Parkash Purabਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਪੁਰਬ

Parkash Purab is the Sikh festival that marks the birth anniversary of a Guru. The word Parkash means light, and the day celebrates the coming of divine light into the world through the Guru's birth, kept with three days of prayer, procession, singing and free food for all.

What is Parkash Purab?

In Punjabi, Parkash means light and Purab means a festival day, so Parkash Purab is literally a festival of light. Sikhs use the name for the birth anniversary of any of the ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev Ji, born in 1469, to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, born in 1666. The teaching behind the name is that each Guru carried the same divine light, the jot, from one human life to the next, so a birth was the arrival of that light in the world again, not only of a child.

The first Parkash Purab was Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birthday. Over the centuries the same pattern of celebration spread to the birthdays of the other nine Gurus, so that today the Sikh year holds a Parkash Purab in almost every season. The largest by far is Guru Nanak Dev Ji's, kept by Sikhs, Nanakpanthi followers and many others, and marked as a public holiday in Punjab and in many other Indian states. The rest are kept more quietly at the local gurdwara, with the same prayers on a smaller scale.

The name is also written Prakash Purab, Prakash Parv or Prakash Utsav, and in everyday speech people often just say Gurpurab. The spelling changes with the speaker, but the meaning stays the same: a Guru's birthday, kept as a day of light.

How is Parkash Purab celebrated?

A Parkash Purab runs over three days, and the pattern is much the same whichever Guru is being honoured. In the days before, the sangat gathers for Prabhat Pheris, early morning processions singing hymns through the streets. Two days before the birthday, the Akhand Path begins in the gurdwara, a continuous reading of Guru Granth Sahib from beginning to end that runs for about 48 hours without a break, with readers taking turns day and night. It ends on the birthday itself.

On the day before the birthday comes the Nagar Kirtan, the great street procession. The Panj Pyare, the Five Beloved Ones, lead the way carrying the Nishan Sahib, the Sikh flag, and behind them comes the Palki, the decorated palanquin carrying Guru Granth Sahib. Singers follow with hymns, brass bands play, and Gatka teams show their skill with swords in mock battle. The route is lined with flags and flowers, and volunteers hand out food and drink to everyone watching.

On the birthday itself the gurdwara opens before dawn. The day begins at about 4 or 5 in the morning, in Amrit Vela, with the singing of Asa di Var, the morning hymns, followed by Katha, an exposition of the scripture, and kirtan through the day. After Ardas, the congregational prayer, Karah Parshad is shared out and a special langar is served, a free meal open to everyone. In the evening many gurdwaras hold a night session: Rehras, the evening prayer, then kirtan late into the night. For Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birthday the singing peaks at about 1:20 in the morning, held to be the hour of his birth, and ends at about 2 am.

Gurdwaras are dressed for the day with lights, flowers and flags, and at Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar the whole complex glows, with lamps along the walkways and fireworks over the sarovar. The mood is joyful and open: visitors are welcome, heads are covered, shoes are left outside, and everyone sits together on the floor.

The major Parkash Purabs through the year

The Sikh year follows the Nanakshahi calendar, which counts from 1469, the birth year of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The year now running, Samvat 558, runs from 14 March 2026 to 13 March 2027. Most Guru birthdays are fixed on that calendar, though Guru Nanak Dev Ji's is still set by the older lunar reckoning, on the full moon of Kartak. These are the six best known Parkash Purabs of the year.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the ninth Guru, was born in Amritsar in 1621. His Parkash Purab falls on 7 April 2026.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru, was born in Goindwal in 1563 and compiled the Adi Granth. His Parkash Purab falls on 9 April 2026.

Guru Hargobind Ji, the sixth Guru, was born in Amritsar in 1595. His Parkash Purab falls on 30 June 2026.

Guru Ram Das Ji, the fourth Guru, was born in Lahore in 1534, founded Amritsar and dug the Amrit Sarovar. His Parkash Purab falls on 27 October 2026.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Guru, was born in 1469 at Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, now Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. His Parkash Purab falls on the full moon of Kartak, 24 November 2026, his 557th birth anniversary.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru, was born in Patna in 1666. His Parkash Purab falls on 15 January 2027.

The other four Gurus have their Parkash Purabs too: Guru Angad Dev Ji, Guru Amar Das Ji, Guru Har Rai Ji and Guru Har Krishan Ji. Their birthdays are kept at gurdwaras around the world with kirtan and langar, more quietly than Guru Nanak Dev Ji's day.

Is Parkash Purab the same as Gurpurab?

The two words overlap, but they are not quite the same. Gurpurab is the wider word: Guru plus Purab, a festival of the Guru. It covers every Guru anniversary: a birth, a succession, a martyrdom, or a passing. Parkash Purab is one kind of Gurpurab, the birth anniversary alone. So every Parkash Purab is a Gurpurab, but not every Gurpurab is a Parkash Purab.

That difference matters because the mood changes with the occasion. A Parkash Purab is joyful, with processions, lights and fireworks. A martyrdom Gurpurab, such as Guru Arjan Dev Ji's Shaheedi Diwas in June or Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's in December, is sombre, kept with prayer and readings of the martyrdom accounts. Other Gurpurabs mark a Gurgaddi Diwas, when a Guru took up the Guruship, or a Joti Jot Diwas, when a Guru passed from the world.

The word Parkash is also used for one more day that is not a Guru's birthday: the Pehla Parkash of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the first installation of the scripture at Harmandir Sahib, completed by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1604. It falls on 12 September in 2026, and honours the Granth, not a birth.

Where to experience Parkash Purab

Nowhere is Parkash Purab grander than at Sri Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple, in Amritsar. On Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birthday the complex is outlined in lights, lamps float on the sarovar, fireworks rise over the water, and crowds fill the walkways through the night. Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi is another great centre, where the day brings kirtan, Katha and langar for thousands.

For Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birthday, many pilgrims also travel to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, the town of his birth, where Gurdwara Janam Asthan marks his family home. In 2025 a jatha of 1,796 pilgrims from India visited Pakistan for the celebrations there. For Guru Gobind Singh Ji's birthday the centre is Patna Sahib in Bihar, his birthplace, where Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib marks the place he was born.

Outside Punjab the day is kept wherever Sikhs have settled, from Vancouver and Toronto to Southall in London and Yuba City in California. Everywhere the form is the same: Akhand Path, Nagar Kirtan and langar. Many gurdwaras now stream the celebrations live, so families far from Punjab can join the kirtan from home.

How families mark Parkash Purab at home

Not everyone can reach a gurdwara, and the tradition makes room for that. Sikhs who cannot join the celebrations hold the day at home with kirtan, a reading from the scripture, Ardas, Karah Parshad and a simple langar shared with neighbours. The essentials match the gurdwara: remembrance of the Guru, prayer together, and food shared without asking who anyone is.

For many families the day is also a time to return to the Guru's teaching rather than only to the festivity. Guru Nanak Dev Ji's threefold counsel, Naam Japo, to remember the Divine, Kirat Karo, to earn an honest living, and Vand Chhakko, to share what you have, runs through every Parkash Purab. Doing seva, voluntary service, on the day, whether giving to the langar, helping at the gurdwara or feeding a stranger, is one of the best ways to honour a birthday that celebrates light coming into the world.