Festival Calendar

Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2026

The festival of lights — Lakshmi Puja while Amavasya prevails during pradosh.

Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2025Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2027
Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2026 date
Sunday, 8 November 2026
Tithi: Kartika Amavasya
Tithi window: 11:30 AM, Sunday, 8 November 2026 → 12:31 PM, Monday, 9 November 2026
See the full panchang for Sunday, 8 November 2026
Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2026
Starts in
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Today's Panchang

Kashi reference · computed live
Tithi
Navami
till 17:50
Nakshatra
Purva Ashadha
till 04:31
Yoga
Saubhagya
Karana
Kaulava
Sunrise
05:45
Sunset
17:57
Moon sign
Sagittarius
Sun sign
Virgo

Muhurat & timings

Kashi/IST · astronomically computed
  • Sankalp (sunrise)06:10
  • Pradosh puja muhurat17:13 – 19:37
  • Fasting window (tithi)11:30 → 2026-11-09 · 12:31
  • Parana (tithi ends)12:312026-11-09

What's specific to Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2026

Kashi / IST reference

In 2026, Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) falls on a Sunday.

It is fixed to a lunar tithi, not a calendar date, so it lands somewhere different each Gregorian year:

Timings computed for this occurrence

  • Sankalp (sunrise)06:10
  • Pradosh puja muhurat17:13 – 19:37
  • Tithi span11:30 → 2026-11-09 · 12:31

Panchang on the day in 2026

  • NakshatraSwati
  • YogaAyushman
  • KaranaShakuni
  • Moon signLibra
  • Sunrise / sunset06:10 – 17:13
  • Rahu Kaal (avoid)15:50 – 17:13

Around Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) 2026

Observances falling within a week of it in 2026 — the sequence is specific to this year:

See the full panchang for the day itself

Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.

Why Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) is celebrated

Diwali is observed on the Amavasya — the new moon — of Kartika, the darkest night of the lunar year. That choice is the whole meaning of the festival: the lamp matters precisely because the night is moonless. Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wellbeing, is invited into a home that has been cleaned, repaired and lit.

The festival carries different memories in different regions, and all of them are held to be true at once. Northern India remembers Rama's return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile, when the city lit rows of lamps to guide him home. Southern India remembers Krishna's defeat of Narakasura at dawn. Jains observe the nirvana of Mahavira, and Sikhs keep Bandi Chhor Divas, the day Guru Hargobind walked free from Gwalior Fort with fifty-two princes.

Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening, during pradosh kaal — the window that begins at sunset — and a sthir (fixed) lagna is preferred, so that the wealth invited in is wealth that stays.

Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) puja vidhi — in brief

  1. Clean the house completely and draw a rangoli at the entrance; leave the front door open during the puja.
  2. Bathe and wear fresh clothes before sunset. Begin the puja in pradosh kaal.
  3. Spread a red cloth on a raised platform. Place idols or images of Ganesha and Lakshmi, Ganesha to Lakshmi's right.
  4. Place a kalash of water with mango leaves and a coconut beside them. Keep coins, account books or business ledgers on the platform.
  5. Light a ghee lamp, offer haldi, kumkum, akshat (unbroken rice), flowers, betel leaf, and sweets. Offer Ganesha durva grass and Lakshmi a lotus if available.
  6. Invoke Ganesha first — every rite begins with him — and then Lakshmi. Recite the Lakshmi mantra, then perform aarti.
  7. Distribute prasad, then light lamps throughout the house and at the doorway.

Essential puja samagri

  • Clay diyas and oil / ghee with wicks
  • Lakshmi–Ganesh idols or images
  • A kalash and coins / silver
  • Kumkum, roli, akshat, chandan
  • Lotus or marigold flowers
  • Kheel, batasha and sweets
  • Gangajal and a conch
  • Camphor and incense
  • Cowries (kaudi) and a new account book (for traders)
Read the Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) puja vidhi, vrat rules and katha

Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the correct time for Lakshmi Puja on Diwali?

Lakshmi Puja is performed in pradosh kaal, the window beginning at sunset, and preferably during a sthir (fixed) lagna such as Vrishabha. Exact timings shift by city, since they depend on local sunset.

Why is Diwali celebrated on a new moon night?

Kartika Amavasya is the darkest night of the lunar year. Lighting lamps on it is the point: the festival is about producing light where none is given, rather than celebrating light that already exists.

Should Ganesha be placed to the left or right of Lakshmi?

Ganesha is placed to Lakshmi's right as you face the idols. He is invoked first, as every Hindu rite begins with him.

Other major festivals in 2026