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In Sanatan tradition, Kartik month is considered the most sacred period of spiritual practice, charity and festival of lights. With the onset of autumn, preparations for the five-day long festival of lights begin across India with great devotion and enthusiasm. This festival of eternal victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and religion over unrighteousness is not limited to just lighting the lamp, rather it is a unique confluence of worship of Lord Dhanvantari, the god of health, Goddess Mahalakshmi, the presiding deity of happiness and prosperity, Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, and Lord Shri Krishna, the nourisher of nature. Based on the precise calculations of the Vedic calendar, complete details of the exact dates of the five days of this holy festival of lights falling from Trayodashi of Krishna Paksha of Kartik month to Dwitiya of Shukla Paksha in the year 2026, Choghadiya Yoga and the best auspicious time of worship are presented.
The divine beginning of the festival of lights starts with the festival of Dhanteras i.e. Dhantrayodashi on the Trayodashi date of Kartik Krishna Paksha. On this day, there is a tradition of worshiping Lord Dhanvantari, the father of Ayurveda, who appeared with the nectar pot from the churning of the ocean, Kuber Dev, the lord of wealth, and Mother Lakshmi. According to the Panchang, Trayodashi Tithi will start on 06 November 2026 at 10:30 AM, which will end on 07 November at 10:47 AM. On the basis of coordination of Udayatithi and Pradosh Vyapini Tithi, the great festival of Dhanteras will be celebrated with devotion on Friday, 06 November 2026 only.
Purchasing gold, silver, new utensils, brass, coriander, brooms and ledgers on Dhanteras is considered extremely auspicious and gives eternal prosperity. The most sacred and auspicious auspicious time of Dhanteras worship on 6th November will be from 06:19 pm to 08:17 pm. During this period of 1 hour 58 minutes, performing Shodashopachar puja of Lord Dhanvantari in the stable ascendant and donating a lamp (Yam Deepam) at the main entrance of the house facing south for the sake of Yamraj, frees the family from untimely death and diseases.
The second day of Panchmahotsav is celebrated as Narak Chaturdashi, Roop Chaudas, Chhoti Diwali and Kali Chaudas. According to mythological belief, on this holy date, Lord Shri Krishna killed the demon Narakasura and freed 16 thousand girls from his prison. Chaturdashi Tithi of Kartik Krishna Paksha will start from 07:47 AM on 07 November 2026 and will be effective till 11:27 AM on 08 November. In such a situation, the festival of Narak Chaturdashi will be celebrated on Saturday, 07 November 2026.
On this day, by taking Abhyanga bath with cow dung and sesame oil before sunrise and offering Yam Tarpan, one attains beauty and health. Apart from this, special worship of Kali Chaudas is done during Nishitha period for Tantra Sadhana and destruction of negative energy. According to the Panchang, the Tantric and Satvik Puja Muhurat of Kali Chaudas will be from 11:49 pm midnight on 08th November till 12:41 am. By worshiping Mother Kali, Lord Bhairav and Pawanputra Hanuman in this period of 52 minutes, all the known and unknown troubles of life are solved.
The main day of Deepotsav is celebrated on the new moon day of Kartik month, when Goddess Mahalaxmi and Lord Shri Ganesha are invoked amidst the lighting of lamps in every house. According to the Vedic calendar, Kartik Amavasya Tithi will start on Sunday, 08 November 2026 at 11:27 AM, while Amavasya Tithi will end on Monday, 09 November 2026 at 12:31 PM. Since Mahalakshmi worship on Diwali is always done in the presence of Amavasya Tithi in Pradosh Kaal and Nishith Kaal, hence the great festival of Diwali will be celebrated with great enthusiasm in the entire country on 08 November 2026.
The most important Pradosh Kaal for worshiping Lakshmi on the evening of Diwali will be from 05:31 pm to 08:09 pm. During this Pradosh period, the auspicious conjunction of fixed ascendant Taurus will form from 05:54 pm to 07:50 pm. This period of 1 hour 56 minutes is considered best for householders and businessmen for Shriyantra, bookkeeping, Kanakadhara source recitation and Lakshmi-Ganesh worship. By worshiping Lakshmi in a stable ascendant, wealth and prosperity remain permanent in the house for a long time.
The next day of Diwali, Govardhan Puja and the folk festival of Annakoot are celebrated on the Pratipada date of Kartik Shukla Paksha. In the Dwapara era, Lord Shri Krishna had lifted Giriraj Govardhan on his pinky finger to crush the ego of Devraj Indra and to protect the people of Braj. Kartik Shukla Pratipada Tithi will start on 09 November 2026 at 12:31 pm and will continue till 02:00 pm on 10 November. As per the tradition of Udayatithi and Govardhan Puja in Sanatan Dharma, this festival will be celebrated with great enthusiasm on Monday, 09 November 2026.
The auspicious morning time of Govardhan Puja will be from 06:40 am to 08:50 am. In this auspicious time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, devotees make figures of Govardhan mountain, cowherd-child and cow progeny from pure cow dung in the courtyard of their house and worship them with flowers, fruits, incense, lamp and scent. On this day, 56 offerings and ‘Annakoot’ prepared from various types of grains are offered to Lord Krishna, which shows man’s gratitude towards the environment, cattle and nature.
The five-day festival of lights ends with Bhai Dooj (Yam Dwitiya), a symbol of immense love and trust between brother and sister. There is a mythological belief that on this day Yamraj had come to his sister Yamuna’s house for dinner on her invitation and Yamuna ji had applied tilak on him and asked for the boon of long life. According to the Panchang, Dwitiya Tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha will start at 02:00 PM on Tuesday, 10 November 2026 and will end at 03:53 PM on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. According to the scriptures, the coincidence of afternoon time in Dwitiya Tithi is being achieved on 11th November, hence the festival of Bhai Dooj will be celebrated with devotion and gaiety on Wednesday, 11th November 2026.
On Bhai Dooj, the most auspicious afternoon time for sisters to apply Mangal Tilak on the forehead of brothers and perform their aarti will be from 01:10 pm to 03:20 pm. During this auspicious period of 2 hours and 10 minutes, sisters should apply Tilak to their brothers and feed them sweets and pray for their long life, success and happiness, while brothers should take a pledge to protect their sisters and gift them. Thus, this 5-day festival of lights, which started from Dhanteras, will conclude with Bhai Dooj.