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Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) 2026

The gods' Diwali — a million lamps on the Kashi ghats.

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Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) 2026 date
Tuesday, 24 November 2026
Tithi: Kartika Purnima
Tithi window: 11:49 PM, Monday, 23 November 2026 → 08:32 PM, Tuesday, 24 November 2026
See the full panchang for Tuesday, 24 November 2026
Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) 2026
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Today's Panchang

Kashi reference · computed live
Tithi
Saptami
till 20:47
Nakshatra
Ashwini
till 21:21
Yoga
Shula
Karana
Vishti
Sunrise
05:26
Sunset
18:41
Moon sign
Aries
Sun sign
Cancer

Muhurat & timings

Kashi/IST · astronomically computed
  • Sankalp (sunrise)06:21
  • Sunset17:08
  • Fasting window (tithi)2026-11-23 · 23:49 → 20:32
  • Parana (tithi ends)20:32

The significance of Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali)

Kartik Purnima is the full moon of Kartika, the month held holiest for bathing, charity and the worship of Vishnu, and it closes that month at its brightest. It carries several memories at once, and each gives the day one of its names.

As Tripurari Purnima it recalls Shiva's destruction of Tripura — the three flying cities of the asuras that could be burnt only by a single arrow at a single moment; Shiva as Tripurari struck them down, and the gods lit lamps in relief. As the day of the Matsya avatar it recalls Vishnu's first descent, as the fish who saved the Vedas and the seeds of life from the deluge. In Vaishnava reckoning it is also linked with the worship of Vrinda and the tulsi.

It is kept above all as Dev Deepawali, the Diwali of the gods, most famously on the ghats of Kashi, where thousands of lamps are floated and lit at dusk, the devas said to descend to bathe in the Ganga on this night.

Historical background

Kartik Purnima gathers several old strands. As Tripurari Purnima it marks Shiva's destruction of the three flying cities of the demon Tripurasura; as the culmination of the month-long Kartik snan it is the holiest bathing day of Kartika. From the medieval period the Dev Deepawali of Kashi — the ghats of Varanasi lit end to end with lamps for the descent of the gods — grew into its most spectacular form, and the great fairs at Pushkar and Sonepur, some of the oldest cattle and camel fairs in the world, gather on this full moon.

Scriptural references

The Kartik mahatmya of the Skanda Purana praises the month's snan and daan, reaching their height on this Purnima; the Tripura-samhara — Shiva as Tripurari — is told in the Shiva Purana and Mahabharata. The day is also linked to Vishnu's first avatar, Matsya, said to have appeared on Kartik Purnima.

Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) puja vidhi

  1. 1Rise before dawn and take the holy bath, ideally in the Ganga or another sacred river.
  2. 2Offer arghya to the rising sun and, at evening, to the moon.
  3. 3Worship Vishnu and Shiva; light a lamp before the tulsi and offer flowers and incense.
  4. 4Perform deep daan — the offering of lamps — floating them on the water at dusk.
  5. 5Give in charity: food, ghee, sesame, cloth and lamps to those in need.
  6. 6Read or recall the accounts of Tripurari and the Matsya avatar, and sing bhajans.
  7. 7At Kashi and other tirthas, join the lamp-lit ghats of Dev Deepawali and the evening aarti.

Vrat rules

  • A holy bath (snan) at dawn in a river or sacred water is the day's central act, Kartika being the month most prescribed for it.
  • Many keep a fast until the evening, taking only satvik food, and give in charity — Kartika daan is highly valued.
  • Lamps are floated and lit at riverbanks and ghats in the evening as Dev Deepawali.
  • Feeding the poor, the giving of ghee, sesame and blankets, and the lighting of lamps are the day's chief merits.
  • Those keeping the Kartika vrat through the month conclude it on this Purnima.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Confusing Dev Deepawali with Diwali — it falls fifteen days later, on Kartik Purnima, and honours the gods, not Lakshmi.
  • Missing the final Kartik snan, the culminating and most meritorious bath of the month-long discipline.
  • Overlooking the Tripurari meaning — the day is Shiva's, not only a Vishnu observance.
  • Not knowing it coincides with Guru Nanak Gurpurab, kept the same full moon.

The vrat katha of Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali)

Three asura brothers, sons of Tarakasura, won by long penance three great cities — one of gold, one of silver, one of iron — set in the heavens, the sky and the earth. Their boon was strange: the cities could be destroyed only when all three aligned in a single line, and only by a single arrow loosed in that one instant. So protected, the asuras grew invincible and oppressed the worlds.

When the gods could bear it no longer they turned to Shiva. He mounted a chariot of the earth and sun and moon, took Mount Meru as his bow and Vishnu as his arrow, and waited for the moment the three cities crossed into one line. In that single instant he loosed the arrow and burnt Tripura to ash. The gods, delivered, lit rows of lamps in celebration — and Kartik Purnima, as Tripurari and as Dev Deepawali, keeps that night of lamps.

Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) timeline

  1. Dawn — the final Kartik snan

    The month-long Kartik snan reaches its most meritorious day; a pre-dawn holy dip in the Ganga or a sacred tank.

  2. Day — daan & Tripurari puja

    Charity, deep-daan and the worship of Shiva as Tripurari and of Vishnu are done through the day.

  3. Evening — Dev Deepawali

    At dusk the ghats and rivers are covered with floating and standing lamps, welcoming the gods said to descend to bathe.

  4. Night

    Aarti and, at Kashi, the mass Ganga aarti; the fairs at Pushkar and Sonepur run for days around the day.

Famous places & temples

Varanasi — Dev Deepawali

The eighty-odd ghats are lined with lakhs of earthen lamps for the 'Diwali of the gods'; the most breathtaking sight of the Kashi year.

Pushkar, Rajasthan

The Pushkar Mela and a holy bath in the lake near the rare Brahma temple draw pilgrims and the famous camel fair.

Sonepur, Bihar

The Sonepur Mela on the Gandak–Ganga confluence — once the largest cattle fair in Asia — opens on Kartik Purnima.

Prabhas / Somnath & Kartikeya shrines

Coastal and Kartikeya temples (like Pehowa) hold special worship on the Tripurari full moon.

Interesting facts

  • ◆As Tripurari Purnima it marks Shiva burning the three cities of Tripurasura with a single arrow — the reason Shiva is called Tripurari.
  • ◆On Dev Deepawali the gods are said to descend to bathe in the Ganga at Kashi, where lakhs of lamps light every ghat.
  • ◆Vishnu's first avatar, Matsya the fish, is held to have appeared on this full moon.
  • ◆It shares the day with Guru Nanak Gurpurab and with two of the world's oldest fairs, at Pushkar and Sonepur.

Common questions

When is Kartik Purnima celebrated?

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.

Why is Kartik Purnima called Dev Deepawali?

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.

What is Tripurari Purnima?

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.

Why is bathing important on Kartik Purnima?

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.

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.

Other major festivals in 2026