Lalita Jayanti 2026 Date

About Lalita Jayanti

Lalita Jayanti falls on Magha Purnima — the full moon when Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari is said to have risen from the Chidagni Kunda, the fire of consciousness, to destroy the demon Bhandasura. She is the third of the ten Mahavidyas, worshipped not as an image but as the Sri Yantra.

Her full story sits in the Lalitopakhyana of the Brahmanda Purana. The gods, unable to defeat Bhandasura, threw their powers into a sacrificial fire, and Lalita stepped out fully armed. She rides into battle on the Sri Chakra chariot, carrying a sugarcane bow, five flower arrows, a noose and a goad — the noose stands for attachment, the goad for repulsion, the bow for the mind. Her generals do most of the killing: Bala slays Bhanda's son, Mantrini slays Vishanga, Varahi slays Vishukra. When demons block the army's path, she and Kameshwara create Ganesha with a single glance to clear it. The same text contains the Lalita Sahasranama, taught by horse-headed Hayagriva to sage Agastya — the only Sahasranama composed by the Vagdevatas at the Goddess's own command.