Vrishabha Pooja on Jyeshta Purnima | Vrishabha Archana

Vrishabha Pooja on Jyeshta Purnima (Vrishabha Archana) is observed as one of the major rituals among farming communities. In 2026, Vrishabha Pooja date is June 29.

The farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana celebrated Jyeshta Purnima as Eruvaka Pournami. Farmers across India worship Vrishabh (Ox, bull) on this day as a Thanksgiving to the hard work the cattle do as a part farming.

Vrishabha Pooja is the heart of the Jyeshta Purnima celebrations. Vrishabha means “bull” or “ox,” and pooja means “worship.”

Because bulls do the heavy lifting of pulling the ploughs through tough soil, farmers set aside this specific full moon day to treat them like royalty before the long, muddy monsoon farming season begins.

How the Pooja is Performed

The worship is a mix of care, feeding, and traditional prayers meant to thank the animals for their hard work:

• The Royal Bath: The bulls are taken to a local river, lake, or well for a deep, cooling scrub to get them completely clean.

• Turmeric and Kumkum: Farmers apply turmeric to the bulls’ faces and hooves. This isn’t just for decoration—turmeric is naturally antibacterial and helps keep insects away. A bright red kumkum dot is also placed on their foreheads.

• The Aarti: Just like in a temple, the farming family gathers around the bulls and performs an aarti (waving of lit oil lamps) to bless them and protect them from bad luck.

• Feeding the Feast: Before the humans eat, the bulls are hand-fed the very first portions of the festival sweets, especially bobbatlu (sweet stuffed flatbread), along with fresh green grass.

In many villages across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the bulls are worshipped not just as farm animals, but as living forms of Nandi, the sacred bull who serves as the mount for Lord Shiva.