Sacred calendar · The ashram’s days
Ramana Jayanti & Aradhana: the two great days
Two days belong above all to Ramana ~ the day of his coming and the day of his leaving. Jayanti, his birth, and Aradhana, his mahasamadhi, kept not with grief but with overflowing devotion, for the sage who said ‘where could I go? I am here.’
The short version
- Jayanti
- Ramana’s birthday ~ kept on his birth-star (Punarvasu, in Margazhi/Dec–Jan).
- Aradhana
- The anniversary of his mahasamadhi (14 April 1950) ~ kept by the star, around April.
- The feeling
- Not grief but reverent celebration ~ ‘where could I go? I am here.’
- Also kept
- His mother’s Aradhana, Advent Day (1 Sep 1896), Lakshmi’s day, Deepam, Pournami.
← Part of Who Was Ramana Maharshi
Two days in the year belong, above all others, to Ramana himself, and both are kept with great love at Sri Ramanasramam: the day of his coming into the world, and the day of his leaving it. Jayanti is his birthday; Aradhana is the anniversary of his mahasamadhi. For a devotee of Ramana, these are the two great festivals of the year ~ and to be at the ashram for either is to feel the whole community’s love for Bhagavan gathered into a single day.
Ramana Jayanti ~ his birth
Ramana Jayanti celebrates the birth of Bhagavan, who was born on the 30th of December, 1879. But like all such observances in this tradition, it is kept not on the fixed Gregorian date but on the day of his birth-star ~ the nakshatra Punarvasu in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December–January) ~ so the exact date shifts a little each year. On Jayanti the ashram fills; there is special worship at Bhagavan’s shrine, elaborate abhishekam and puja, Vedic chanting, the singing of the Five Hymns and Ramana’s other works, and the feeding of many ~ the whole day given to celebrating the appearance in the world of the one they love. It is a joyful festival, warm and full, the community’s birthday-gift of devotion to its master.
Aradhana ~ his mahasamadhi
Aradhana ~ literally “worship” or “propitiation” ~ is the annual observance of the day Ramana attained mahasamadhi, on the 14th of April, 1950. Again it is kept by the star (the nakshatra of that day) rather than the fixed date, so it falls in April or thereabouts. But there is something to understand here that changes the whole feeling of the day. For a realised sage, the mahasamadhi is not regarded as a death to be mourned but as the great, final, conscious merging into the Self ~ and Ramana himself insisted, at the end, “Where could I go? I am here.” So Aradhana is not a day of grief but of reverent celebration: a honouring of the sage’s eternal presence, kept with special pujas at the samadhi shrine, abhishekam, chanting, and the same overflowing devotion as Jayanti. The one who “is here” is worshipped on the day the body was laid down ~ precisely because he did not go anywhere.
Aradhana is not a day of grief but of reverent celebration ~ for the sage who said, “Where could I go? I am here.”
The other days of the ashram year
Around these two great days turns a whole ashram calendar of remembrance. The Aradhana of Ramana’s mother, Alagammal, is kept at her shrine, the Matrubhuteswarar temple, which stands at the heart of the ashram. Advent Day honours Ramana’s first arrival at Arunachala on the 1st of September, 1896 ~ the day the sixteen-year-old walked into the temple and never left. Cow Lakshmi’s Day remembers the liberation of Lakshmi. And the great Karthigai Deepam and the monthly Pournami are kept at the ashram as everywhere at Arunachala. Together these days give the ashram year its shape ~ a rhythm of return, in which the community walks, again and again, through the story of the one it loves.
Because Jayanti and Aradhana are kept by the Tamil star-calendar (nakshatra), their Gregorian dates shift each year ~ Jayanti in December–January, Aradhana around April. Always confirm the exact dates against Sri Ramanasramam’s own calendar before planning to attend. For the wider year, see the Arunachala sacred calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ramana Jayanti?
Ramana Jayanti is the celebration of the birth of Ramana Maharshi, who was born on 30 December 1879. It is kept not on the fixed Gregorian date but on the day of his birth-star, the nakshatra Punarvasu in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December–January), so the date shifts slightly each year. At Sri Ramanasramam it is a joyful festival of worship, chanting, the singing of his hymns, and feeding many.
What is Aradhana at Sri Ramanasramam?
Aradhana is the annual observance of the day Ramana attained mahasamadhi, 14 April 1950, kept by the nakshatra of that day (around April). Because the mahasamadhi of a sage is understood as a conscious merging into the Self rather than an ordinary death, Aradhana is kept not as mourning but as reverent celebration of Ramana's eternal presence, with special pujas at his samadhi shrine.
Why is Ramana's death anniversary a celebration, not mourning?
Because for a realised sage the mahasamadhi is not a death to be grieved but the final, conscious merging into the Self. Ramana himself said at the end, 'They say I am dying, but where could I go? I am here.' Aradhana therefore honours his undying presence ~ the one who 'is here' is worshipped on the day the body was laid down, precisely because he did not go anywhere.
What are the main festival days at Sri Ramanasramam?
The two greatest are Ramana Jayanti (his birth, in Margazhi/Dec–Jan) and Aradhana (his mahasamadhi, around April). Others include the Aradhana of his mother Alagammal at the Matrubhuteswarar shrine, Advent Day (his arrival at Arunachala on 1 September 1896), Cow Lakshmi's day, and the great Karthigai Deepam and monthly Pournami. All are kept by the Tamil calendar, so confirm dates with the ashram.
Last updated 20 January 2026. Following the documented record preserved by Sri Ramanasramam and his devotees; where an account is traditional, it is told as such.