- Reference city
- Delhi (other cities in the table)
- Moon's nakshatra then
- Dhanishta (at about 6:45 am on 17 November)
What Gopashtami is
Gopashtami is kept on Ashtami, the eighth tithi, of the bright fortnight of Kartika. In the tradition it is the day Krishna was first allowed to take the cows out to graze as a cowherd (gopa), and it is kept with special devotion in Mathura, Vrindavan and Nathdwara.
The cows are worshipped in the morning, so the date follows the Ashtami that is running at sunrise. It comes three days before Dev Uthani Ekadashi.
How Gopashtami is commonly observed
- Cows and calves are bathed and decorated with garlands and colour.
- They are worshipped with a lamp, flowers and food, and fed.
- Devotees walk around the cows or accompany them for a short distance.
- Krishna is worshipped, often as a child among the cows.
- Food is shared, and in gaushalas the day is marked with a gathering.
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. Ashtami is tithi number 8 of the bright fortnight, when the Moon is 84 to 96 degrees ahead of the Sun. By the chart engine it begins 17 November at about 4:20 am and ends 18 November at about 6:05 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 | Ashtami covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 17 November 2026 | 6:44 am | 5:26 pm | 6:44 am | running |
| Wednesday, 18 November 2026 | 6:45 am | 5:26 pm | 6:45 am | not running |
On only one day does Ashtami reach sunrise in Delhi: Tuesday, 17 November 2026. There is no tie to break. Mumbai gives the same day.
Why calendars can differ on Gopashtami
This tithi is in the bright fortnight after the new moon that closes Ashwin, so it belongs to Kartika in both the purnimanta and the amanta calendars.
The same rule at other cities, for the day or days the tithi touches:
| City | Date | Sunrise | Ashtami covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 17 November | 6:44 am | running |
| Delhi | 18 November | 6:45 am | not running |
| Mumbai | 17 November | 6:46 am | running |
| Mumbai | 18 November | 6:47 am | not running |
Ashtami can begin before dawn and end after sunrise on the next day, giving two possible days. The sunrise rule used here picks the day on which Ashtami is running at dawn, and temples sometimes choose the other day.
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.