Hindu Festival Dates 2026

Major festivals with tithi, lunar month and weekday, calculated for New Delhi

Updated 8 October 2026

Dates of the major Hindu festivals in 2026, calculated from the Moon's tithi and the lunar month for New Delhi. Diwali falls on 8 November 2026, Holi on 4 March 2026 and Sharad Navratri begins on 11 October 2026.

How these dates are calculated

Hindu festivals follow the lunar calendar. Each one is defined by a lunar month, a paksha (Shukla, the waxing fortnight, or Krishna, the waning one) and a tithi (lunar day). Navagraha works out the real tithi boundaries from the positions of the Sun and Moon (sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsa) and finds the civil day on which the required tithi is present at the moment the tradition cares about: sunrise for some festivals, midday for others, the afternoon (aparahna) for Dussehra, Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj, the evening (pradosh) for Diwali and Dhanteras, midnight for Maha Shivaratri and Janmashtami, and moonrise for Karva Chauth. Raksha Bandhan also avoids Bhadra, the first half of the Purnima tithi. Makar Sankranti is solar: it falls on the day the Sun enters sidereal Makara, or the next day if that happens after sunset.

Amanta and purnimanta months

North India names the lunar month purnimanta (it ends on the full moon), while Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana use amanta (it ends on the new moon). The two agree during the bright fortnight and differ by one month name in the dark fortnight, which is why Diwali is in Kartik for most of the north but Ashwin in the amanta calendar, and Maha Shivaratri is Phalguna in the north but Magha in the south. This page uses amanta months internally, because they follow the Sun's sign at the new moon (the month in which the Sun does not change sign is the adhika or leap month and holds no festivals), and shows both names in the table.

Why dates can differ by a day

All times are for New Delhi in Indian Standard Time. A city further east or west can see a tithi touch a different day, and when a tithi spans two days, regional panchangs, Smarta and Vaishnava traditions, and rules such as Bhadra or Pradosh can place a festival on different days. Holi, Akshaya Tritiya, Janmashtami and Raksha Bandhan are the most variable. Use these dates for planning, and confirm the exact muhurat with your family priest, local panchang or temple. For the daily detail in your own city, see Panchang today.

Frequently asked questions

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