Diwali 2026
8 November 2026

Diwali, or Deepavali, the row of lamps, falls on Kartik Amavasya, the darkest night of the month. Its heart is the Lakshmi Puja, done with Ganesh in pradosh kaal, the time after sunset, and best within the sthir (fixed) lagna of Vrishabha, which rises in the evening at this time of year. Tradition holds that a puja done in a fixed lagna keeps Lakshmi steady in the home.

The night carries more than one meaning. In the north it remembers Rama’s return to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshman after fourteen years, when, as popular tradition tells, the city lit rows of lamps to welcome him. Tradition also links it with Lakshmi, who rose from the samudra manthan and chose Vishnu. Homes are cleaned, lamps line every edge, and many trading families begin the year’s account books with her blessing.

• A chowki and red cloth
• New idols or picture of Ganesh and Lakshmi
• Kalash of water with mango leaves and a coconut
• Roli, akshat, haldi and kalava (sacred thread)
• Flowers, a garland, and a lotus if available
• Khil (puffed rice) and batashe
• Sweets, fruits and sugar toys
• Coins and the account books
• A ghee diya, earthen diyas, oil and wicks
• Incense and camphor
• Rangoli colours and a bandanwar

Source: Popular tradition of North India; Rama’s return itself is told in the Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda

After fourteen years in the forest and the war in Lanka, Rama, with Sita and Lakshman, set out for home in the Pushpaka vimana. All those years Bharata had ruled in his brother’s name, keeping Rama’s sandals on the throne and living as an ascetic at Nandigram.

Stopping at the ashram of the sage Bharadvaja, Rama sent Hanuman ahead to tell Bharata that he was coming. Bharata was overjoyed. The roads were prepared, the city was decorated, and Bharata, with Shatrughna, the queen mothers and the people of Ayodhya, went out to meet their king. When the brothers met, Bharata placed Rama’s sandals back on his feet and returned the kingdom he had kept for him. Rama was crowned soon after.

Popular tradition holds that on that night, the dark Amavasya of Kartik, the people lit rows of lamps across Ayodhya to welcome Rama home, and that every diya lit on Diwali carries on that welcome.

What to do

• Do the Lakshmi Puja in pradosh kaal, and within the Vrishabha lagna if you can, since tradition prefers a fixed lagna for this puja.
• Bring new Ganesh-Lakshmi idols each year, as the custom is, and set last year’s aside respectfully, in clean water or at a temple, as your family does.
• Light a diya in every corner, including the kitchen and the place where water is kept, since tradition holds that Lakshmi comes to a clean, lit home.
• Keep the main door open and lit during the puja, so the home stands ready to welcome Lakshmi.

What to avoid

• Many families avoid sweeping the house or throwing out rubbish after the Lakshmi Puja that night, so as not to sweep Lakshmi out.
• Avoid quarrels and harsh words that evening; tradition holds that Lakshmi stays where there is peace.
• Keep fireworks well away from the diyas, from children on their own, from elders and from animals; a festival of lamps is spoilt by a burn.

In the Purnimanta calendar of the north Diwali is Kartik Amavasya; in the Amanta calendar of Gujarat, Maharashtra and the south, where the month ends on Amavasya, the same night is Ashwin Amavasya, the last night of Ashwin. In Bengal, Odisha and Assam the night is Kali Puja, with Kali worshipped at midnight. In Gujarat traders do Chopda Puja, the worship of new account books, and the Gujarati new year begins the next morning. In Tamil Nadu, Deepavali is kept on the morning of the Chaturdashi, the day before.

Lakshmi Puja needs the Amavasya in pradosh, read at each place’s own sunset. When the Amavasya spans parts of two evenings, the panchang chooses by which evening it covers in pradosh, so cities with different sunset times can differ by a day. Kali Puja looks for the Amavasya at midnight instead, so in some years it falls on a different date from Lakshmi Puja.