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Shukla paksha · Kartika · amanta reckoning
Tue, 24 Nov
Kartik Purnima 2026 is on Tuesday, 24 November. It is Purnima of Shukla paksha in Kartika.
2027: Sunday, 14 November 2027
Dev Diwali and Guru Nanak Jayanti fall the same day.
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Tuesday, 24 November 2026
Kartik Purnima is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 15 of Kartika in the amanta reckoning, and the Gregorian day it lands on moves by up to a month between years because twelve lunations fall about eleven days short of a solar year.
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 6:50 AM on that day, and that is the instant the tithi has to be running at for the day to carry the observance. It is computed for this city rather than assumed, because it is what decides the date.
The two instants above are the astronomy and are not in dispute. The day is an interpretation of them: this observance is decided at sunrise, so it belongs to the day whose sunrise the tithi carries — not simply to the day the tithi begins.
Kartik Purnima is the full moon that closes Kartika, the month of lamps: the day of the dawn bath in the Ganga and other rivers, of Kartik Purnima vrat, of Guru Nanak's birth anniversary in the Sikh calendar and of Tripurari Purnima, when Shiva is said to have destroyed the three cities of Tripurasura.
Kartik Purnima, the full moon of Kartika, closes the holiest month of the year with a holy dip at dawn, charity, the Satyanarayan katha in many homes and lamps set on the water at dusk. In New Delhi it falls on Tuesday, 24 November 2026; the dawn snan in Brahma muhurta is 5:03 AM to 5:56 AM, and the evening deepdaan is: 5:24 PM to 8:06 PM. It is also Dev Deepawali in Varanasi and Guru Nanak Jayanti for Sikhs, each with its own page.
| Muhurat | Time in New Delhi | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Holy dip (Brahma Muhurta) | 5:03 AM to 5:56 AMBrahma muhurta on the Purnima morning. | The hour before dawn on the Purnima morning, the most praised time for the Kartik snan in the Ganga, a river, a lake or a temple tank, or at home with Ganga jal in the water. Those who have kept the month-long Kartik snan complete it with this bath. |
| Deepdaan (evening lamps) | 5:24 PM to 8:06 PMPradosh kaal on the evening Purnima holds, while Purnima runs. | Pradosh kaal on the evening Purnima holds, cut to Purnima: the time to set lamps on the river or at the ghat, at the temple, the tulsi and the threshold. In some years Purnima has ended by the evening of the snan day, and this window then falls on the evening before; the date shown with it says which. |
| Sunrise | 6:50 AMThe upper edge of the Sun on the horizon, with refraction. | After the bath, offer water to the rising Sun from a copper lota, at or soon after sunrise in New Delhi. |
| Moonrise | 4:56 PMThe first moonrise after this sunrise and before the next. | Moonrise in New Delhi on the snan day. Those who keep the Purnima fast offer arghya to the full moon at moonrise on the evening Purnima holds and then break the fast; in a year when the deepdaan row shows the evening before, the fast is kept on that day. |
| Auspicious choghadiya (day) |
| The day's Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Chal choghadiyas, which many families use for the Satyanarayan puja and katha and for giving daan. |
| Abhijit Muhurat | 11:46 AM to 12:28 PMThe 8th of the day's fifteen muhurtas, around local noon. | The midday muhurta, auspicious for most rites, for a Satyanarayan or Vishnu puja at noon. There is no Abhijit on a Wednesday. |
| Window | Time in New Delhi | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Abhijit Muhurat | 11:46 AM to 12:28 PM | Auspicious |
| Amrit Kaal | 9:17 PM to 10:42 PM | Most Auspicious |
| Brahma Muhurat | 5:03 AM to 5:56 AM | Auspicious |
These are the spans classical muhurta sets aside for beginnings. They are descriptions of a convention, not warnings: the observance is kept on its day regardless, and nothing here needs to be bought, corrected or remedied.
| Window | Time in New Delhi |
|---|---|
| Rahu Kaal | 2:46 PM to 4:05 PM |
| Yamaganda Kaal | 9:29 AM to 10:48 AM |
| Durmuhurta First | 8:57 AM to 9:39 AM |
| Varjyam | 12:43 PM to 2:09 PM |
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Tuesday, 24 November 2026, from the sunrise, sunset and the positions of the Sun and Moon for this city. The Vedic day runs sunrise to sunrise, so a window whose clock time falls after midnight still belongs to the evening before; a time on another date carries that date.
Eat simply, clean the puja place, and set out what you need for the morning bath, the Satyanarayan puja, the daan and the evening lamps.
In Brahma muhurta bathe in the Ganga, a river, a lake or a temple tank, or at home with a few drops of Ganga jal in the water, reciting Gange cha Yamune chaiva. Those who kept the Kartik snan through the month complete it today.
After the bath offer water to the rising Sun from a copper lota, with a pinch of roli, a few grains of rice and a red flower in it.
Those who fast take the sankalp with water in the right hand. The usual fast is phalahar until the moon is seen in the evening, or until the evening puja by family custom.
In the morning or at midday, set up a chowki with a yellow cloth, a kalash and a picture of Satyanarayan or Vishnu. Worship Ganesh first, then the Lord with panchamrit, tulsi, yellow flowers, banana and other fruit and panjiri, read the five chapters of the Satyanarayan katha and sing the aarti. Without the katha, worship Vishnu with Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
Offer water, milk and bel leaves to the Shivling, chanting Om Namah Shivaya: this full moon remembers Shiva's victory over the three cities of the asuras.
Worship the tulsi with water, a lamp and a red chunari. Tonight is the last of Kartika's evening tulsi lamps, and families who have not yet held Tulsi Vivah can hold it this evening.
Give according to your means: grain, a blanket or warm clothes, lamps and ghee, sesame, fruit or a meal to someone in need.
In the deepdaan window light lamps at a ghat or pond, a temple, the tulsi and the main door. Float lamps on the water in leaf cups or lamps of flour dough, never in plastic or thermocol, and keep children well back from the edge.
Many families, especially in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, light a single lamp of 365 wicks, one for each day of the year, at a temple or at the tulsi.
At moonrise offer water mixed with a little milk and rice to the full moon with the Chandra mantra, and break the fast if you kept one.
Sing the aarti, share the prasad, and keep a lamp burning safely at the tulsi through the evening.
गङ्गे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वति ।
नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् सन्निधिं कुरु ॥
Gange cha Yamune chaiva Godavari Sarasvati
Narmade Sindhu Kaveri jale'smin sannidhim kuru
Meaning: O Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, be present in this water.
When and how: Recited before the bath, holding the water or touching it, so that any bath becomes a bath in the holy rivers; once, or three times.
शुभं करोति कल्याणमारोग्यं धनसम्पदा ।
शत्रुबुद्धिविनाशाय दीपज्योतिर्नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
Shubham karoti kalyanam arogyam dhana-sampada
Shatru-buddhi-vinashaya dipa-jyotir namo'stu te
Meaning: Salutation to you, light of the lamp, which brings what is auspicious and good, health and plenty, and destroys hostile thoughts.
When and how: Said with folded hands as you light the first lamp of the deepdaan.
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Meaning: Om, salutation to the Lord Vasudeva; the twelve-syllable mantra Narada teaches Dhruva in the Bhagavata Purana.
When and how: In the Satyanarayan or Vishnu puja, 108 times on a tulsi mala.
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Meaning: Om, salutation to Shiva. The words namah shivaya come from the Shri Rudram of the Yajurveda.
When and how: While offering water, milk and bel leaves to the Shivling, 11 or 108 times.
ॐ श्रां श्रीं श्रौं सः चन्द्राय नमः
Om Shraam Shreem Shraum Sah Chandraya Namah
Meaning: Om, shraam shreem shraum sah: salutation to Chandra, the Moon. The four seed syllables are the Moon's beej.
When and how: While offering arghya to the full moon at moonrise, 11 times, before breaking the fast.
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे।
भक्त जनों के संकट, दास जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥
जो ध्यावे फल पावे, दुःख बिनसे मन का, स्वामी दुःख बिनसे मन का।
सुख सम्पति घर आवे, सुख सम्पति घर आवे, कष्ट मिटे तन का॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥
मात पिता तुम मेरे, शरण गहूं किसकी, स्वामी शरण गहूं मैं किसकी।
तुम बिन और न दूजा, तुम बिन और न दूजा, आस करूं मैं जिसकी॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥
तुम पूरण परमात्मा, तुम अन्तर्यामी, स्वामी तुम अन्तर्यामी।
पारब्रह्म परमेश्वर, पारब्रह्म परमेश्वर, तुम सब के स्वामी॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥
तुम करुणा के सागर, तुम पालनकर्ता, स्वामी तुम पालनकर्ता।
मैं मूरख फलकामी, मैं सेवक तुम स्वामी, कृपा करो भर्ता॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥
तुम हो एक अगोचर, सबके प्राणपति, स्वामी सबके प्राणपति।
किस विधि मिलूं दयामय, किस विधि मिलूं दयामय, तुमको मैं कुमति॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥
दीन-बन्धु दुःख-हर्ता, ठाकुर तुम मेरे, स्वामी रक्षक तुम मेरे।
अपने हाथ उठाओ, अपने शरण लगाओ, द्वार पड़ा तेरे॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥
विषय-विकार मिटाओ, पाप हरो देवा, स्वामी पाप हरो देवा।
श्रद्धा भक्ति बढ़ाओ, श्रद्धा भक्ति बढ़ाओ, सन्तन की सेवा॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे।
भक्त जनों के संकट, दास जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे॥
Om jai Jagdish hare, swami jai Jagdish hare.
Bhakt janon ke sankat, das janon ke sankat, kshan mein door kare.
Om jai Jagdish hare.
Jo dhyave phal pave, dukh binse man ka, swami dukh binse man ka.
Sukh sampati ghar aave, sukh sampati ghar aave, kasht mite tan ka.
Om jai Jagdish hare.
Maat pita tum mere, sharan gahoon kiski, swami sharan gahoon main kiski.
Tum bin aur na dooja, tum bin aur na dooja, aas karoon main jiski.
Om jai Jagdish hare.
Tum pooran Parmatma, tum antaryami, swami tum antaryami.
Parabrahm Parmeshwar, Parabrahm Parmeshwar, tum sab ke swami.
Om jai Jagdish hare.
Tum karuna ke sagar, tum palankarta, swami tum palankarta.
Main moorakh phalkami, main sevak tum swami, kripa karo bharta.
Om jai Jagdish hare.
Tum ho ek agochar, sabke pranpati, swami sabke pranpati.
Kis vidhi miloon dayamay, kis vidhi miloon dayamay, tumko main kumati.
Om jai Jagdish hare.
Deen-bandhu dukh-harta, thakur tum mere, swami rakshak tum mere.
Apne haath uthao, apne sharan lagao, dwar pada tere.
Om jai Jagdish hare.
Vishay-vikar mitao, paap haro deva, swami paap haro deva.
Shraddha bhakti badhao, shraddha bhakti badhao, santan ki seva.
Om jai Jagdish hare, swami jai Jagdish hare.
Bhakt janon ke sankat, das janon ke sankat, kshan mein door kare.
Text as it is commonly sung. The Gita Press Aarti Sangrah prints 'prabhu' for 'swami', 'chhin mein' for 'kshan mein' and 'khal kami' for 'phalkami'; it does not repeat the half-lines, has no 'das janon ke sankat', 'main sevak tum swami' or 'apne sharan lagao', and reads 'tum thakur mere' for 'thakur tum mere, swami rakshak tum mere'. Printed text
The Shiva Purana tells of the three sons of Tarakasura, Tarakaksha, Kamalaksha and Vidyunmali, who won from Brahma three flying cities built by the asura architect Maya, of gold, silver and iron, with the boon that they could be destroyed only by a single arrow when the three came into one line. Secure in that boon, they tormented the three worlds.
The gods turned to Shiva. The earth became his chariot, the Sun and the Moon its wheels and Brahma its charioteer, Mount Meru his bow, the serpent Vasuki its string and Vishnu himself the arrow. When the three cities stood in one line, Shiva loosed the single arrow and burnt them. Tradition places that moment on the full moon of Kartika, so the day is called Tripurari Purnima, and the gods lit lamps in joy, which Kashi remembers as Dev Deepawali.
Other traditions add their own meaning to the day. Some hold that Vishnu took his first avatar, Matsya, the fish, on this full moon, and the Kartika-mahatmya praises the month's dawn baths, lamps and charity, which reach their fullness on it. Many families also read the Satyanarayan katha, the story told on full moons of the Lord who rewarded a poor Brahmin, a woodcutter, a merchant and a king who kept his vrat with faith.
Kartika is counted among the holiest months of the year, and its daily practices, the dawn bath, the evening lamp at the tulsi and the lamps offered at temples and rivers, are completed on this full moon. Bhishma Panchaka, which began on Dev Uthani Ekadashi, and the season of Tulsi Vivah end with it, and in the Kartika-mahatmya the daan given on this day is praised above that of other days.
The same full moon gathers several traditions: Dev Deepawali on the ghats of Varanasi, Guru Nanak Jayanti for Sikhs, the reopening of the Shatrunjaya pilgrimage at Palitana for Jains, Boita Bandana in Odisha, Karthika Pournami in the Telugu states, and great bathing fairs at Pushkar, Sonepur and Garhmukteshwar.
Offer lamps at a river, a pond or a temple in the deepdaan window. Tradition counts a lamp given in Kartika among the most meritorious offerings of the year; use leaf or flour lamps so the water stays clean.
Light one lamp of 365 wicks at a temple or the tulsi. It is believed to stand for a lamp lit on every day of the year, and is kept especially in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Give grain, a blanket, warm clothes, sesame or a lamp with ghee to someone in need. The Kartika-mahatmya praises the charity of this full moon, and winter makes warm things the most useful gift.
Read or host the Satyanarayan katha with your family and neighbours, and share the panjiri prasad; families keep it as a thanksgiving on full moons.
Offer water, milk and bel leaves to the Shivling on Tripurari Purnima, chanting Om Namah Shivaya.
Offer water with milk to the full moon at moonrise; families keep it as a prayer for a calm mind and a peaceful home.
If you kept the month's dawn bath or tulsi lamp as a vow, complete it today with an udyapan: a puja, a meal or daan to a priest or someone in need, and a lamp at the tulsi.
Two years back, this year, and two ahead. Past years are kept rather than dropped so you can check the engine against a calendar you already have.
| Year | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Friday, 15 November 2024 | past |
| 2025 | Wednesday, 5 November 2025 | past |
| 2026This year | Tuesday, 24 November 2026 | upcoming |
| 2027 | Sunday, 14 November 2027 | upcoming |
| 2028 | Thursday, 2 November 2028 | upcoming |
Every row is computed for New Delhi from the same ephemeris, not looked up. Sunrise decides which day a tithi names, and sunrise differs across India by more than an hour, so a date computed for Delhi can be a day out elsewhere.
There is no single authority that settles a Hindu festival date, and the divergence is genuine rather than sloppy. Three causes account for almost all of it.
So this page shows its working. If your pandit or your family almanac gives a different day, the instants above will usually show you exactly why — and that is more useful than a date asserted without one.
In New Delhi, Kartik Purnima 2026 is on Tuesday, 24 November 2026, the full moon of Kartika. Purnima runs 11:42 PM (23 Nov) to 8:23 PM. The snan and daan are kept on this day, the morning Purnima holds at sunrise; the evening lamps belong to the evening Purnima holds, which in some years is the day before.
Three honest reasons. The tithi can be running at the deciding moment on two days or on none. North India reckons the month purnimanta and the south and west amanta, which names the same krishna fortnight differently. And almanacs differ on which moment of the day decides an observance. The instants above are the astronomy; the day is an interpretation of them.
The most praised time is Brahma muhurta, the hour before dawn, on the Purnima morning: 5:03 AM to 5:56 AM in New Delhi. Bathing any time after that and before the day's puja is also kept by many. At home, add a few drops of Ganga jal to the water and recite Gange cha Yamune chaiva.
In pradosh kaal, the first part of the night after sunset, on the evening Purnima holds. In New Delhi the deepdaan window is: 5:24 PM to 8:06 PM. Light lamps at the water, a temple, the tulsi and the threshold, and float them only in leaf cups or flour lamps.
Purnima runs 11:42 PM (23 Nov) to 8:23 PM in New Delhi. A tithi is measured on the Moon and Sun, so it begins and ends at a different clock time each year and does not follow midnight; that is why the snan day and the deepdaan evening can fall on different dates.
A holy dip before dawn, arghya to the rising Sun, a phalahar fast, the Satyanarayan or Vishnu puja and katha, water and bel leaves for Shiva, worship of the tulsi, daan of grain or warm clothes, lamps at the water and the temple at dusk, and arghya to the full moon before breaking the fast. The vidhi above gives them in order.
On this full moon, tradition holds, Shiva destroyed Tripura, the three flying cities of the asura sons of Tarakasura, with a single arrow when they came into one line; the gods lit lamps in joy, which is why the day is called Tripurari Purnima and Kashi keeps Dev Deepawali. Some traditions also place Vishnu's Matsya avatar on this day, and many families read the Satyanarayan katha.
It completes Kartika, a month counted among the holiest of the year, with its dawn baths, tulsi lamps and deepdaan; it is Shiva's Tripurari Purnima, the end of Bhishma Panchaka and the Tulsi Vivah season, and the day of Dev Deepawali and Guru Nanak Jayanti. The Kartika-mahatmya praises its snan and daan above those of other days.
Vishnu, as Satyanarayan or in his usual form, because Kartika is his month; Shiva as Tripurari, the destroyer of the three cities; the tulsi; the Sun after the dawn bath and the Moon at moonrise. In Maharashtra Kartik Swami's temples are visited, and the Ganga is honoured with the bath and lamps.
Often, but not always. Kartik Purnima's snan is kept on the morning Purnima holds, while Dev Diwali is kept on the evening Purnima holds. When Purnima ends before the evening of the snan day, Dev Diwali falls on the evening before. Both pages compute their own day for your city.
No. Sharad Purnima, the night of kheer under the moonlight and Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, is the full moon of Ashwin, about a month earlier. Kartik Purnima is the next full moon, which closes the month of Kartika, after Diwali and Dev Uthani Ekadashi.
As Boita Bandana. Before dawn families go to rivers, ponds and the sea and float small boats of banana stem, paper or sola with lamps, a custom called danga bhasa, remembering the sadhabas, Odia sea traders who sailed to Bali, Java and Sumatra. Cuttack's Bali Jatra fair begins, and Panchuka, the vegetarian last five days of Kartika, ends.
Gange cha Yamune chaiva at the bath, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya for Vishnu, Om Namah Shivaya for Shiva, Shubham karoti kalyanam when lighting the lamps, and the Chandra beej mantra at the moon arghya. The texts and their meanings are in the mantra section.
Take a sankalp after the dawn bath and keep phalahar, fruit, milk and fasting foods, through the day. After the evening puja and arghya to the full moon at moonrise, break the fast with prasad and a sattvik meal. Those who are unwell, pregnant or elderly can keep the day with prayer and daan instead.
It is a folk custom, strongest in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: one lamp with 365 wicks, one for each day of the year, is lit at a temple or the tulsi. It is believed to stand for a lamp offered every day of the year, for those who could not keep the daily lamp.
Whatever is useful and within your means: grain or a meal, a blanket or warm clothes as winter begins, sesame, ghee, lamps or fruit. Give it to someone in need, a temple kitchen or a gaushala; tradition values the giving more than the amount.
At Pushkar in Rajasthan, where the fair's holiest bath is on the full moon; at Sonepur in Bihar, where the Harihar Kshetra mela opens; at Garhmukteshwar, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Haridwar on the Ganga; at Cuttack for Bali Jatra; and at Palitana, where the Jain Shatrunjaya pilgrimage reopens.
