Narali Purnima is an important festival and ritual observed on full moon day in Shravan Mahina, especially in coastal Maharashtra . Narali Purnima 2024 date is August 19. On Nariyal Purnima day, Narials, or coconuts, are thrown into the sea to propitiate Varuna, the sea-god. The festival is popular along the Konkan and Maharashtra coast.
Narali Purnima is mainly observed by Kolis, the fishing community on the West Coast of India
The day marks the gradual retreat of the monsoon winds and this helps the fishermen to venture into the sea.
A legend associated with Narali Purnima suggests that the ritual is a sort of thanksgiving to Lord Varuna for holding aloft the bridge that enabled Lord Ram to go to Lanka in epic Ramayana.
Popular belief is that the ritual of throwing coconuts is to seek the blessing of Varuna, the sea god, for a good catch and happy life.
Coconut is offered to Varuna because it is believed to be the purest offering that is available on earth. The water and the kernel inside the coconut are considered to be unadulterated.