Holika bonfire night. Victory of good over evil.
Holika Dahan, the lighting of the Holika bonfire on the night before Holi, comes from the well-loved story of Prahlad. Prahlad was the young son of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, but he was a devoted bhakta of Lord Vishnu, which enraged his father. When all his attempts to turn the boy failed, the king asked his sister Holika, who had a boon that made her immune to fire, to sit in a blazing fire with Prahlad on her lap. By the grace of Vishnu the fire did not touch Prahlad, while Holika, who misused her boon for evil, was burned to ashes. The bonfire each year remembers that night, when devotion and goodness triumphed over cruelty.
On the evening of the Phalgun full moon, bonfires are lit in neighbourhoods, temple yards and village squares across Gujarat. Families gather around the flames, walk around the fire in pradakshina, and offer a coconut, dhana (popped grains), and ears of the new harvest, praying that their troubles and negativity burn away with the old. The roasted coconut and grains are shared as prasad. It is a warm, communal night that clears the way for the colours of Holi, or Dhuleti, the very next day, and welcomes the arrival of spring.
Holika Dahan is performed in the evening, after the Purnima tithi has begun, but tradition says the bonfire should not be lit during Bhadra, an inauspicious period. The Pradosh Kaal after sunset, once Bhadra has passed, is considered the right time. The exact Bhadra window and the auspicious muhurat shift by city and year, so always check the Panchang for the day. For 21 March 2027, see the full Panchang for the precise Holika Dahan muhurat for your city.
Holika Dahan 2027 is on the evening of Sunday, 21 March 2027, the full moon of Phalgun. Holi (Dhuleti), the festival of colours, follows the next day on Monday, 22 March 2027.
The bonfire is lit in the evening Pradosh Kaal after Bhadra has passed. The exact Bhadra and muhurat timings vary by city, so check the 21 March Panchang for the auspicious Holika Dahan time for your location.
The demon king Hiranyakashipu had his sister Holika, who was immune to fire, sit in a bonfire with his Vishnu-devotee son Prahlad to kill him. By Vishnu’s grace Prahlad was unharmed while Holika burned, marking the victory of devotion and good over evil.
Devotees offer a coconut, dhana (popped grains), and ears of the new wheat or barley harvest, walk around the fire in pradakshina, and pray for negativity to burn away. The roasted coconut and grains are shared as prasad.