vrindavan, Radha’s feet, usually covered, are shown to devotees on this day.
Kirtan: singing of the Radha Gayatri, bhajans and the names “Radhe Krishna”.

The meaning of Radha Ashtami

Radha Ashtami honours love without condition. In devotional tradition, Radha’s longing for Krishna is the model of the soul’s longing for God. See every festival on the Hindu festival calendar.