Bhai Dooj 2026 Tilak Muhurat

Wednesday, 11 November 2026: tilak time by city

Updated 1 November 2026

Bhai Dooj 2026 is on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. In New Delhi the tilak muhurat is 1:10 PM – 3:20 PM, the afternoon (aparahna) stretch when Dwitiya is running. Dwitiya itself runs 10 Nov 2:00 PM – 11 Nov 3:54 PM. Pick your city below: the time moves by a few minutes to over an hour from city to city, and in some cities the day itself differs.

Bhai Dooj tilak muhurat for your city

Bhai Dooj 2026 in major Indian cities

All 69 Indian cities · the city names open a full page for that city.

Bhai Dooj 2026 outside India

Outside India the tithi can fall on a different local day. For example, Dwitiya ends before the afternoon of 11 November in London and New York, so the table there shows 10 November. If your family follows the date in India, use that.

Which day is Bhai Dooj in 2026?

Bhai Dooj falls on Dwitiya, the second day of the bright fortnight (Shukla paksha) of Kartik, after Diwali and Govardhan Puja. The tilak is traditionally given in the afternoon (aparahna), so the day is the one on which Dwitiya covers the aparahna. In New Delhi Dwitiya begins on 10 Nov 2:00 PM and ends on 11 Nov 3:54 PM; the whole aparahna of 11 November (1:10 PM – 3:20 PM) sits inside it, while on 10 November Dwitiya only begins at 2:00 PM. That makes Wednesday, 11 November 2026 the day. Some families keep the day before instead; your family's custom comes first.

How the day is kept

• The tilak: the sister applies a tilak (roli or tika) on her brother's forehead, offers sweets, and does his aarti. In return the brother gives her a gift and promises to look out for her.
• The name: also called Bhai Tika, Bhaiya Dooj, Yama Dwitiya, Bhau Beej (Maharashtra) and Bhai Phonta (Bengal). Tradition links the day to Yama's visit to his sister Yamuna; many families bathe in a river or visit a temple on the day.
• If the muhurat is missed: most families keep to the aparahna window, and the rest of the day while Dwitiya is running is the usual fallback. Ask your priest if unsure.

How the times are calculated

The aparahna is the fourth of the five equal parts of the daylight (60% to 80% of the time from sunrise to sunset), worked out from each city's own sunrise and sunset. The tilak muhurat is the part of it in which Dwitiya is running. Navagraha computes the tithi boundaries from the Sun's and Moon's positions. How we calculate.

Times are calculated for each city's coordinates (sunrise and sunset by the upper limb, standard refraction; tithis from the Sun's and Moon's longitudes, sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsa). Hills, buildings, haze or cloud can move the moment you see the Sun by several minutes, and regional traditions differ, so your family's custom, priest or local panchang comes first. This is traditional information, not advice.

Frequently asked questions

Navagraha provides Vedic astrology for informational and reflective purposes only; it is not a substitute for professional advice.