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 2028
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
- 19:17 – 15:45 (Mon 16 Oct)
- Sunset
- 17:51
- Pradosh kaal
- 17:51 – 20:21
- Vrishabha (Taurus) rising, a fixed sign
- 19:28 – 21:22
Choti Diwali (evening lamps)
Chaturdashi has begun: many homes light their first rows of lamps this evening.
- Tithi: Krishna Chaturdashi
- 15:45 – 12:05 (Tue 17 Oct)
- Sunset
- 17:50
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
- 15:45 (Mon 16 Oct) – 12:05
- Abhyanga snan (arunodaya, before sunrise)
- 04:47 – 06:23
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
- 12:05 – 08:26 (Wed 18 Oct)
- Sunset
- 17:49
- Pradosh kaal
- 17:49 – 20:20
- Vrishabha (Taurus) rising, a fixed sign
- 19:20 – 21:15
- Lakshmi Puja muhurta (pradosh with Vrishabha)
- 19:20 – 20:20
- Simha (Leo) rising, the midnight fixed sign
- 01:51 (Wed 18 Oct) – 04:07 (Wed 18 Oct)
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
- 08:26 – 05:01 (Thu 19 Oct)
- Sunrise
- 06:23
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
- 05:01 – 01:59 (Fri 20 Oct)
- Aparahna (afternoon)
- 13:14 – 15:30
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 →
Plays from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) when you press play.
