A Brief Explanation of Gyalphur Drubjor

According to Tibetan astrology, there are 28 stars that rotate daily through the heavens. The seventh star is known as Gyal (rgyal), which means victory. Thursday is Phurbu in Tibetan language. It is the day of the week that is auspicious for gathering.

The astrologically auspicious day of Gyalphur occurs when the seventh star (gyal) coincides with Thursday (phur). It occurs only 2-3 times per year. When it occurs, practice of the three red deities (marpo khor sum) is very auspicious and effective. The three red deities are Kurukule, Takkiraja, and Ganapati.

Ganapati is an elephant-headed deity that is also practiced in the Hindu tradition. It is said that Ganapati will appear briefly to anyone who performs the appropriate rituals on this day. When Ganapati appears, he brings long life, good health, wealth, merit, wisdom, prosperity, and glory.

Ganapati truly does appear to practitioners. On September 1, 1995, there was an instance of Ganapati statues all over the world from London to Southeast Asia drinking milk. This was widely reported in all major newspapers. This auspicious manifestation of Ganapati’s blessings occurred on a Gyalphur day. This is even more amazing because the astrological calculation of Gyalphur occurs only in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, so practitioners of Ganapati in other traditions and countries around the world were not aware of this coincidence. Therefore, we can see that Ganapati’s blessings are still very active.

Gyalphur Days are very auspicious for practice and for performing important activities.

Offer candles on behalf of you or your loved ones on Gyalphur Day.