- Reference city
- Delhi (other cities in the table)
- Moon's nakshatra then
- Swati (at about 6:35 am on 8 November)
What Choti Diwali is
Choti Diwali, also called Naraka Chaturdashi, Roop Chaudas or Kali Chaudas depending on the region, is kept on Chaturdashi, the fourteenth tithi, of the dark fortnight, the day before the Diwali new moon. In the story Krishna defeats the demon Narakasura, and lamps are lit to mark the day.
Two moments matter. The early-morning oil bath (abhyanga snan) is taken before sunrise on the day Chaturdashi is running at dawn, while the evening lamps are lit on the day Chaturdashi is running at sunset.
When the tithi runs across two sunrises and sunsets these can fall on different days, which is why this page gives both.
How Choti Diwali is commonly observed
- In many homes an oil bath with a herbal paste is taken before sunrise.
- Fresh clothes are worn and lamps are lit outside the house in the evening.
- In some regions Hanuman or Kali is worshipped, and in the south the day is the main Diwali morning.
- Sweets and snacks are made and shared.
- Rangoli patterns are drawn at the entrance.
These are common practices. Families and regions differ, and none of them is needed to read the date on this page.
The date for 2026, worked out
A tithi is the time in which the Moon gains 12 degrees on the Sun. Chaturdashi is tithi number 14 of the dark fortnight, when the Moon is 336 to 348 degrees ahead of the Sun. By the chart engine it begins 7 November at about 10:50 am and ends 8 November at about 11:30 am, Indian time.
Most calendars name a civil day after the tithi that is running at sunrise (the udaya tithi), and that is the rule used here. Delhi's sunrise, sunset and the rule's moment are below.
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Sunrise, Delhi | Chaturdashi covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 7 November 2026 | 6:37 am | 5:32 pm | 6:37 am | not running |
| Sunday, 8 November 2026 | 6:37 am | 5:31 pm | 6:37 am | running |
On only one day does Chaturdashi reach sunrise in Delhi: Sunday, 8 November 2026. There is no tie to break. Mumbai gives the same day. At Delhi's sunrise on 8 November (6:37 am) Chaturdashi is already running, so the oil bath before sunrise belongs to Sunday, 8 November 2026.
At Delhi's sunset on 7 November (5:32 pm) Chaturdashi is running, so the evening lamps can be lit on Saturday, 7 November 2026. These are different days, so a calendar may show the festival on either, depending on whether it follows the morning bath or the evening lamps.
Why calendars can differ on Choti Diwali
This tithi is in the dark fortnight before the new moon that closes Ashwin. North Indian calendars (purnimanta) call that fortnight Kartika; those used in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south (amanta) call it Ashwin. The day is the same, only the month name differs.
The same rule at other cities, for the day or days the tithi touches:
| City | Date | Sunrise | Chaturdashi covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 7 November | 6:37 am | not running |
| Delhi | 8 November | 6:37 am | running |
| Mumbai | 7 November | 6:41 am | not running |
| Mumbai | 8 November | 6:41 am | running |
The morning oil bath and the evening lamps follow different moments of the same tithi, so a calendar may name one day for the bath and the previous evening for the lamps. Regional names (Roop Chaudas, Kali Chaudas) and customs also differ.
Method and limits
Positions come from the same engine that draws the free kundli, with the Lahiri ayanamsa. The tithi comes from the angle between the Sun and the Moon, so it does not depend on the ayanamsa.
Sunrise, sunset and moonrise are for the upper edge of the body with standard refraction, in Indian Standard Time. Tithi times are shown to the nearest five minutes because other panchangs can differ by a minute or so, and a different city moves sunrise and moonrise by minutes to an hour or more.
Regional traditions differ, and for the day and hour you keep the observance, follow your local panchang or temple. The full list of settings is on the method page.
Your own chart on this day
Dates on this page describe the sky only. The nakshatra finder and the current dasha tool show the facts of your own chart for any birth, and the festival calendar for 2026 lists the other festivals of the season with their dates.
Calculated with the Lahiri ayanamsa and whole sign houses; every setting is on the method page. Last checked 15 October 2026.