Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) 2009

On the full moon (Purnima) of the month of Kartika, in autumn — the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, about a fortnight after Diwali. For this year's date, see the date shown above.

It is held to be the night the gods descend to bathe in the Ganga, and is celebrated as their Diwali with rows of lamps floated and lit on the ghats — most famously at Kashi, where the riverfront is covered in lamps at dusk.

Another name for Kartik Purnima, recalling Shiva as Tripurari, who destroyed the three cities of the asuras with a single arrow at the one moment they aligned. The gods lit lamps in relief, which the festival's lamps remember.

Kartika is the month most prescribed for holy bathing, charity and the worship of Vishnu, and its full moon is its most auspicious day. A dawn bath in the Ganga or another sacred river is the central observance.