Dol Pūrṇimā, or Dol Jātrā, is the spring full moon on which Bengal and Odisha swing Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa on a decorated dola and play with coloured abir. For Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas it is also Gaura Pūrṇimā, the day Caitanya Mahāprabhu was born in Navadvīpa. The first abir is offered at the feet of the deity before anyone colours another, so the day's play begins as worship. Streets fill with nagar kīrtan, a form of public devotion shaped by Caitanya himself. How the day is fixed: Dol Pūrṇimā is kept on the day when Phālguna Pūrṇimā prevails at local sunrise. It shares its full moon with Holikā Dahan, and North India's colour play falls on the same day or the day after. Keep in mind: Because the full moon is read at local sunrise, the day can shift by one between places. In Odisha the celebration opens days earlier, on Phagu Daśamī, and reaches its height on this full moon. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Swing and abir: In the morning the adorned images of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are seated on the dola and gently swung. The first abir is laid at their feet, and only then do people put colour on one another. Kīrtan and Gaura Pūrṇimā: Nagar kīrtan with drums and cymbals goes through the streets. In Navadvīpa, where Caitanya was born, and in nearby Māyāpur the day is kept as a great Gaura Pūrṇimā festival that draws devotees from far away. Śāntiniketan and Odisha: In Śāntiniketan the Basanta Utsav begun by Rabindranath Tagore greets spring with songs and abir. In Odisha, village deities ride out in vimānas from Phagu Daśamī and gather for the swing on the full moon, and in Puri Dolagovinda is swung in the Dola maṇḍapa. Worth remembering: Dol Pūrṇimā is kept apart from Holikā Dahan and from Holī. Where North Indian Holī centres on the bonfire and open colour play, Dol centres on the swing, the abir offered to the deity and the kīrtan. Each region colours the day in its own way. Bengali homes touch abir to the feet of elders before the play begins, Odia villages follow their own deity's vimāna, and Vaiṣṇava households keep the day as Gaura Pūrṇimā with kīrtan. How a house keeps Dol, and which of these customs it follows, is best learnt from its own elders.
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