Pitru Paksha 2026: Shraddh Dates, Tithi and Kutup Muhurat

Pitru Paksha 2026 begins with the Purnima Shraddha on Saturday, 26 September, and ends with Sarva Pitru Amavasya on Saturday, 10 October. The day after, 11 October, is Ghatasthapana and the first day of Navratri.

For fifteen days the Moon wanes through the Krishna Paksha of Ashwin (Bhadrapada in the amanta calendar used in Gujarat, Maharashtra and the south), and each lunar day belongs to the people who died on that tithi. A family does shraddh for a father who died on a Saptami on the Saptami of Pitru Paksha, whatever the calendar date of his death. That is the whole logic of the fortnight, and it is why the date of each shraddh moves every year.

Shraddh dates for 2026

These dates hold for all of India and for Nepal. We computed them for New Delhi and for Kathmandu with the Swiss Ephemeris and the Lahiri ayanamsa, and both cities give the same list. Families outside South Asia should check their own city, because the tithi is fixed by local time and a shraddh in London or Toronto can fall a day earlier than it does in Delhi. The Hindu calendar on this site shows the tithi for any city you pick.

Why two shraddhs fall on 1 October

This year the Panchami tithi is short. It begins at 2:55 pm on 30 September and ends at 12:35 pm on 1 October, Delhi time. Shashthi takes over from 12:35 pm on 1 October.

Shraddh is not decided by the tithi at sunrise, which is how most festivals are fixed. It is decided by the tithi that holds in the middle of the day, in the window called Kutup and in the afternoon period called Aparahna. On 1 October the Kutup muhurat, 11:46 am to 12:34 pm in Delhi, is still Panchami, while the whole Aparahna, 1:21 pm to 3:44 pm, is Shashthi. So both shraddhs are done on the same day: Panchami in the late morning, Shashthi in the afternoon. The Ashtami tithi is also short this year, running from 8:00 am on 3 October to 5:52 am on 4 October, but it covers the whole of the midday window on 3 October, so the Ashtami Shraddh stays on 3 October.

Kutup, Rohina and Aparahna: the hours of shraddh

The day from sunrise to sunset is divided into fifteen muhurtas. The eighth is Kutup, the ninth is Rohina, and the afternoon that follows, up to the end of the twelfth muhurta, is Aparahna. The Dharmashastra texts place shraddh in this stretch, around and after midday, and not in the morning or after sunset.

Because the muhurtas are fractions of the day, the clock times shift slightly each day and from city to city. Here they are for three dates.

On the other days the times move by a minute or two within these ranges. For any other city, the panchanga for that day gives sunrise and sunset, and the fifteen muhurtas can be counted from there.

The special days

Maha Bharani, 29 September. When the Moon is in Bharani nakshatra during Pitru Paksha, a shraddh done that day is said to carry the merit of a shraddh at Gaya. This year the Moon enters Bharani at 9:03 am on 29 September in Delhi and holds it through the afternoon, so Maha Bharani falls on the same day as the Tritiya Shraddh. Bharani is ruled by Yama, which is why the day is tied to the dead.

Avidhava Navami, 4 October. The Navami Shraddh is kept for mothers and for women of the family who died while their husbands were alive. In many homes it is called Matru Navami.

Indira Ekadashi, 6 October. The Ekadashi of Pitru Paksha has its own fast. Its story, told in the Puranas, is of King Indrasena, who kept it so that his father could be released from Yama's world. The Ekadashi Shraddh falls on the same date.

Magha Shraddh, 7 October. The Moon is in Magha from 10:17 pm on 6 October until 9:40 pm on 7 October. Magha's deities are the Pitris themselves, so a shraddh on the day the Moon holds Magha is given special weight. It coincides with the Dwadashi Shraddh, which is also the day for sannyasis who have left the household.

Chaturdashi Shraddh, 9 October. This day is kept for those who died by weapons, accidents or violence, whatever their actual tithi. People who died a natural death on a Chaturdashi are usually remembered on the Amavasya instead.

Sarva Pitru Amavasya, 10 October. The last day, also called Mahalaya Amavasya, is for everyone: ancestors whose tithi is not known, those who were missed on their day, and the family's dead as a whole. If a household can keep only one day of the fortnight, it keeps this one. In Bengal, Mahalaya also marks the start of Devi Paksha.

Why this fortnight, astronomically

Pitru Paksha always falls while the Sun is in Kanya (Virgo). In 2026 the Sun entered Kanya at 7:53 am on 17 September and leaves for Tula at 7:52 pm on 17 October, so the whole fortnight sits inside that month. The older name for Mahalaya shraddh, kanyagata, means exactly that: shraddh while the Sun is in Kanya.

The Moon sets the days. The Siddhanta texts describe the Pitris as living on the far side of the Moon, so that one lunar month is a single day and night for them, and the new moon is their noon. Whatever one makes of the cosmology, it explains the rule: offerings to the ancestors are timed by the Moon's phase, and the fortnight ends on the Amavasya, when the Moon and the Sun stand together.

In a birth chart, the Sun is the karaka of the father and the Moon of the mother. The 9th house is the house of the father and of the line one belongs to, and the 4th house is the mother and the home. Astrologers look at these houses and planets when a question about family inheritance, the father's health or the continuity of the line comes up.

A word on Pitra dosha

Pitru Paksha brings a lot of talk about Pitra dosha, usually with an expensive ritual attached. The term is used loosely. The classical texts do discuss afflictions to the Sun, the 9th house and the 5th house in the context of progeny and family continuity, but they do not support the idea that most people carry an ancestral curse that must be paid off. A dosha claimed from a chart should be read by someone who looks at the whole chart, including the dasha, not from a single placement. We do not recommend remedies on this site. For anything to do with rites for the dead, your family priest and your family's own tradition are the right guides.

What families do during the fortnight

Customs differ by region and family, and the details belong to the family priest. Broadly, the shraddh on a person's tithi includes tarpan, the offering of water with sesame and kusha grass, pind daan, the offering of rice balls, and a meal for Brahmins or for the needy. Portions of food are set out for crows, cows and dogs. Many families avoid starting new ventures, buying property or holding weddings during these fifteen days, and wait for Navratri.

In Nepal the fortnight is called Sorha Shraddha, the sixteen shraddhs, counted from the Bhadra Purnima. As in India, many families travel to Gaya in Bihar for pind daan, and the Amavasya is followed directly by Ghatasthapana, the start of Dashain.

If you missed the tithi

The rule is simple. If you do not know the tithi on which a relative died, or the day passes without the shraddh being done, it is done on Sarva Pitru Amavasya. Many families also keep a separate annual shraddh on the death anniversary by the lunar calendar, which falls on the same tithi in the same lunar month each year.

To find a person's death tithi from the calendar date, open the Hindu calendar, choose the city where the death took place, and look up that date. The tithi at sunrise is shown with the day. If the tithi changed during the day, the one in force at the time of death is the one that counts.

Common questions

When does Pitru Paksha start in 2026?

With the Purnima Shraddh on Saturday, 26 September 2026. The Krishna Paksha itself, and the Pratipada Shraddh, begin on Sunday, 27 September.

When is Sarva Pitru Amavasya in 2026?

On Saturday, 10 October 2026. The Amavasya tithi holds through the Kutup and Aparahna periods that day in both India and Nepal, and it ends at 9:20 pm in Delhi.

Why are Panchami and Shashthi shraddh on the same day?

Because the Panchami tithi is short this year. It holds the Kutup muhurat on the morning of 1 October, and Shashthi holds the whole Aparahna that afternoon, so both shraddhs are done on 1 October.

What is the best time of day for shraddh?

Between the Kutup muhurat, which begins a little before noon, and the end of Aparahna in the mid afternoon. The table above gives the times for Delhi and Kathmandu.

Is Pitru Paksha a bad time to buy things or start work?

Many families avoid new purchases, weddings and housewarmings during the fortnight, out of respect rather than because the period is astrologically bad. Ordinary work goes on as normal. The festival season that follows, from Navratri on 11 October, is the traditional time for new beginnings.

What if I do not know the tithi of death?

Do the shraddh on Sarva Pitru Amavasya, 10 October. It covers every ancestor whose tithi is unknown or was missed.

Further reading

• The ancestors' nakshatra: Magha, and the Yama nakshatra Bharani.
• The planets of father and mother: the Sun and the Moon.
• The daily tithi, nakshatra and Rahu kaal for your city: today's panchanga.
• The lunar timing system itself: the Hindu calendar.