A festival for the heroes of the desert
Marwar's history is full of kings and battles, but the stories its people love most are about folk heroes: cowherds, horsemen and saints who gave their lives for a promise. The Marwar Festival was created to celebrate them, and the music that tells their stories, over the full moon of Sharad Purnima.
Pabuji: a Rathore hero said to have ridden out from his own wedding to rescue the cattle of Deval, a Charan woman (some tellings say camels), and to have died in the fight. His epic is still sung at night across the desert.
- Kingdom
- Marwar, the land of the Rathores
- Capital since
- 1459, when Rao Jodha founded Mehrangarh
- Old name
- Often said to have begun as the Maand Festival
- Heroes sung
- Pabuji, Ramdevji, Gogaji, Tejaji
- Ramdevji: a fourteenth-century saint honoured by Hindus and Muslims alike, whose shrine at Ramdevra, west of Jodhpur, draws one of the largest pilgrimages in Rajasthan.
- Gogaji and Tejaji: Gogaji the snake god, and Tejaji, who kept his promise to a serpent, are worshipped in villages across Marwar. Their shrines often stand under a khejri tree.
- The Maand roots: the festival is often said to have begun as the Maand Festival, named after the courtly song style of Rajasthan, and it still gives pride of place to the singers of the desert.
- Who runs it: Rajasthan Tourism and the district administration bring folk musicians, dancers and performers to Jodhpur's great stages: the fort, the gardens of Mandore and the grounds of Umaid Bhawan.
- Its character: smaller, more local and less formal than the international folk festival held at Mehrangarh at about the same time. You will hear Marwari spoken all around you.
- Read more: our page on Marwar and Jodhpur tells the longer story of the Rathore kingdom, and our Jodhpur guide introduces the city.
When the festival falls, and why the moon matters
The lunar date: the festival runs over about two days around the full moon of Ashwin. Because the calendar is lunar, the dates move by a few weeks each year.
The programme: it is set by Rajasthan Tourism and announced shortly before, and in some years its shape and venues change. We confirm the dates each season before we build your days.
- Full moon
- Sharad Purnima, the full moon of Ashwin
- Usual month
- October, sometimes late September
- Programme
- Announced by Rajasthan Tourism shortly before
- Weather
- Warm days, cool and delicious evenings
- Dates
- We confirm them each year
- Kheer under the moon: families cook kheer, rice simmered slowly in milk with sugar and cardamom, leave it out under the moonlight overnight and eat it at dawn as a blessing.
- The nectar of the moon: many believe the moonlight of this night carries amrit, the nectar of immortality, which is why the kheer is left uncovered.
- The raas: in Krishna temples it is the night of the raas, the circle dance of Krishna with the cowherd girls, and in many homes people sing late into the night.
- The weather: October days can still reach the low thirties early in the month, the evenings are lovely and the nights cool. The air is usually clear after the monsoon.
- Read more: our guides to the best time to visit Jodhpur and Rajasthan in October explain the season.
What happens at the festival
The opening procession
What to expect: in many years a procession through the city, from the old heart of Jodhpur around the clock tower towards the stadium.
- Who walks: folk troupes, drummers, decorated camels and horses, and men and women in their finest Marwari dress.
- Where to watch: a raised step or a shop roof near the Clock Tower and Sardar Market. Arrive early, because the lanes fill fast.
Folk music on the great stages
The singers: Maand singers, Manganiyar and Langa musicians, bhajan singers of the desert saints and the drums of the village troupes.
- The stages: performances at Mehrangarh, at Mandore and in the grounds of Umaid Bhawan, often in the evening under the full moon.
- Seats: informal and first come, first served. We find you a good place, or a quieter corner to listen from.
Dance
Ghoomar: the turning dance of Marwar's own court, danced by women in full, swirling skirts. Seeing it in Jodhpur is seeing it at home.
- Kalbelia: dancers in black skirts embroidered with mirrors, moving like the snakes their community once charmed.
- Pots, fire and swords: women dancing with stacked brass pots on their heads, and the fire and sword dances of the desert.
Contests and fun
The usual favourites: turban-tying, moustache competitions and titles such as Mr and Miss Marwar.
- Games: tug of war, camel shows and village sports, cheerful and very local.
- The commentary: the crowd's remarks are half the entertainment. Ask your guide to translate.
The camel show
- In some years: a camel display, sometimes called a camel tattoo, with riders and camels performing drills to drums.
- Our rule: we check the year's programme and how the animals are treated before we take you. Our ethical animal encounters page explains why.
The festival's stages, from the fort to the gardens
Mehrangarh
The fort: founded by Rao Jodha on 12 May 1459, rising about a hundred and twenty metres above the plain, its palaces carved as finely as lace.
- On festival evenings: its courtyards and ramparts become stages, with the blue city spread out under the full moon.
- Our way: we see the palaces and museum on a separate morning, at opening time, before the stages go up.
Mandore
Where: about nine kilometres north of the city, the old Rathore capital until 1459, now a garden of red sandstone cenotaphs.
- The Hall of Heroes: sixteen brightly painted figures carved from the rock face, showing the folk heroes of Marwar and a number of gods. Performances here feel exactly right.
- When: in the late light, when the colours glow and the langurs settle in the trees.
Umaid Bhawan
The palace: built on Chittar Hill between 1929 and 1943 by Maharaja Umaid Singh, partly as famine relief, to designs by Henry Lanchester.
- Today: the former royal family lives in one wing, part is a Taj hotel and part a museum of Art Deco rooms.
- At the festival: its grounds have hosted festival evenings, a world away from the village songs on the stage.
Jaswant Thada
- What it is: the white marble memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, below the fort.
- Why go on the full moon: it is not usually a festival stage, but on Sharad Purnima the marble glows and the view up to Mehrangarh is perfect.
Maand, the song of the desert courts
Between classical and folk: Maand grew in the courts of Rajasthan, sung for kings and nobles by professional singers, many of them women of hereditary musician families.
What it sings of: love, separation, the beauty of the land and the honour of its heroes, in the long curling ornaments of classical singing.
- The song you will know: Rajasthan's best-loved welcome song, which asks the beloved to come to our country, is sung in Maand. You will very likely hear it.
- The Manganiyars: Muslim musicians of the Thar who sang for Rajput patron families for centuries. Their own instrument is the kamaicha, a bowed lute with a round belly of mango wood.
- The Langas: a related community who play the sindhi sarangi and the algoza, a pair of flutes played at once.
- The Bhopas: singer-priests of Pabuji, who sing his epic at night in front of a painted scroll called a phad. Our journal on the Bhopa and the phad explains it.
- Learn more: our pages on the Manganiyar singers and folk music and dance introduce the performers.
A festival day in Jodhpur, hour by hour
Opening time, the fort: reach Mehrangarh as the gates open and walk the palaces from the Phool Mahal to the armoury with a private guide, then down through the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park to Jaswant Thada.
Late morning, the blue city: walk the blue-washed lanes of Brahmpuri below the fort with a guide who grew up there, ending at the clock tower market.
- A snack: a mirchi bada, the stuffed chilli fritter Jodhpur is proud of, and a glass of makhaniya lassi.
- Afternoon, rest: October afternoons are still warm and festival nights run late, so lunch, a swim and a sleep at your hotel.
- Late afternoon, Mandore: the cenotaphs and the Hall of Heroes in golden light, and the evening performances if they are held there that day.
- Evening, the moon: as the full moon rises the concerts begin. We find you good seats and keep the car close by.
- Late, dinner: a terrace facing the lit fort, and a small bowl of moonlit kheer if the kitchen is willing.
The Marwar Festival and the folk festival at Mehrangarh
The folk festival: the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, known as Jodhpur RIFF, is held inside Mehrangarh over several days around the same full moon, with dawn concerts on the ramparts.
Its character: curated stages, festival passes and roots musicians from around the world playing alongside the musicians of Rajasthan. Its twentieth edition in 2026 is announced for 22 to 26 October.
- Jodhpur RIFF
- Ticketed, inside Mehrangarh, several days
- Run by
- The Mehrangarh Museum Trust
- RIFF 2026
- Announced for 22 to 26 October
- Marwar Festival
- Free, local, across the city
- The Marwar Festival: the city's own celebration, run by Rajasthan Tourism with the district, more local, less formal and spread across Jodhpur.
- In one line: think of RIFF as a concert series of world standing and the Marwar Festival as a town fair of songs and heroes.
- Seeing both: because they fall so close together, and sometimes overlap, we look at both programmes each year and plan your days so you enjoy each without exhausting yourself.
Etiquette and respect
Greet in Marwari: khamma ghani is the Rajasthani hello, and it is especially loved in Jodhpur.
Ask before photographs: performers on stage expect cameras, families in the crowd do not. Ask first, especially with women, and offer to show the picture.
- Tip musicians directly: the festival season matters a great deal to their year, and a direct, generous tip is the right thank-you.
- At the shrines: take your shoes off and cover your head at the Chamunda Mata temple in Mehrangarh and at any shrine in Mandore.
- Dress for the city: modestly and, if you can, brightly. A safa, a tied turban, in Jodhpur style is the best way to be welcomed in the crowd.
- In the crowds: keep a hand on your bag in the busy evenings, and hold children close at the procession.
What to eat in Jodhpur at festival time
Pyaaz kachori: flaky pastry filled with spiced onion, the breakfast of the old city.
Mirchi bada: a large green chilli stuffed with spiced potato, dipped in gram-flour batter and fried. Eat it hot.
- Makhaniya lassi: thick sweet yoghurt flavoured with saffron and cardamom, the drink of Jodhpur's mornings.
- Mawa kachori: a pastry filled with sweetened milk solids and nuts, soaked in syrup, Jodhpur's most famous sweet.
- A Marwari thali: dal baati churma, ker sangri, gatte ki sabzi, gram-flour dumplings in spiced yoghurt, and bajra rotis with ghee.
- Laal maas: for meat eaters, mutton cooked slowly with the red chillies of Mathania, a village near Jodhpur famous for them.
- Kheer: on Sharad Purnima, finish with the moonlit rice pudding. Our food of Jodhpur guide lists the stalls and dining rooms we trust.
How we plan your festival
Book early: with the folk festival, the Marwar Festival, Navratri and the start of the season all in October, Jodhpur's best rooms go months ahead.
One booking: we hold rooms as soon as the dates are clear, and book the festival passes, the car and the guides together.
- Book
- Several months ahead
- Allow
- Two nights, or four with RIFF
- Fly into
- Jodhpur airport
- Crowds
- Busy evenings, calm mornings
- Pace: the fort and the old city in the early mornings, rest in the afternoons, the full-moon concerts in the evenings.
- Getting around: your chauffeur drops you at the nearest point on busy evenings and our guide walks you in through the lanes.
- Pack: a light layer for the evening concerts, comfortable shoes for the fort's stone ramps and something bright to wear.
Where to stay in the city
Umaid Bhawan Palace: the former royal family still lives here alongside a Taj hotel. Space, gardens and a palace on a hill.
- RAAS Jodhpur: in the old city directly beneath the fort, a short walk from the lanes.
- Gentler heritage: Ajit Bhawan and Bal Samand Lake Palace. Our guide to luxury hotels in Jodhpur compares them.
In the countryside
- Country forts: Rohet Garh and Khimsar Fort are an hour or two away, and we drive you in for the evenings.
- Why: quiet mornings, village walks and a family welcome after the city's noise.
What most visitors miss
Toorji ka Jhalra: the restored stepwell in the old city, lovely in the early morning before the cafes open.
The Chamunda Mata temple: at the southern end of Mehrangarh, the Rathores' own goddess, brought from Mandore in 1460. Calm outside the Navratri crowds.
- The temple of thirty-three crore gods: beside the Hall of Heroes at Mandore, its walls crowded with painted gods and spirits.
- The Ravana story: local tradition says Mandodari, Ravana's wife, came from Mandore. Ask our guide why a few families here mourn rather than celebrate at Dussehra.
- The clock tower at dusk: the spice sellers, the bangle stalls and the evening light on the tower, all within a few steps.
Before you go
Check the programme with us: venues and timings are announced late. We send you the confirmed plan as soon as it is out.
Carry small notes: for tea, tips to musicians and offerings at shrines. Many stalls take phone payments, but cash is quicker in a crowd.
- Greeting
- Khamma ghani
- Dress code
- Modest, bright, shoes off at shrines
- Bring
- A light layer, small notes, a scarf
- Evenings
- Concerts can run late
- Protect your ears and eyes: the loudspeakers at the open stages are powerful, and the procession raises dust. Earplugs and sunglasses earn their place.
- Mind the ramps: Mehrangarh's stone ramps are steep and polished by centuries of feet. Wear shoes with grip, especially after dark.
- Drink water often: October afternoons are warmer than they look, and the evenings make you forget you are thirsty.
- Expect changes: a stage may move or a performance start late. Our guide keeps track and will find the next good thing.
- Read up: our Jodhpur itinerary shows how we shape days around the city's festivals.
Jodhpur's festival season around the full moon
Navratri at Mehrangarh: for the nine nights of the goddess, Jodhpur families climb in their thousands to the Chamunda Mata temple in the fort. Our guides plan the route and the hour with great care.
Dussehra: effigies of Ravana are burnt across the city on the tenth day, a few days before Sharad Purnima.
- The folk festival: dawn concerts on the ramparts of Mehrangarh around the same full moon.
- Diwali: about two weeks after Sharad Purnima, the blue lanes below the fort are lit with lamps.
- The season opens: October is when the palace hotels, the country forts and the desert camps reopen for winter, so the whole region feels newly awake.
Journeys and places to combine with the festival
The desert triangle
- The route: Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner, the three great desert cities, with camps in the dunes between them.
- Timing: our desert triangle journey starts in Jodhpur and can be timed for the full moon.
Osian and the Bishnoi villages
- Osian: about an hour north, the temples of Osian are among the oldest in Rajasthan.
- The Bishnois: south of the city, the Bishnoi villages, where blackbuck graze unafraid, make a lovely morning after a late festival night.
Navratri and Dussehra
Mewar and Marwar
- Two kingdoms: Jodhpur and Udaipur, the two great Rajput capitals, with Ranakpur's marble temple between them, on our Mewar and Marwar journey in seven nights.
Who will love the Marwar Festival, and who won't
You will love it if: you enjoy folk music, local crowds and a city in festive mood, and a moonlit concert below a great fort sounds like the point of travelling.
Repeat visitors: if you already know Jodhpur's monuments, the festival shows you the city's heart.
- Families: children enjoy the procession, the camels, the turbans and the dancing. Keep evenings short for younger ones.
- Less ideal if: you want polish. Programmes are announced late and sometimes change, seating is informal and the sound systems are loud.
- The alternative: for curated concerts and the world's roots musicians, choose the folk festival at Mehrangarh instead, or as well. Our festival calendar shows every option.