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Taradisha

Festival calendar

Hindu festivals and vrats 2026

Every major festival and monthly vrat of 2026, month by month, with the time of the main puja. Dates are for New Delhi, worked out by the classical rules of Nirnaya Sindhu and Dharma Sindhu; change the city to see your own, or add them to your calendar.

Festivals and vrats of 2026

Dates and times for New Delhi, Delhi, India, in local time.

January 2026

    • Sakat ChauthMoonrise: 8:59 PM
    • Makara SankrantiSun enters the sign: 3:07 PM
    • Vasant PanchamiSaraswati Puja: 7:13 AM – 12:32 PM

February 2026

    • Maha ShivaratriNishita puja: 12:09 AM – 1:00 AM, 16 Feb

March 2026

    • Holika DahanHolika Dahan muhurat: 6:22 PM – 8:50 PMWhen Bhadra lasts past midnight, some families wait for it to end and light the fire before dawn.
    • Holi
    • Gudi Padwa · Ugadi
    • Chaitra Navratri begins
    • Ram NavamiMadhyahna puja: 11:49 AM – 1:40 PMSmarta date (Navami at midday). ISKCON and many Vaishnavas keep the sunrise Navami, which can be a day later.

April 2026

    • Hanuman JayantiNorth Indian date, Chaitra Purnima. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka celebrate it in other months.
    • Akshaya TritiyaPuja muhurat: 10:49 AM – 12:20 PM

May 2026

    • Buddha Purnima
    • Vat Savitri VratNorth Indian date, Jyeshtha Amavasya. Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south keep Vat Purnima on Jyeshtha Purnima.

July 2026

    • Guru Purnima

August 2026

    • Nag PanchamiNorth Indian date. Gujarat keeps Nag Pancham in the dark half of Shravana.
    • Raksha BandhanRakhi muhurat: 5:57 AM – 9:48 AM

September 2026

    • Krishna JanmashtamiNishita puja: 11:57 PM – 12:42 AM, 5 SepSmarta date (Ashtami at midnight). Vaishnava and ISKCON households keep the sunrise Ashtami, which can be a day later.
    • Ganesh ChaturthiMadhyahna puja: 11:02 AM – 1:30 PM
    • Anant Chaturdashi
    • Pitru Paksha begins

October 2026

    • Sarva Pitru Amavasya
    • Sharad Navratri begins
    • Durga Ashtami
    • Maha NavamiNavami joined with Ashtami, as the north keeps it; Bengal keeps Maha Navami on the next day.
    • DussehraVijay muhurat: 1:59 PM – 2:44 PM
    • Sharad PurnimaMoonrise: 5:00 PM
    • Karva ChauthMoonrise: 8:17 PM

November 2026

    • DhanterasDhanteras puja: 6:02 PM – 7:58 PM
    • DiwaliLakshmi Puja: 5:54 PM – 7:50 PM
    • Narak ChaturdashiAbhyanga snan: 5:40 AM – 6:38 AM
    • Govardhan Puja
    • Bhai DoojTilak (aparahna): 1:09 PM – 3:19 PM
    • Chhath PujaSandhya arghya (sunset): 5:28 PMUsha arghya (sunrise): 6:44 AM, 16 NovThe main day, with the evening arghya. Nahay Khay and Kharna fall on the two days before, the morning arghya on the day after.
    • Dev Uthani Ekadashi (Devutthana Ekadashi)Smarta date; the Vaishnava fast can be a day later.
    • Dev DeepawaliPradosh muhurat: 5:24 PM – 8:05 PM
    • Kartika Purnima

Where traditions differ

The 2026 notes are about the dates in New Delhi; in another city a festival can fall a day earlier or later.

  • Holika Dahan 2026: several local panchangs kept 2 March, at pradosh under Bhadra. Drik Panchang and this calendar keep 3 March, because Bhadra lasts past midnight on the 2nd and Purnima lasts most of the 3rd; Holi is on 4 March either way.
  • Govardhan Puja 2026: some holiday calendars show 9 November, the day after Diwali, but Pratipada begins only after noon that day, so the morning puja falls on 10 November, as in Drik Panchang.
  • Maha Navami 2026: the north keeps it on 19 October, the same day as Durga Ashtami; Bengal and many holiday calendars keep 20 October.
  • Holika Dahan: the fire is lit at pradosh on Phalguna Purnima, avoiding Bhadra. When Bhadra lasts past midnight, Dharma Sindhu moves it to the next evening if Purnima lasts most of that day, and otherwise allows pradosh itself, avoiding Bhadra Mukha; some families instead wait for Bhadra to end and light the fire before dawn.
  • Ram Navami and Janmashtami: these are the Smarta dates, judged at midday and at midnight. ISKCON and many Vaishnava communities keep the tithi current at sunrise, which can be a day later.
  • Hanuman Jayanti: north India keeps Chaitra Purnima. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana keep Vaishakha Krishna Dashami, Tamil Nadu Margashirsha Amavasya and Karnataka Margashirsha Shukla Trayodashi.
  • Vat Savitri: north India fasts on Jyeshtha Amavasya; Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south keep Vat Purnima a fortnight later.
  • Chhath Puja: the date shown is the main day, Shashthi, with the evening arghya. The festival runs four days in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, from Nahay Khay to the morning arghya.
  • Months: north India names months Purnimanta, so Janmashtami falls in Bhadrapada; Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south name the same day in Shravana. The festival day is the same.

Questions about the 2026 festivals

When is Diwali in 2026?

Diwali falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. In New Delhi the Lakshmi Puja muhurat is 5:54 PM – 7:50 PM, in pradosh while the fixed sign Vrishabha rises and Amavasya lasts.

When are Holika Dahan and Holi in 2026?

In New Delhi, Holika Dahan is on Tuesday, 3 March 2026 (muhurat 6:22 PM – 8:50 PM), and Holi, the festival of colours, on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

When does Navratri begin in 2026, and when is Dussehra?

Sharad Navratri begins with Ghatasthapana on Sunday, 11 October 2026. Durga Ashtami is on Monday, 19 October 2026, Maha Navami on Monday, 19 October 2026 and Dussehra (Vijayadashami) on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.

When is Raksha Bandhan in 2026?

Raksha Bandhan is on Friday, 28 August 2026. In New Delhi the time to tie the rakhi is 5:57 AM – 9:48 AM, once Bhadra is over.

When is Krishna Janmashtami in 2026?

Janmashtami is on Friday, 4 September 2026, with the midnight (nishita) puja at 11:57 PM – 12:42 AM, 5 Sep. This is the Smarta date; Vaishnava and ISKCON communities keep the sunrise Ashtami, which in some years is a day later.

How are these dates worked out?

Each festival is kept on the day its tithi covers the time its rite names: sunrise, the forenoon, midday, the afternoon, dusk (pradosh) or midnight, with the special rules of Nirnaya Sindhu and Dharma Sindhu, such as avoiding Bhadra for Holika Dahan and Raksha Bandhan. They are applied as Drik Panchang applies them, and every date for New Delhi in 2026 and 2027 was checked against Drik Panchang.

Why does my family’s calendar show a different date?

Usually because of a regional or sampradaya tradition: Smarta and Vaishnava dates for Janmashtami and Ram Navami, the southern dates of Hanuman Jayanti, Vat Purnima in place of Vat Savitri, or the Amanta month names of the west and south. A festival can also move a day between cities when its tithi changes close to sunrise or sunset.

Can I add these festivals to my phone’s calendar?

Yes. Add to calendar downloads an .ics file of the year’s festivals, and the vrats too if you show them, as all-day events that Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook can import.

Festival days begin at sunrise, as in a traditional Panchang. Times are local to the city shown. Check with your family priest for rites that follow a particular tradition.