Buddha Purnima: All you need to know about the day and its significance

“Happy Buddha Purnima to all the countrymen and the followers of Lord Buddha in the whole world,” President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted in Hindi.

“On Buddha Purnima we recall the principles of Lord Buddha and reiterate our commitment to fulfill them. The thoughts of Lord Buddha can make our planet more peaceful, harmonious and sustainable,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

This year, the Buddha Purnima falls on May 16. The Purnima tithi extends from 12:45 pm on May 15 to 09:43 am on May 16.

According to the British Library blog, three major events took place in the life of the Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, on this day. It was on a full moon day in May that Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born in 563 BC in Lumbini (modern day Nepal). He attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree after six years of hardship also on a full moon day in May. After teaching for 45 years, Gautama Buddha attained nirvana, or the cessation of all desire, also on the full moon day of May, Hindustan Times reported quoting the British Library blog.

Devotees visit monasteries and pilgrimage sites, light candles and incense sticks and offer prayers.

In India, it is celebrated at a huge scale in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh. It is believed that Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Sarnath.

Banks will remain closed on May 16 on account Buddha Purnima in Tripura, Belapur, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu, Srinagar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bengal, New Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holiday calendar.