Diwali is five days of lamps, from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj. Each day is tied to a lunar day (tithi) at a particular time of day, which is why the dates move every year. Here are this year’s, computed for New Delhi.
The days of Diwali 2026
Dhanteras · Dhanvantari Jayanti
The first lamp of Diwali: the day of Dhanvantari, healer of the gods, and of a small purchase of metal for the home. In the evening a lamp facing south is lit for Yama.
Kuber mantra with meaning · Kuber Yantra meaning
- Tithi: Krishna Trayodashi
- 10:31 – 10:48 (Sat 7 Nov)
- Sunset
- 17:32
- Pradosh kaal
- 17:32 – 20:09
- Vrishabha (Taurus) rising, a fixed sign
- 18:03 – 19:58
Choti Diwali (evening lamps)
Chaturdashi has begun: many homes light their first rows of lamps this evening.
- Tithi: Krishna Chaturdashi
- 10:48 – 11:28 (Sun 8 Nov)
- Sunset
- 17:31
Naraka Chaturdashi (morning)
The day dawns in Chaturdashi: the oil bath (abhyanga snan) is taken before sunrise, for Krishna’s victory over Narakasura.
- Tithi: Krishna Chaturdashi
- 10:48 (Sat 7 Nov) – 11:28
- Abhyanga snan (arunodaya, before sunrise)
- 05:02 – 06:38
Diwali · Lakshmi Puja
The new-Moon night of Kartika: Lakshmi and Ganesha are worshipped after sunset, in pradosh, and the house is lit end to end. Many families wait for a fixed (sthira) sign to rise, so that what is begun stays.
Lakshmi Puja vidhi, step by step · Shri Yantra meaning
- Tithi: Amavasya
- 11:28 – 12:32 (Mon 9 Nov)
- Sunset
- 17:31
- Pradosh kaal
- 17:31 – 20:08
- Vrishabha (Taurus) rising, a fixed sign
- 17:55 – 19:50
- Lakshmi Puja muhurta (pradosh with Vrishabha)
- 17:55 – 19:50
- Simha (Leo) rising, the midnight fixed sign
- 00:26 (Mon 9 Nov) – 02:42 (Mon 9 Nov)
Govardhan Puja · Annakut
Krishna lifted Govardhan hill to shelter the people of Vraj from the storm; homes and temples offer a mountain of food (annakut).
- Tithi: Shukla Pratipada
- 12:32 (Mon 9 Nov) – 14:00
- Sunrise
- 06:39
Bhai Dooj
Sisters mark a tilak on their brothers’ foreheads, usually in the afternoon (aparahna), and pray for their long life; brothers promise their care in return.
- Tithi: Shukla Dwitiya
- 14:00 (Tue 10 Nov) – 15:53
- Aparahna (afternoon)
- 13:09 – 15:19
Times shown for New Delhi (UTC+5:30), computed with the Sunyra engine (sidereal Lahiri). Sunrise, sunset and the rising signs shift with your city, by up to an hour or more: check the panchang for your own place. Panchang for your city →
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