When Is Diwali 2026 — Lakshmi Puja Muhurat

Diwali — the day of Lakshmi Puja — falls on the Amavasya (new-moon day) of the month of Kartik. The date is the day on which the Amavasya tithi is running during Pradosh Kaal, the stretch of evening right after sunset, and the best time for the puja is the part of Pradosh Kaal when the fixed sign Vrishabha (Taurus) is rising. The table below works all of this out for the city you choose.

Type your city above and press "Show"; on a phone, "Nearest city to me" picks the closest city for you. "Next year" and "Previous year" show Diwali and its muhurat for other years. People who search 'when is diwali this year', 'diwali kab hai' or 'diwali kab ki hai' usually want both things at once — the date and the puja time — and both are here.

How the date of Diwali is decided

Diwali follows the lunar calendar, not the solar one, so its English date changes every year — sometimes mid-October, sometimes the second week of November. Three things decide it.

1. Which new moon. In the North Indian *purnimanta* reckoning it is the Amavasya of Kartik. In the *amanta* reckoning of Gujarat and Maharashtra the same new moon is the last day of Ashvin, and Kartik — the Gujarati New Year — begins the next day. Different names, the same day.
2. When the Amavasya runs. A tithi is not tied to sunrise or midnight; it begins and ends at its own moment. Often the Amavasya begins in the afternoon and runs until the afternoon or evening of the next day.
3. Which day has it at Pradosh. Lakshmi Puja is done in Pradosh Kaal, so the day chosen is the one on which the Amavasya is running after sunset.

The *nirnaya* texts such as Dharmasindhu and Nirnayasindhu give the rule: the day whose Pradosh has Amavasya is Deepavali. If both days have Amavasya at Pradosh, the second day is taken only if the Amavasya lasts at least one *ghati* (24 minutes) after sunset that day; otherwise the first. This is the fine point behind the occasional "which day is Diwali?" debate — when the Amavasya lasts only a few minutes into the second evening, one almanac gives the first day and another the second.

Our calculation applies exactly this rule, and we have checked our dates against Drik Panchang's Diwali calendars for several cities so that what you see here does not drift from a major almanac.

Why Diwali moves every year

Twelve lunar months make about 354 days, while the solar year has 365. So each year Diwali comes about eleven days earlier than the year before. The drift does not go on for ever: roughly every two and a half to three years an extra month (*adhik maas*) is added, and when it falls between two Diwalis, Diwali jumps about nineteen days later. In our calculation, Diwali stays between 17 October and 15 November for many decades ahead.

That is why the 'diwali 2026 date' is never last year's date, and why a memory like "it's always in November" can mislead. The table below the muhurat lists the coming years for exactly this reason.

The parts of the Lakshmi Puja muhurat

The table gives several times. Here is what each one means:

Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika and Kumbha are the four fixed signs. The fixed sign rising in the evening is Vrishabha, so the Diwali evening muhurat is normally built on it. Each city sees a sign rise at a different clock time — the further west, the later — so the Lakshmi Puja muhurat in Mumbai is not the same as in Kolkata. That is why the city matters when you look up 'lakshmi puja muhurat' or 'lakshmi puja time'.

Many families also look at that evening's Choghadiya. Choghadiya is a separate system; our "Today's Choghadiya" page gives it for Diwali day too, for the same city. If the two seem to clash, the older and main tradition for Lakshmi Puja is Pradosh with a fixed lagna.

If you miss the muhurat

This worry is very common — the shop closed late, guests arrived, the traffic was bad. Tradition does not press on this.

• All of Pradosh Kaal is auspicious. The Vrishabha stretch is considered best, but a puja anywhere in Pradosh is a complete puja.
• Stay within the Amavasya. If the Amavasya runs through the night, the puja can be done later; Mahanishita and Simha Kaal are listed for exactly this.
• Calm before hurry. A simple puja done on time with a quiet mind is better than a rushed one done in anxiety.

A simple Lakshmi Puja at home

This is for families who do a simple puja at home without a priest. If your family has its own way, follow that.

1. Clean and decorate in the day. A clean house, rangoli and a *toran* at the door. Bathe before evening.
2. The place of worship. Sit facing east or north. A red or yellow cloth on a low stool, with an image or idol of Ganesha and Lakshmi — which side each goes differs from home to home; keep to your family's custom.
3. Kalash. A pot of water with mango leaves and a coconut on top.
4. Sankalp and Ganesha puja. Take water in the hand and resolve in your mind — your name, place and "Lakshmi Puja". Then worship Ganesha with 'Om Gam Ganapataye Namah' — roli, rice, flowers, durva grass.
5. Lakshmi Puja. Roli and rice, lotus or red flowers, puffed rice and sugar drops, sweets, and a ghee lamp. Mantra: 'Om Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah' — 108 times, or as many as you comfortably can. Those who can may recite the Shri Suktam.
6. Kubera and the account book. Trading families worship the new account book, pen and safe at this time — in Gujarat it is called *Chopda Pujan*. Kubera mantra: 'Om Yakshaya Kuberaya Vaishravanaya Dhanadhanyadhipataye Dhanadhanyasamriddhim Me Dehi Dapaya Swaha'.
7. Aarti and lamps. Lakshmi's aarti, then lamps in every corner of the home, the kitchen, the water place and the door.

A word on safety: keep children and elders safe around lamps and crackers, keep lamps away from curtains, and keep a bucket of water nearby. A festival is only complete when everyone is safe.

Gambling, loans and "Diwali totke" — a plain word

In some places there is a folk custom of gambling on Diwali night, and many "Diwali totke" circulate online. The Kundli Milan Jyotish team does not recommend them. Lakshmi Puja honours work, honesty and order in the home — which is why tradition puts its weight on cleaning, a fresh start to the accounts, charity and lighting lamps. The only remedies worth taking up are harmless and simple: mantra, recitation, giving, and peace at home.

Why the muhurat differs by city

India runs on one clock, but sunset and the rising of each sign come at a different time in every city. Eastern cities such as Guwahati and Kolkata see sunset early; western ones such as Ahmedabad and Mumbai, late. This works in two ways:

• Pradosh shifts. Where sunset is later, Pradosh begins later.
• The rising of the lagna shifts. Vrishabha, too, rises later by the clock in western cities. So the whole Lakshmi Puja window moves from city to city.

Occasionally, when the Amavasya lasts only a few minutes into the second evening, two cities can even keep Diwali on different dates. So it is worth choosing your city even when you only want the 'diwali date this year'. If you live in a village, choose the nearest city — 20 to 30 kilometres usually changes the times by only a minute or two. For families abroad, the city list includes London, New York, Toronto, Dubai and many more, with their own local times.

The astrology of Diwali night

At Amavasya the Sun and Moon stand at the same degree, and the Moon cannot be seen. In astrology the Moon signifies the mind, so the new moon is a night for turning inward, lighting a lamp in the dark, and beginning again. On this Kartik new moon the Sun is in Tula (Libra) — the sign where the Sun is debilitated, its outer light at its weakest. Perhaps that is why a row of lamps — *deepavali* — matters so much on this night: when the outer light is low, each home lights its own.

Tula is ruled by Venus, the significator of comfort, beauty and family life. That too helps explain why Lakshmi Puja is so bound up with the household, married life and order.

The days around Diwali

Lakshmi Puja is the middle and greatest day of a five-day festival. Before it come Dhanteras and Narak Chaturdashi; after it, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. Each has its own tithi rule — sometimes two festivals fall on one day, sometimes a blank day falls between. Every day's date and key time is on our "All Days of Deepavali" page, worked out for your city in the same way.

Where Lakshmi stays — harmony at home

Tradition says Lakshmi stays where there is no quarrel at home, where there is effort and respect for everyone. Astrology links this to the charts of the people in the home — the 2nd house (family and speech), the 4th (happiness at home), the 11th (income) and the running dasha. Sometimes money comes in but does not stay, or the mind stays restless even after the puja — at such times two people in the house often have periods and temperaments that are pulling against each other.

That is why the Kundli Milan Jyotish team built the Griha Shanti Kundli Milan. It reads the charts of any two family members together — the match of temperaments, the 4th house, speech, the running dasha and Saturn's transit — and gives each of them simple remedies. Husband and wife sit together for Lakshmi Puja; how well they are in tune is what the Husband–Wife Kundli Milan shows. The report never blames anyone — where something needs care, it gives a remedy.

Frequently asked questions