The festival season of 2026 opens with Ghatasthapana on Sunday, 11 October, the morning after Sarva Pitru Amavasya, and runs to the Chhath sunrise on Monday, 16 November. In between come Navratri, Dussehra and Dashain, Sharad Purnima, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali and Tihar, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj and Bhai Tika.
We computed every date and muhurat below with the Swiss Ephemeris and the Lahiri ayanamsa, for New Delhi unless another city is named, and cross-checked the festival days kept in Nepal against published announcements there. Two things to know before you plan. First, India and Nepal do not keep all of these on the same day this year, and the reason is explained with each one. Second, muhurat times depend on your city's sunrise and sunset, so a time for Delhi is wrong by several minutes in Mumbai and by more than half an hour in Kolkata. Where it matters, the tables give four cities.
Dates at a glance
| Festival | India | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| Ghatasthapana, Navratri begins | Sunday, 11 October | Sunday, 11 October |
| Fulpati | Saturday, 17 October | |
| Durga Ashtami (Maha Ashtami) | Monday, 19 October | Sunday, 18 October |
| Maha Navami | Tuesday, 20 October | Tuesday, 20 October |
| Dussehra, Vijaya Dashami | Tuesday, 20 October | Wednesday, 21 October (Dashain Tika) |
| Sharad Purnima night, Kojagrat | Sunday, 25 October | Sunday, 25 October |
| Karva Chauth | Thursday, 29 October | |
| Ravi Pushya | Sunday, 1 November | Sunday, 1 November |
| Dhanteras | Friday, 6 November | Friday, 6 November |
| Kaag Tihar | Saturday, 7 November | |
| Narak Chaturdashi, Kukur Tihar | Sunday, 8 November | Sunday, 8 November |
| Diwali, Lakshmi Puja | Sunday, 8 November | Sunday, 8 November |
| Gai Puja | Monday, 9 November | |
| Govardhan Puja, Mha Puja | Tuesday, 10 November | Tuesday, 10 November |
| Bhai Dooj, Bhai Tika | Wednesday, 11 November | Wednesday, 11 November |
| Chhath, evening arghya | Sunday, 15 November | Sunday, 15 November |
| Chhath, morning arghya | Monday, 16 November | Monday, 16 November |
Diwali and Narak Chaturdashi fall on the same day this year, and there is no festival on Monday, 9 November in the Indian calendar. That gap day is the Amavasya morning, and it is explained in the Diwali section.
Ghatasthapana, 11 October
The Pratipada tithi begins at 9:20 pm on 10 October and lasts until 9:31 pm on 11 October, so the whole of Sunday is Pratipada. The usual rule places Ghatasthapana in the first third of the day while Pratipada holds. The same texts ask that it be kept away from Chitra nakshatra and Vaidhriti yoga, and this year both are in force from sunrise: Chitra until 10:32 pm and Vaidhriti until 9:05 pm. When they cannot be avoided, the Abhijit muhurat around midday is the accepted choice.
| City | Morning window (first third of the day) | Abhijit muhurat |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 6:20 am to 10:11 am | 11:44 am to 12:30 pm |
| Mumbai | 6:32 am to 10:27 am | 12:01 pm to 12:48 pm |
| Kolkata | 5:32 am to 9:26 am | 10:59 am to 11:46 am |
| Kathmandu | 6:02 am to 9:54 am | 11:27 am to 12:13 pm |
Families who follow a priest's almanac should go with it. In Nepal, the Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti announces the saait for Ghatasthapana, Fulpati and the Dashain Tika each year, and those are the times people use.
Ashtami, Navami and Dussehra: why Nepal's Tika is a day later
The Ashtami tithi runs from 8:28 am on 18 October to 10:52 am on 19 October. Navami follows until 12:50 pm on 20 October, and then Dashami until 2:12 pm on 21 October. Every one of those times is IST; add 15 minutes for Nepal.
In India, Durga Ashtami is Monday, 19 October, the day that begins with Ashtami at sunrise. Sandhi Puja, which is held across the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami, falls between 10:28 am and 11:16 am IST on 19 October, and between 10:43 am and 11:31 am in Nepal. Maha Navami is the morning of Tuesday, 20 October.
Dussehra is decided by the afternoon, not the morning. Vijayadashami is kept on the day Dashami holds during Aparahna, and on 20 October Dashami begins at 12:50 pm, in time for the whole afternoon, with the Moon in Shravana nakshatra, which the texts prefer for Vijayadashami. So India keeps Maha Navami in the morning and Dussehra in the afternoon of the same day.
| City | Vijay muhurat, 20 October | Aparahna, 20 October |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 1:59 pm to 2:44 pm | 1:13 pm to 3:29 pm |
| Mumbai | 2:19 pm to 3:05 pm | 1:32 pm to 3:52 pm |
| Kolkata | 1:16 pm to 2:02 pm | 12:30 pm to 2:48 pm |
Nepal reckons the Dashain Tika by the tithi at sunrise. On 20 October the sunrise tithi is still Navami, so Vijaya Dashami and the Tika fall on Wednesday, 21 October. Nepal's Maha Ashtami, with Kalratri on its night, is Sunday, 18 October, and Fulpati is Saturday, 17 October.
Panchangs that define sunrise differently can differ from these times by a minute or two. That is normal.
Sharad Purnima, 25 October
The Purnima tithi begins at 11:56 am on Sunday, 25 October and ends at 9:41 am on Monday, 26 October. The full moon night, when kheer is left out under the moon and the Kojagari Lakshmi puja is done, is therefore the night of 25 October. The Purnima morning for bathing and giving is 26 October. In Nepal the Kojagrat vrata is kept on the night of the 25th, and 26 October is kept as Kojagrat Purnima, the close of Dashain.
Karva Chauth, 29 October
The Chaturthi tithi covers the whole of Thursday, 29 October, until 10:10 pm. The fast ends when the moon rises, and moonrise depends strongly on where you are.
| City | Sunset | Moonrise |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 5:37 pm | 8:13 pm |
| Chandigarh | 5:36 pm | 8:08 pm |
| Jaipur | 5:45 pm | 8:24 pm |
| Lucknow | 5:24 pm | 8:02 pm |
| Ahmedabad | 6:02 pm | 8:48 pm |
| Mumbai | 6:05 pm | 8:57 pm |
| Kolkata | 5:00 pm | 7:43 pm |
These are the times the moon clears the horizon. With buildings or haze in the way, it will be seen a little later.
Jupiter changes sign, and a Ravi Pushya
Two sky events sit in the middle of the season. On Saturday, 31 October, at 12:02 pm IST, Jupiter leaves Karka and enters Simha, which is covered in our piece on Jupiter in Leo 2026. The next morning the Moon enters Pushya nakshatra at 5:39 am and stays there until 4:30 am on 2 November, so Sunday, 1 November is a Ravi Pushya. Pushya is the nakshatra most often chosen for buying gold, account books and household things before Diwali, and many families do their shopping that day rather than on Dhanteras.
Dhanteras, 6 November
The Trayodashi tithi begins at 10:31 am on Friday, 6 November and holds through the evening. The puja is done in Pradosh kaal, the first fifth of the night after sunset, and within it in Vrishabha kaal, the stretch when Vrishabha (Taurus) is rising. Vrishabha is a fixed sign, and the idea is that what is brought into the house in a fixed lagna stays.
| City | Pradosh kaal | Dhanteras puja (Vrishabha within Pradosh) |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 5:31 pm to 8:08 pm | 6:03 pm to 7:59 pm |
| Mumbai | 6:01 pm to 8:34 pm | 6:36 pm to 8:34 pm |
| Kolkata | 4:55 pm to 7:29 pm | 5:29 pm to 7:27 pm |
| Kathmandu | 5:15 pm to 7:52 pm | 5:47 pm to 7:44 pm |
The Yama deepam, a lamp lit facing south for Yama, is lit the same evening.
Diwali, 8 November
The Chaturdashi tithi holds at dawn on Sunday, 8 November and ends at 11:28 am. The Amavasya then runs until 12:32 pm on Monday, 9 November. That makes 8 November both Narak Chaturdashi and Diwali.
The morning bath of Narak Chaturdashi, abhyang snan, is taken before sunrise while the Chaturdashi moon is up: in Delhi the moon rises at 5:37 am and the sun at 6:39 am. The evening is Amavasya, and Lakshmi Puja belongs to the Amavasya evening. On the 9th the Amavasya ends at midday and the evening is already Pratipada, which is why Monday carries no festival in India.
Lakshmi Puja is done in Pradosh kaal, and the preferred window is Vrishabha kaal inside it, for the same reason as on Dhanteras.
| City | Pradosh kaal | Lakshmi Puja muhurat | Nishita kaal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 5:30 pm to 8:08 pm | 5:55 pm to 7:51 pm | 11:38 pm to 12:31 am |
| Mumbai | 6:01 pm to 8:33 pm | 6:28 pm to 8:28 pm | 11:56 pm to 12:47 am |
| Kolkata | 4:54 pm to 7:28 pm | 5:21 pm to 7:20 pm | 10:54 pm to 11:46 pm |
| Kathmandu | 5:14 pm to 7:51 pm | 5:40 pm to 7:36 pm | 11:21 pm to 12:13 am |
Nishita kaal, the middle of the night, is kept by those who do tantric worship and by Kali Puja in Bengal, which falls on the same Amavasya night.
In Nepal the same Amavasya evening makes 8 November both Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja, so two days of Tihar share one date this year. Gai Puja, the worship of the cow, is on the Amavasya morning of 9 November. Kaag Tihar is on 7 November.
Govardhan Puja, Mha Puja and Bhai Dooj
The Pratipada tithi holds at sunrise on Tuesday, 10 November and lasts until 2:00 pm. Govardhan Puja and Annakut are done in the morning, and the Pratahkal window in Delhi is 6:40 am to 8:50 am. In Nepal, 10 November is Mha Puja, the Newar worship of one's own body, and Goru Puja.
The Dwitiya tithi holds from 2:00 pm on 10 November until 3:53 pm on 11 November. Bhai Dooj is kept on the day Dwitiya covers the afternoon, which is Wednesday, 11 November. The Aparahna window for the tilak is 1:09 pm to 3:19 pm in Delhi, 1:29 pm to 3:45 pm in Mumbai and 12:26 pm to 2:40 pm in Kolkata. Bhai Tika in Nepal is the same day, at the saait announced by the Samiti.
Chhath, 13 to 16 November
Chhath runs over four days: Nahay Khay on Friday, 13 November, Kharna on Saturday, 14 November, the evening arghya to the setting sun on Sunday, 15 November, which is the Shashthi, and the morning arghya to the rising sun on Monday, 16 November. The arghya is timed by the sun itself.
| City | Sunset, 15 November | Sunrise, 16 November |
|---|---|---|
| Patna | 4:59 pm | 6:08 am |
| Janakpur | 5:09 pm | 6:22 am |
| Kolkata | 4:51 pm | 5:50 am |
| Delhi | 5:26 pm | 6:45 am |
| Mumbai | 5:59 pm | 6:47 am |
| Kathmandu | 5:10 pm | 6:26 am |
Times are IST for the Indian cities and Nepal time for Janakpur and Kathmandu.
After the season
The wedding calendar reopens with Dev Uthani Ekadashi, which falls on Friday, 20 November, with Tulsi Vivah on the same day or the day after, depending on the family's custom.
For any city not listed here, the Hindu calendar gives the tithi, nakshatra and sunrise for the day, and today's panchanga shows Rahu kaal and the day's timings for where you are. If you want to know how a muhurat relates to your own chart, make your free kundali and ask the AI Jyotish.
Common questions
When is Diwali in 2026?
Sunday, 8 November 2026. The Amavasya covers the evening of the 8th, and Lakshmi Puja in Delhi is best done between 5:55 pm and 7:51 pm.
When is Dussehra in 2026?
Tuesday, 20 October 2026 in India. The Vijay muhurat in Delhi is 1:59 pm to 2:44 pm. In Nepal, Vijaya Dashami and the Dashain Tika are on Wednesday, 21 October.
Why is Dashain Tika on 21 October when Dussehra is on 20 October?
India fixes Vijayadashami by the tithi in the afternoon, and Dashami begins at 12:50 pm on the 20th. Nepal fixes the Tika by the tithi at sunrise, and the first sunrise in Dashami is on the 21st.
When does Navratri start in 2026?
With Ghatasthapana on Sunday, 11 October 2026. Because Chitra nakshatra and Vaidhriti yoga hold all morning, many priests will choose the Abhijit muhurat, 11:44 am to 12:30 pm in Delhi.
Are Narak Chaturdashi and Diwali on the same day?
Yes, both are on 8 November this year. The Chaturdashi holds at dawn for the abhyang snan, and the Amavasya begins at 11:28 am, in time for the evening Lakshmi Puja.
When is Karva Chauth 2026 and when will the moon rise?
Thursday, 29 October 2026. The moon rises at 8:13 pm in Delhi, 8:24 pm in Jaipur and 8:57 pm in Mumbai.
When is Bhai Tika 2026 in Nepal?
Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The exact saait is announced by the Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti.
Further reading
- The fortnight before the festivals: Pitru Paksha 2026 shraddh dates.
- The transit in the middle of the season: Jupiter in Leo 2026.
- The nakshatras named above: Chitra, Pushya and Shravana.
- Before fixing a wedding date: kundali matching by date of birth.
