- Reference city
- Delhi (other cities in the table)
- Moon's nakshatra then
- Swati (at about 5:30 pm on 8 November)
What Diwali is
Diwali, the festival of lamps, is the new moon (Amavasya) at the end of the dark fortnight of Kartika (purnimanta count; Ashwin in the amanta count). Its main rite is the Lakshmi Puja, held in the evening, which is why the civil date follows the evening and not the morning.
In the north it is linked with the return of Rama to Ayodhya and in many homes with Lakshmi and Ganesha. In Bengal the same night is Kali Puja. The Amavasya tithi often runs across two calendar days, and when it does the rule below decides which day the Lakshmi Puja belongs to.
How Diwali is commonly observed
- Homes are cleaned and decorated, and rangoli is drawn at the door.
- Lamps are lit at dusk, inside the home and along the entrance.
- Lakshmi and Ganesha are worshipped in the evening, in the pradosh.
- Sweets are exchanged with family, friends and neighbours.
- In Bengal the night rite is Kali Puja, held after midnight in some places.
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. Amavasya is tithi number 15 of the dark fortnight, when the Moon is 348 to 360 degrees ahead of the Sun. By the chart engine it begins 8 November at about 11:30 am and ends 9 November at about 12:30 pm, Indian time.
The main rite is held in the evening, in the pradosh, the 2 hours 24 minutes after sunset, so the day is the one on which the tithi covers more of that window. Delhi's sunrise, sunset and the rule's moment are below.
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening window, Delhi | Amavasya covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 8 November 2026 | 6:37 am | 5:31 pm | 5:31 pm to 7:55 pm | all of it |
| Monday, 9 November 2026 | 6:38 am | 5:30 pm | 5:30 pm to 7:54 pm | none of it |
On only one day does Amavasya reach the evening after sunset (pradosh) in Delhi: Sunday, 8 November 2026. There is no tie to break. Mumbai and Kolkata give the same day.
Why calendars can differ on 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 | Evening begins (sunset) | Amavasya covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 8 November | 5:31 pm | all of it |
| Delhi | 9 November | 5:30 pm | none of it |
| Mumbai | 8 November | 6:02 pm | all of it |
| Mumbai | 9 November | 6:02 pm | none of it |
| Kolkata | 8 November | 4:55 pm | all of it |
| Kolkata | 9 November | 4:55 pm | none of it |
The usual rule is that Lakshmi Puja is held on the day Amavasya covers the pradosh. When Amavasya touches the pradosh on both days, different traditions prefer one or the other (some the second, because Amavasya is then at its fullest the next evening, others the first).
The Kali Puja of Bengal follows the night and can fall on a different day from the Lakshmi Puja. A temple or priest in your own tradition has the final word.
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.