Diwali 2026

The five days of Diwali 2026

1. Fri 6 November

   Dhanteras

   Gold, silver and new utensils are bought, and a lamp is lit for Yama at the door in the evening.

2. Sat 7 November

   Kali Chaudas

   Chaturdashi begins. In Gujarat and parts of the west this night is kept for protection from harm.

3. Sun 8 November

   Narak Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)

   The dawn oil bath, abhyang snan, 05:41 to 06:38 in Delhi, remembering Krishna's defeat of Narakasura.

4. Sun 8 November

   Lakshmi Puja (Badi Diwali)

   The main night: Lakshmi and Ganesha are worshipped in the evening muhurat and lamps fill the house. In Bengal it is Kali Puja, at midnight.

5. Tue 10 November

   Govardhan Puja and Annakut

   Krishna lifting Govardhan is remembered with a mountain of food offerings. It is also the Gujarati New Year.

6. Wed 11 November

   Bhai Dooj

   Sisters mark a tilak on their brothers’ foreheads and pray for their long life.

Maharashtra begins a day earlier, with Govatsa Dwadashi (Vasu Baras) on 5 November. The Pushya before Diwali, the first gold-buying day of the season, comes the week before.

Why 8 November, and why calendars sometimes disagree

Diwali is kept on Kartik Amavasya, but a tithi does not begin at midnight. The new moon can start in the middle of one day and end in the middle of the next, so the festival needs a rule to pick between them. For Lakshmi Puja the rule is the evening: the puja is done in Pradosh Kaal, the window that opens at sunset, and Amavasya has to be running then.

When Amavasya covers the evening on both days, the classical rule takes the second day only if the new moon lasts more than one ghati, twenty-four minutes, past that day's sunset. That is what produced the arguments of recent years. In 2024 Amavasya ran forty minutes past sunset on 1 November in Delhi, so the rule gives 1 November, though several calendars printed 31 October. In 2025 it lasted only nine minutes past sunset on 21 October, so the 20th stood.

Because sunset differs by city, the same rule can land a day apart in two places. In 2026 Amavasya covers the evening of 8 November in every Indian city above. The cities abroad on this page keep the same date.

Choosing the muhurat

Pradosh Kaal is the first fifth of the night, roughly two and a half hours from sunset. It is the main window for Lakshmi Puja in homes.

Within it, families look for Vrishabha Kaal, when Taurus is rising. Taurus is a sthir, a fixed sign, and tradition holds that Lakshmi worshipped in a fixed lagna stays in the house rather than passing through it. The overlap of the two is the muhurat shown in the tables above.

Mahanishita Kaal is the middle of the night, the window for Kali Puja and for tantric and all-night worship. Simha, Leo, the other fixed sign that rises that night, follows after midnight and is used by some families for a second puja.

Lakshmi Puja at home, step by step

1. Clean the house and the puja space during the day, draw a rangoli at the entrance and hang a toran of mango leaves at the door.
2. Spread a red cloth on a raised stand. Place a kalash of water topped with mango leaves and a coconut, and set the murtis (idols) or pictures of Ganesha and Lakshmi side by side on the cloth. Many families bring home a new Lakshmi-Ganesha murti each Diwali.
3. At the start of the muhurat, light the main diya and take the sankalp: say your name, your family's name and the purpose of the puja.
4. Worship Ganesha first, with roli, rice, flowers and a sweet, so that the puja proceeds without obstacles.
5. Worship Lakshmi with water, panchamrit, roli, flowers (a lotus if you can find one), coins, kheel and batashe, and sweets. Many families also place their cash box, account books or jewellery before her.
6. Sing the Lakshmi aarti, Om Jai Lakshmi Mata, and offer the aarti to Ganesha.
7. Carry diyas through the house, to the door, windows and kitchen, and keep one lamp burning through the night.

Diwali puja samagri list

Chopda Pujan and Muhurat Trading

For business families Diwali is also the start of the financial year. Gujarati and Marwari traders worship new account books, the chopda or bahi khata, in the Diwali muhurat, writing shubh and labh and a swastika on the first page before any entry is made. The same muhurat serves for opening a new ledger, a shop's first sale of the year or a fresh investment.

The stock exchanges keep the custom too. The NSE and BSE hold a one-hour Muhurat Trading session on Diwali evening, the first trade of the new Samvat year, and announce its time a few weeks ahead. Many investors use it to buy a small holding they mean to keep for years.

Why Diwali is celebrated

The best known story is Rama's return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and the defeat of Ravana. The city lit rows of lamps, deepavali, to welcome him home, and the name stuck. Tradition also holds that Lakshmi emerged from the churning of the ocean on this Amavasya, which is why the night is hers.

The day before remembers Krishna's victory over the demon Narakasura, the origin of Narak Chaturdashi. In Bengal the same new moon belongs to Kali. Jains mark it as the night of Mahavira's nirvana, and Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas, Guru Hargobind's release from Gwalior fort.

What every version shares is the image of light brought into the darkest night of the season, and of prosperity invited into a home that has been cleaned and made ready for it.

Diwali in 2027

Diwali 2027 is on Friday, 29 October 2027. Dhanteras falls on 27 October, Govardhan Puja on 30 October and Bhai Dooj on 31 October. The muhurat by city will appear here once that year comes round.

Common questions