Diwali 2026 Date and Lakshmi Puja Muhurat, Explained

When is Diwali in 2026?

Diwali in 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November. The Amavasya tithi begins at 11:27 AM that day and ends at 12:31 PM on 9 November (IST), so the new-moon evening clearly belongs to the 8th. The main Lakshmi Puja muhurat for New Delhi is roughly 5:54 PM to 7:50 PM — Pradosh Kaal under a steady Taurus lagna.

The tithi logic: why Sunday, 8 November

Diwali is kept on Kartik Amavasya — the new-moon day of the Kartik month — and the classical rule is that Amavasya should prevail during Pradosh Kaal, the early-evening twilight when lamps are lit. This year Amavasya begins late morning on 8 November and lasts until midday on the 9th. So on the evening of the 8th the new moon is fully in force, while by the evening of the 9th it has already passed. That is why 2026 has none of the two-day confusion some years bring: the 8th is not the mainstream choice, it is the only one the tithi supports.

A tithi is not a calendar date but a measure of the Moon's journey — one thirtieth of the distance from full moon to new moon. Tithis begin and end at odd clock times, which is why festival dates so often seem to float. If this way of counting days is new to you, our guide to choosing an auspicious muhurat walks through the five limbs of the panchang in plain language.

The Lakshmi Puja muhurat, step by step

For New Delhi, Pradosh Kaal on 8 November runs from about 5:31 PM to 8:09 PM — the period just after sunset when day hands over to night. Inside it sits the puja window itself, roughly 5:54 PM to 7:50 PM, when Vrishabha (Taurus) lagna is rising. Families traditionally light the first lamps, clean the threshold and sit for Lakshmi-Ganesha puja inside this window, with the account-book blessing of Chopda Puja kept by many businesses at the same hour. Timings for your own city will differ by some minutes; treat these as the Delhi reference, not a national constant.

Why a sthir lagna is chosen

There is a lovely piece of logic under the timing. Muhurta Chintamani tradition asks that Lakshmi be invited during a sthir — fixed — lagna: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius. Lakshmi is called chanchala, restless, the one who does not stay put. So you welcome her when the ascendant itself refuses to move, asking symbolically that prosperity settle in your home rather than pass through it. On Diwali evening the fixed Taurus lagna rises conveniently inside Pradosh Kaal, which is exactly the overlap the whole country waits for. Some communities, and most tantrik lineages, instead worship at midnight under Simha lagna — a different doorway, the same principle.

Why the window shifts from city to city

Pradosh Kaal is measured from sunset, and lagna rises on the local horizon — so a Diwali muhurat is really a local phenomenon. Mumbai's window slides later than Delhi's; Kolkata's comes earlier. This is why panchang makers publish city-wise tables, and why a friend in another time zone may rightly observe a different hour. The daily panchang for your own city is the honest source here.

The five days around the date

Diwali is the centre of a five-day arc, and 2026 arranges it neatly around one weekend:

• Dhanteras — Friday, 6 November: Trayodashi, the day of Dhanvantari, when households buy metal and light the first lamp for Yama at dusk.
• Naraka Chaturdashi — the early morning of Sunday, 8 November: Chaturdashi prevails at sunrise that day, so the pre-dawn Abhyang Snan of Choti Diwali happens the same morning as Diwali itself.
• Diwali, Lakshmi Puja — Sunday, 8 November, evening: Amavasya, the main night of lamps.
• Govardhan Puja, Annakut — Monday, 9 November: Pratipada, the day of gratitude and abundance after the new moon.
• Bhai Dooj — Wednesday, 11 November: Dwitiya, the sibling day that closes the festival week.

Bhai Dooj deserves the same tithi honesty as the main date. Dwitiya begins at 2:00 PM on 10 November and runs until 3:53 PM on 11 November (IST), so it genuinely touches both days — which is why a few panchangs list the 10th. But Bhai Dooj is kept in the afternoon Aparahna window, not the morning, and on the 11th that window (roughly 1:17 PM to 3:31 PM) falls entirely inside Dwitiya, while on the 10th the tithi has barely begun by the same hour. That is why the mainstream civil date is Wednesday, 11 November — the same rule this whole page uses for Diwali, applied to the sibling day.

If you are planning the shopping side of the week, the Dhanteras buying muhurat has its own logic — worth a look before Friday. And for the festival's meaning, rituals and Lakshmi-Ganesha vidhi in full, our evergreen Diwali guide stays the reference long after these 2026 timings are done.

Using the muhurat without anxiety

A muhurat is a doorway, not a deadline. If the evening window finds you stuck in traffic or putting a child to bed, nothing is lost — the night of Amavasya itself is the festival, and a lamp lit at nine with a settled mind outranks a ritual rushed through at six. Astro Ratan can give you the exact puja window for your own city on WhatsApp, in plain language, so the evening can be about the lamps rather than the clock.