Jalaram Jayanti 2026

About Jalaram Jayanti

Jalaram Jayanti marks the birth of Sant Jalaram Bapa, the 19th-century saint of Virpur in Gujarat's Rajkot district, remembered for the sadavrat, a kitchen that fed anyone who came. It falls on Kartik Shukla Saptami, a week after Diwali, and in 2026 that is Monday, 16 November 2026. Gujarati and Lohana families in India and abroad mark it with darshan, bhajans and free meals.

Jalaram was born in Virpur, a village about 50 km south of Rajkot, in 1799, on the seventh day of the bright half of Kartik. His parents, Pradhan and Rajbai Thakkar, were Lohanas, a trading community of Saurashtra. He married Virbai of Atkot at 16. At 18, after a round of pilgrimages, he became a disciple of Bhoja Bhagat of Fatehpur, who gave him a mantra in Rama's name. He died in Virpur in 1881.

His followers call him Bapa, father. He is remembered less for teaching than for feeding people.

The sadavrat at Virpur

With his guru's blessing, Jalaram opened a sadavrat, a kitchen where sadhus, travellers and the poor could eat at any hour. All India Radio's Gujarati service, reporting on the Jayanti in 2024, said devotees believe the kitchen began about 210 years earlier and has never stopped.

It still runs. Visitors to the Virpur shrine, which is the saint's old house, are asked to stay and eat. The morning prasad is usually ganthiya, boondi and a vegetable, and in the evening it is khichdi with kadhi and ghee.

The temple is also known for what it refuses. It stopped taking donations of cash or goods on 9 February 2000, according to a Times of India report from 2011 and most accounts since. Wikipedia's article gives 1992 in one place, so the exact start of the rule is not settled, but the practice itself is well reported. The saint's descendants hold the gadi, his seat, at Virpur.

Stories devotees tell

Tradition holds many stories about Jalaram, and they are told at every Jayanti.

In one, a sadhu came to the door and asked Jalaram to give him Virbai to serve him. Jalaram agreed, and Virbai went. A little way out of the village the sadhu vanished, leaving behind a danda, a staff, and a jholi, a cloth bag. Both are kept at Virpur and shown to pilgrims.

In another, a Muslim merchant named Jamal, whose son was cured after Jalaram's prayers, sent 40 maunds of grain to the kitchen. The words "Jalla so Allah" are said to come from him. Devotees often tell this story to show that the kitchen asked no one's caste or faith.

Devotees also repeat a Gujarati saying that sums up his life: jya tukdo, tya Hari dhukdo, where a piece of bread is given, God is near. It is linked to him by tradition rather than by any written record.

How the day is kept

Jalaram Jayanti falls on Kartik Shukla Saptami, which comes seven days after Diwali and two days after Labh Pancham. It is the last big day of the long Gujarati festive stretch that runs from Diwali through the Gujarati New Year. Like most Hindu festivals it follows the tithi at sunrise, so in a rare year the date can differ by a day between panchangs.

The day is counted in birth anniversaries. In 2024 Gujarat marked the 225th, and in 2025 the 226th.

Virpur draws lakhs of visitors, and Jalaram temples across Gujarat, in Mumbai and in the diaspora hold their own programmes. The usual pattern looks like this.

1. Prabhat dhunAn early-morning procession or gathering singing his name, often "Jai Jalaram".
2. Darshan and pujaDevotees visit the temple or decorate his picture at home with flowers and a tulsi garland. He is shown in white, with a stick and a mala.
3. AnnakutA display of many dishes offered before the image, later shared as prasad.
4. Shobha yatra and maha aartiA procession through town with his portrait, and a large evening aarti.
5. Mahaprasad and sevaA free meal for everyone. In 2024 temples in Bhavnagar district served mahaprasad to over 20,000 people, and Patan held a blood donation camp.

Many devotees keep Thursday as Jalaram's day all year, visiting his temple or giving food. Gujarati communities in East Africa, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia built Jalaram temples, and researchers who study them note that seva for anyone, whatever their background, is still at their centre.

Bapa

Father; the name devotees use for Jalaram

Sadavrat

A kitchen that gives food to anyone, every day

Sud Satam

The seventh day of the bright fortnight, in Gujarati

Annakut

A "mountain of food" offered to a deity, then shared

Prasad

Food offered and then given out as a blessing

Ganthiya

A crisp fried gram-flour snack from Saurashtra

Gadi

The seat of a saint, held by his successors

What to write

A good message is short, mentions food or service, and ends with "Jai Jalaram". You don't need to be Gujarati to send one. Many people of other communities visit Jalaram temples, and a wish that respects his work in feeding people always lands.

How to wish someone on Jalaram Jayanti

A Jalaram Jayanti wish centres on food given freely and on service. "Jai Jalaram" is the usual greeting, and a good message mentions the sadavrat at Virpur, the prasad of khichdi and ganthiya, or the hope that no one at the table goes hungry. It suits Gujarati friends, Lohana families and anyone who visits a Jalaram temple on Thursdays. Keep it warm and simple: the saint is remembered for plain living, not show.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Gujarati.

When is Jalaram Jayanti in each year?

Jalaram Jayanti is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions