Kamada Ekadashi 8th April 2025

The untold glories of Kamada Ekadasi are described in the Varaha Purana in a delightful conversation between Maharaj Yudhistira and Sri Krsna.The king asked: "My dear Lord, crowning jewel of the yadu dynasty. Please enlighten me about the nature of this most auspicious day. Kamada Ekadasi. Please accept my humble obeisances and advise me how one should observe this Ekadasi that falls during the month of Chaitra while the moon is waxing. Please also describe what the benefits of such observance are and advise me how to reap the result."

Damanaka Ropana Dvadasi 9th April 2025

The following days the following is observed in Jagannath Puri. This festival is celebrated on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the bright fortnight of Chaitra (April). Deities of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna are taken in procession to the Jagannath Ballava Math. There the Deities get Their Dayana leaves from the garden at the math. On the fourteenth, the leaves are offered to Lord Jagannath, Lady Subhadra and Lord Balarama. "Damanaka is a particular type of flowering tree, Artemisia indica. In modern Oriya it is called daana. It is one of the two favorite flowers of Lord Jagannath, the other being campaka. It is said that Lord Jagannath comes to the Jagannath Vallabh garden in Puri to steal these flowers. Aropana means to plant. On this dvadashi there is a ritual planting of the daana tree."

Sri Balarama Rasayatra

Lord Balarama’s springtime rasa dance with His cowherd girlfriends. Krsna performs rasa lila of two varieties, one in the autumn season and one in the spring season, on vaisakha purnima. Balarama also performs rasa dance at this time. In order to keep the gopis in Vrndavana satisfied, Lord Balarama stayed there continually for two months, namely the months of Caitra and Vaisakha. For those two months he kept himself among the gopis and he passed every night with them in the forest of Vrndavana in order to satisfy their desire for conjugal love. Thus Balarama also enjoyed the rasa dance with the gopis during those two months.

Sri Krishna Vasanta Rasa

Lord Krishna’s springtime rasa dance. The purnima or full moon of Damodara month is the second full moon of the autumn season, and rasa lila is again celebrated. This second rasa yatra is celebrated more in Bengal, whereas the first one is celebrated more in Vrndavana. On this day one should perform full worship of Radha and Krsna with many flowers, and place them in a rasa mandapa surrounded by the gopis. Sri Krishna Vasant Rasa is similar excepting that it is in the Spring (Vasant), at this time everyone dresses in yellow. On this full moon night the devotees usually leave out pots of sweet rice payasam for the Lord to enjoy during His rasas.

Beginning of Saligrama and Tulasi Jala Dana 14th April 2025

Starting of Tulasi Jala Dana During the hot season in India, a pot of dripping water is placed over Tulasi and Salagrama to keep them cool. Keshava Vrata starts; for one month one should control the senses, sleep on the earth, bath twice daily in a river, worship the Lord and give cloth, sugar, sesame, rice, and gold to the brahmanas. If one worships Madhsudana in this month one gains the benefits of one years worship. While Keshava Vrata lasts one may hang a pot with a hole in it, fill it with water and drip water over Tulasi and a Shalagrama Shila. This is especially done in the now hot northern hemisphere when water becomes a vital asset for the growth of Tulasi Devi. In the southern hemisphere be careful not to overwater as we come out of Summer and into Autumn.

Varuthini Ekadashi 24th April 2025

Varuthini Ekadasi most mercifully descends in the month of Vaisakha (April/May) and is described in details in a conversation between Sri Krsna and Yudhisthira Maharaj. Once upon a time the sublime king Yudhisthira asked the Lord: "Please explain to me the process for observong this Ekadasi which takes place during the waning Moon in the month of Vaisakha. What is the process for observing this Ekadasi and what results may be obtained by such practice."

Appearance Day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita 27th April 2025

Gadadhara Pandita is among the group known as the Panca-tattva, consisting of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and four of His closest associates. Gadadhara Pandita spent most of his life in Jagannatha Puri worshiping the Tota-Gopinatha Deity.

Aksaya Tritya – Candana Yatra Starts 30th April 2025

Candana Yatra is a festival during the hot season in India in which the Deities are covered with sandalwood paste (candana) to cool Them. (This is generally impractical in the West, where it is cold during this time.) For 21 days with the Utsava Vigrahas covered in chandan. The Deities are covered completely with chandan(sandalwood paste), which provides the Lord relief from the scorching heat of summer in the month of Vaisakha/Jyestha (May/June). Once, Lord Jagannatha instructed the ancient King Indradyumna to perform this festival on this occasion. Smearing the body of the Lord with ointments is an act of devotion, and the best of balms is said to be sandalwood paste. Since heat in the month of Vaisakha is extreme in India, the cooling effect of sandalwood paste would be pleasing to the Lord.