Date Hindu Month & Tithi Paksha Day
29 July 2025 Shravana Shukla Panchami
(श्रावण शुक्ल पंचमी)
Tithi Time: 06:42 PM (29 July) – 05:33 PM (30 July) 		Shukla Paksha Tuesday

* Tithi timings follow lunar movement and may transition near midnight. This table reflects the current Hindu date in Indian Standard Time.

The Hindu calendar is one of the oldest and most fascinating time-keeping systems in the world. But with its different months, special days, and calculations based on the sun and moon, it can often seem very complex to a beginner. You may have wondered why the dates for festivals like Diwali and Holi change every year. It is because they follow the rhythm of this traditional calendar.
This simple guide is here to help. We are not going to dive into complicated astrology. Instead, we will break down the basics in an easy-to-understand way. We will explain the most important concepts and provide you with a clear list of the main Hindu festival dates for current month, helping you stay connected to these important cultural and spiritual events.

Hindu Calendar 2025

The Hindu Calendar, often called the Vikram Samvat calendar, is used to determine the dates of all major Hindu festivals and auspicious events. Because it is a lunisolar calendar based on the movements of both the moon and the sun, its year has a different length than the Gregorian calendar. This is why festival dates change every year.

A decorative calendar for July 2025, showing the Gregorian dates with the corresponding Hindu tithis for the months of Ashadha and Sravana.
A decorative calendar for August 2025, showing the Gregorian dates with the corresponding Hindu tithis for the months of Sravana and Bhadrapada.

Key Hindu Festivals in July 2025

Here is a list of the most important and widely celebrated Hindu festival dates for July 2025:

Festival Name Date Day
Guru Purnima 10 July 2025 Thursday
Karka Sankranti 16 July 2025 Wednesday
Shravana Amavasya 24 July 2025 Thursday
Hariyali Teej 29 July 2025 Tuesday
Nag Panchami 31 July 2025 Thursday

These are the key festivals for the current month. Explore the full Hindu Festivals 2025 month-wise table to discover all major Hindu celebrations with dates, Tithis, and weekdays.

How the Hindu Calendar Works?

Unlike the simple Gregorian calendar we use every day, the traditional Hindu calendar is “lunisolar.” This just means it keeps track of time using both the cycles of the Moon (for the dates) and the Sun (for the year and seasons). This is why it feels so connected to nature. The most important parts to understand are the lunar days (Tithis), the fortnights (Pakshas), and the months (Masas).

Tithi – The Lunar Day

The first thing to know is that a Hindu calendar date is called a Tithi. A tithi is not a 24-hour day like we are used to. It is a lunar day, which is the time it takes for the angle between the sun and the moon to change by 12 degrees. Because of this, a tithi can sometimes be slightly shorter or longer than a regular day. Every lunar month has 30 tithis.

Paksha – The Moon’s Two Fortnights

Those 30 tithis are split into two halves, each lasting about 15 days. Each half is called a Paksha. Think of it as the moon’s journey from dark to light and back again.

Krishna Paksha (The Dark Fortnight): This is the period of the waning moon, when it shrinks from a full moon back to a new moon.

Shukla Paksha (The Bright Fortnight): This is the period of the waxing moon, when it grows from a new moon (Amavasya) to a full moon (Purnima). This is generally considered an auspicious time.

Masa – The Lunar Month

A “Masa” is the name for a lunar month. The year is made up of 12 of these months, each with a beautiful, traditional name.

The 12 Months of the Hindu Calendar

Sr.# Hindu Month Name (Masa) Hindi Name Approx. Gregorian Months
1. Chaitra चैत्र March – April
2. Vaishakha वैशाख April – May
3. Jyeshtha ज्येष्ठ May – June
4. Ashadha आषाढ़ June – July
5. Shravana श्रावण July – August
6. Bhadrapada भाद्रपद August – September
7. Ashvina आश्विन September – October
8. Kartika कार्तिक October – November
9. Margashirsha मार्गशीर्ष November – December
10. Pausha पौष December – January
11. Magha माघ January – February
12. Phalguna फाल्गुन February – March

What is the Panchang?

You may have heard the word Panchang. The traditional Hindu calendar is technically called a Panchang. The word literally means “Five Limbs” (Panch = Five, Ang = Limbs). This is because for any given day, it tracks five key pieces of information:

  1. Vara: The weekday (Sunday, Monday, etc.)
  2. Tithi: The lunar day (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
  3. Nakshatra: The star constellation the moon is aligned with.
  4. Yoga: A special calculation of time considered lucky or unlucky.
  5. Karana: Half of a tithi.

While this seems very complicated, you do not need to know all of these details to follow the calendar. For most people, knowing the Tithi is the most important part, as this is what determines the date of all the major festivals.

Practical Tips for Using the Hindu Calendar

Beyond just knowing the festival dates, you can use the Hindu calendar and Panchang in many practical ways. For many families, it is a guide for daily life. People often consult the calendar to find auspicious days (known as ‘muhurat’) for starting important life events, such as a new business, building a home, or even setting a wedding date. By understanding the rhythm of the tithis, you can also follow specific fasting days that are important to your family’s traditions and connect with the spiritual energy of days like Purnima and Amavasya.

How the Hindu Calendar Connects Communities

The Hindu calendar is more than just a system for tracking time; it is a powerful thread that connects communities together. When millions of people across India and the world all celebrate Holi on the same Purnima, or light their lamps for Diwali on the same Amavasya, it creates a massive shared experience. This collective celebration strengthens family bonds and community ties. It ensures that no matter where you are in the world, you can look at the calendar and feel connected to your heritage and to others who are celebrating the same traditions at the same time.

Conclusion

The Hindu calendar may seem complex at first, but it is a beautiful and ancient system deeply connected to the natural cycles of the sun and moon. It is what gives the year its spiritual rhythm, from the joyful colors of Holi to the warm lights of Diwali. We hope this simple guide helps you feel more connected to these timeless traditions and makes it easy for you and your family to plan for all the special festival days of 2025.

FAQs

Ans: The most commonly used Hindu calendar year is the Vikram Samvat. To find the current Vikram Samvat year, you simply add 57 years to the Gregorian year. So, the year 2025 corresponds to the Vikram Samvat year 2082.

Ans: The dates change because they are based on the lunar calendar (tithis). A lunar year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year (the one we use every day). This difference causes the dates of Hindu festivals to shift on the English calendar each year.

Ans: These are two different ways of calculating the lunar month. In the Amanta system (common in Southern India), the month ends on the new moon (Amavasya). In the Purnimanta system (common in Northern India), the month ends on the full moon (Purnima). The festivals are the same, but the start and end dates of the months can differ.

Ans: Both are popular Hindu calendar systems. The main difference is their starting year and when the new year begins. The Vikram Samvat, which is more common in Northern India, is about 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar and its new year is in the month of Chaitra. The Shaka Samvat, the official civil calendar of India, is 78 years behind the Gregorian calendar.

Ans: Because the lunar year (based on the moon) is about 11 days shorter than the solar year (based on the sun), the dates of festivals would drift out of their seasons over time. To fix this, the Hindu lunisolar calendar adds an extra month, called “Adhik Maas,” approximately every three years. This clever adjustment realigns the calendar with the seasons, ensuring that festivals like Diwali always fall in the autumn and Holi always falls in the spring.

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