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Godavari Pushkaralu: the twelve-yearly bathing festival on the Godavari
When Jupiter enters Leo, a whole river turns into one bathing ghat
Godavari Pushkaralu (Pushkaram) is a river festival held once in twelve years, when Jupiter enters Leo: for twelve days pilgrims bathe in the Godavari, perform rites for their ancestors and offer worship to the river along its whole course. The largest gatherings are at Rajahmundry (Rajamahendravaram) and Kovvur in Andhra Pradesh, where the state expects crowds on the scale of a Kumbh Mela. Dates: 26 June – 7 July 2027, fixed by an Andhra Pradesh government order. The previous Pushkaralu was in 2015.
The Andhra Pradesh endowments department fixes the twelve days by a government order, issued for 2027 in December 2025; Telangana announces its own arrangements.
The legend
Legend says the righteous Tundila won from Shiva an eternal place in his water form and became Pushkara, "the nourisher" of all sacred waters.
Brahma takes Pushkara into his water pot to create the world, and Brihaspati, Jupiter, asks Brahma for water for all living things.
So a pact is made: whenever Jupiter enters a new sign, Pushkara dwells for twelve days in one of the rivers, and all the gods gather there.
Leo's river is the Godavari, the Ganga of the South. So once in twelve years, when Jupiter enters Leo, tens of millions come down to its ghats.
Meaning
The whole river
The Pushkaram runs the length of the river: in Telangana at Basar, Kaleshwaram and Bhadrachalam, in Andhra at Rajahmundry, Kovvur and Antarvedi by the sea.
Nashik
Jupiter's entry into Leo also calls the Kumbh Mela at the Godavari's source, in Nashik: in 2015 both fell in one summer, and in 2027 they meet again.
Customs
The first moment
The most blessed dip is the one taken as Jupiter enters Leo: in 2015 that moment came on 14 July at 6:26 am.
For the ancestors
On the ghat steps families and priests honour their ancestors, offering water with sesame and balls of rice, the pindas.
Three palmfuls
After the dip a priest blesses each pilgrim by pouring three palmfuls of river water over their head.
A gift a day
Each of the twelve days has its own gift: gold, silver and grain on the first day, sesame on the last.
Gifts to the river
Married women lower a sari, bangles, turmeric and kumkum into the river, praying for a long and happy married life.
River lamps
The river is given lamps too, and in the evenings the Godavari Harathi is performed at the Pushkar Ghat in Rajahmundry.
What people eat
Pootharekulu
paper-thin rice-starch sheets with sugar and ghee
Words of the festival
పుష్కరం
pushkaram
"twelve years": the word names both the span and the river festival
ఆది పుష్కరం
Adi Pushkaram
the first twelve days after Jupiter enters Leo, the holiest
అంత్య పుష్కరం
Antya Pushkaram
the last twelve days, a year on; Telugu almanacs keep them for the Godavari alone
గోదారమ్మ
Godaramma
"Mother Godari": the fond name for the river on its banks
తర్పణం
tarpanam
a libation for the ancestors: water offered with sesame
True or myth
✅ True. By custom, while the Pushkaram lasts, no weddings or other celebrations are held along its banks. Those who must marry go elsewhere.
❌ Myth. A dip at any ghat on the Godavari is held to be equal, and the state has asked for this to be made clear ahead of 2027.
✅ True. Officials and calendar scholars fixed different dates, so the rites ran for 24 days: 3 to 14 May and 22 May to 2 June.
Where to celebrate
Rajahmundry
Worth the trip
Once in twelve years the river at Rajahmundry and Kovvur becomes one long bathing ghat: twelve days of dips, ancestral rites and evening worship, with the state expecting up to 10 crore visits.
Why every twelve years
Pushkaram honours twelve sacred rivers of India, each tied to one sign of the zodiac. When Jupiter moves into a new sign, roughly once a year, the festival passes to that sign's river, so each river has its turn once in twelve years. The Godavari, often called the Ganga of the South, belongs to Leo (Simha). In legend Pushkara, the lord of sacred waters, agreed with Brihaspati, the god of the planet Jupiter, to dwell for twelve days in the river of whichever sign Jupiter enters, and the gods gather there with him.
The first twelve days, the Adi Pushkaram, are held to be the holiest; Telugu almanacs also keep the last twelve days of Jupiter's year in Leo, the Antya Pushkaram, for the Godavari. The same entry of Jupiter into Leo calls the Simhastha Kumbh Mela at Nashik and Trimbakeshwar, near the river's source, so the two festivals fall in the same season.
What pilgrims do at the river
The core of the festival is the holy dip. The district administration describes it as giving the merit of bathing in twelve rivers over twelve years. After bathing, a priest often blesses the pilgrim by pouring three palmfuls of river water over their head. On the ghat steps families perform rites for their ancestors: tarpanam, water offered with sesame, and pindas, balls of rice. Married women lower a sari, bangles, turmeric and kumkum into the river, praying for a long married life, and each of the twelve days has its own customary gift.
In the evenings lamps are offered to the river, and the Godavari Nitya Harathi, the river aarti, is performed at Pushkar Ghat in Rajahmundry at about 6:30 pm. By custom no weddings are held along the river while the Pushkaram lasts.
Ghats at Rajahmundry and Kovvur
The ghats are open and free to all for the twelve days. The East Godavari district lists these bathing ghats; the state stresses that a dip at any ghat on the Godavari counts the same.
Pushkar Ghat, Rajahmundry
The principal ghat, the busiest on the first day and the venue of the evening harathi. In 2015 a crush here on the opening morning killed more than two dozen pilgrims; consider a later day or another ghat.
Kotilingala Ghat and the other city ghats
The district lists eight Rajahmundry ghats: Kotilingala, Pushkar, Saraswati, Gowthami, Tummalapalli Vari Revu, Sri Narasimha Nagar, Venkateswara and the Dowleswaram Barrage ghat.
Goshpada Kshetram, Kovvur
The main ghat on the opposite bank, with the Subrahmanyeswara and Nagareswaram ghats nearby, and a view back across the river to the city.
Upriver and downriver
The Pushkaram runs the length of the river: in Telangana at Basar, Kaleshwaram and Bhadrachalam, the Rama temple town that is the main bathing point on that side, and in Andhra Pradesh down to Antarvedi by the sea. Telangana announces its own arrangements.
How early to plan
This is one of the few festivals worth planning a whole trip around, and one of the hardest to find a room for. Two nights cover a dawn dip and the evening harathi; three leave time for Kovvur or a quieter morning.
- Rooms: as soon as they open
Expect everything within about 100 km to fill. Book about nine months ahead. The state is planning tent cities at 21 temple sites along the river and the district is identifying private accommodation.
- Trains: the day sales open
Trains to Rajahmundry sell out when the 60-day booking window opens. Visakhapatnam, about 190 km away, is the fallback base by train.
- Avoid day one if you can
The first day draws the biggest crowds. Days three to ten are far more manageable.
Crowds and safety
The UK Foreign Office notes that stampedes at some events with large crowds in India have caused deaths and injuries, and advises taking particular care during periods of religious significance. The district plans buffer zones, traffic management and crowd control; follow police instructions at the ghats. More in our guide Is India safe.
FAQ
When is the next Godavari Pushkaralu?
26 June – 7 July 2027, twelve days fixed by an Andhra Pradesh government order. The festival returns twelve years later.
How often is Godavari Pushkaralu held?
Once in twelve years, when Jupiter enters Leo. The last one was in 2015.
Where is the main Godavari Pushkaralu?
At Rajahmundry (Rajamahendravaram) and Kovvur in Andhra Pradesh, with major ghats also at Bhadrachalam, Basar and Kaleshwaram in Telangana.
Does it matter which ghat I bathe at?
No. A dip at any ghat on the Godavari is held to be equal, and the state has asked for this to be made clear to avoid crowding at the main ghat.
What is Antya Pushkaram?
The last twelve days of Jupiter's year in Leo, about a year after the main festival. Telugu almanacs keep it for the Godavari alone.
Are weddings held during Pushkaralu?
By custom, no weddings or other celebrations are held along the river while the Pushkaram lasts.
Sources (8)
- East Godavari district: Godavari Pushkaralu
- East Godavari district: ghats
- Pushkaram
- FCDO: India safety and security
- Siasat: Telangana plans Godavari Pushkaralu
- Godavari Nitya Harathi resumes, The Hans India
- 27 pilgrims killed in Andhra stampede, The Tribune
- Tent cities, homestays on anvil for Godavari Pushkaralu, The Hans India
Facts checked: 21 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.