Rishi Panchami 2026: Significance, Rituals & Rishi chi Bhaji, A 21-Vegetable Recipe Made On This Day
India, a multi-cultural destination, gives us a plethora of reasons to celebrate days and festivals.
What Is Rishi Panchami & How Is It Celebrated?
Hrishi means sages. Rishi Panchami is a day to remember the seven great sages, the Saptarishi. Rishis were responsible for shaping society, culture, and spiritual life in India during the Vedic period. Apart from the rituals and traditions, people in Maharashtra, especially, make a traditional recipe today. It’s healthy, full of nutrients, and still cooked in many homes.
Rishi Panchami is not a very famous festival, but it’s spiritually important. It falls on the fifth day, Panchami, of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada. It’s also the second day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The day is for the Saptarishis: Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadvaja, Vishwamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Vasishtha. These sages were like guiding lights. They kept knowledge, dharma, and traditions alive. Rishi Panchami is about thanking them, remembering their wisdom.
How Is It Celebrated?
The rituals are simple. Many women fast, sometimes avoiding grains, garlic, and onions. Some only eat fruits and drink water. Bathing in rivers or with herbal water is considered purifying.
Prayers are offered to the sages. Some families use idols, some a decorated kalash with flowers and leaves. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, women also worship herbs and wild vegetables. It’s like connecting with nature, like the sages did.
The puja also has a forgiving side. Women ask for pardon for mistakes, like missing other rituals. Long ago, it was also connected to purification during menstruation. That’s how old cultural beliefs mixed with the spiritual side.
Where Is Rishi Panchami Celebrated?
Rishi Panchami is widely celebrated across Maharashtra, especially in the Konkan belt. Apart from Maharashtra, this festival is observed in Gujarat, Nepal and some regions in the North India like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Rishi chi Bhaji: 21-Veggie, No Oil Dish Made For The Rishis
In Maharashtra, Rishi Panchami is connected majorly with Rishi chi Bhaji, and my mother-in-law swears by making it every year to mark the occasion, and I am sure all Maharashtrian mothers would agree to this. Not 2 or 5, this recipe involves about a total of 21 vegetables that are grown and harvested by humans. Surprisingly, this recipe involves absolutely no oil or spices. So, if you are interested in yielding maximum health benefits from a dish, here’s a recipe to whip up quickly.
Ingredients:
- Spinach (Palak)
- Cassia tora (Takla bhaji)
- Ridge gourd (Dodka)
- Bitter gourd (Karela)
- Snake gourd (Padwal)
- Bottle gourd (Dudhi)
- Pumpkin (Bhopla)
- Sponge gourd (Ghosale)
- Pointed gourd (Parwal)
- Okra (Bhendi)
- Flat beans (Ghevda)
- Drumsticks (Shevga shenga)
- Colocasia root / Taro root (Alu chi khadi)
- Sweet potato (Ratala)
- Corn kernels (Makka)
- Green chillies
