Dhanteras and Diwali 2026: Dates and Puja Muhurat for Every City

Dhanteras falls on Friday 6 November 2026, and Diwali's Lakshmi Puja on Sunday 8 November. Between them sits Chhoti Diwali, and after them come Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. Because every puja muhurat depends on the local time of sunset, we have worked out the Dhanteras and Lakshmi Puja timings separately for Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Vrindavan and Ujjain — the five cities where MargKGB works.

The five days of Diwali 2026

These dates follow the Drik Panchang Diwali calendar for Varanasi, and match the dates we verify city by city.

Dhanteras 2026 puja muhurat by city

Dhanteras — Dhantrayodashi — is the day for worshipping Goddess Lakshmi with Lord Kubera and Lord Dhanvantari, and the traditional day for buying gold, silver and new utensils. The Trayodashi tithi begins at 10:30 AM on 6 November and ends at 10:47 AM on 7 November. The puja itself is done in the evening, and its muhurat differs by city:

The evening of Dhanteras is also Yama Deepam, when a lamp is lit facing south, outside the home, for Yama.

Lakshmi Puja muhurat by city

The Lakshmi Puja on Diwali night is the heart of the festival. Drik Panchang's Lakshmi Puja pages give these muhurats for Sunday 8 November:

The muhurat is the overlap of Pradosh Kaal, the period after sunset, with Vrishabha Kaal, a fixed lagna considered especially auspicious for Lakshmi Puja. From Varanasi to Ujjain the window moves by more than half an hour — which is why we never print a single national time.

Why Diwali falls on 8 November

This year's Amavasya — the new moon on which Diwali is celebrated — begins at 11:27 AM on 8 November and ends at 12:31 PM on 9 November. So why is Diwali on the 8th, not the 9th?

As Drik Panchang explains, the day of Diwali Puja is decided by when Amavasya prevails during Pradosh, the period after sunset. On the evening of 8 November, Amavasya is running; by the evening of 9 November, it has ended. So the Lakshmi Puja is on Sunday 8 November, and 9 November is the day of the Diwali snan.

Chhoti Diwali: 7 or 8 November?

Chhoti Diwali is observed differently in different traditions, and this year the calendars show it:

• The Banke Bihari temple's own festival calendar marks Roop Chaturdashi, Chhoti Deepavali, on Saturday 7 November, and Deepavali, Lakshmi Poojan, on Sunday 8 November.
• Drik Panchang lists Kali Chaudas on 7 November and Narak Chaturdashi, with its pre-dawn ritual bath, on the morning of 8 November.

Both are right within their own practice. Follow your family's panchang — or your family pandit — for which day you observe.

What families do on each day

Dhanteras (6 November). The day for buying something new for the home — gold, silver or a new utensil — as a sign of welcome to Lakshmi. In the evening, families perform the Dhanteras puja and light the Yama Deepam, a single lamp placed outside the home, facing south.

Kali Chaudas / Chhoti Diwali (7 November). In many homes, the day of cleaning and preparing. Hanuman Puja is observed in some traditions, and many families light the first lamps of Diwali this evening.

Diwali (8 November). The pre-dawn Narak Chaturdashi bath in the morning, where that is your family's practice, then the Lakshmi Puja in the evening at your city's muhurat, followed by lighting lamps throughout the home.

Govardhan Puja (10 November; 9 November in Ujjain). Families and temples offer Annakut, a "mountain of food", in memory of Krishna lifting Govardhan hill to shelter the people of Braj. It is one of the biggest days of the year in Vrindavan.

Bhai Dooj (11 November). Sisters apply tilak to their brothers and pray for their long life; brothers give gifts in return. We have verified the Bhai Dooj muhurat for two of our five cities:

For the other cities, the window is similar but not identical; check a panchang set to your own city.

Diwali in the pilgrim cities

Ayodhya celebrates Diwali with Deepotsav, when lakhs of diyas are lit along the Saryu on the eve of Diwali. The main lighting is on Saturday 7 November; our Ayodhya Deepotsav 2026 guide covers the dates and how to plan, and our one-day Ayodhya guide covers Ram Mandir darshan.

Vrindavan celebrates Diwali and, two days later, Govardhan Puja — the festival of Annakut, when a mountain of food is offered in memory of Krishna lifting Govardhan hill. Temples are extremely busy; our Banke Bihari timings guide explains the temple's own advice for elderly devotees on crowded days.

Ujjain marks Govardhan Puja on Monday 9 November, a day earlier than the other four cities.

Varanasi and Prayagraj celebrate Diwali on the ghats and in homes, and Varanasi's own festival of lights, Dev Deepawali, follows a fortnight later.

If you would like a Lakshmi Puja or Dhanteras puja performed in your family's name by a verified pandit, our puja and darshan services page explains how. For any other day's tithi, our daily panchang is set by city. And if your parents are travelling for the festival, a MargKGB Buddy can stay with them through the crowds.

If you cannot be home for Diwali

Many families are split across cities and countries at Diwali. Two simple things help. First, do the Lakshmi Puja at the muhurat of the city where you actually are — the tables above show how much it moves even within India, and abroad the difference is far greater. Second, if you want a puja performed at a sacred city in your family's name, arrange it in advance: pandits in the pilgrim cities are at their busiest in Diwali week.

What to do next

Mark Friday 6 November for Dhanteras, Sunday 8 November for Diwali, Tuesday 10 November for Govardhan Puja (Monday 9 November in Ujjain) and Wednesday 11 November for Bhai Dooj. Then check the puja muhurat for your own city in the tables above, and plan the evening around it. Dhanteras and Diwali are the same festival everywhere — it is only the clock that changes from city to city.