Festivals · Hindu calendar
Hindu festivals 2026 and 2027: dates and the tithi rules
The dates of nine major Hindu festivals for 2026 and 2027, each computed by Astrojar's Panchang engine for New Delhi, with the tithi and the part of the day that fixes it.
In short
Hindu festivals 2026 and 2027 follow the panchang: each festival is a tithi (a lunar day) in a lunar month, and the classical digests Nirnaya Sindhu and Dharma Sindhu name the part of the day the tithi must cover, sunrise, midday, afternoon, the evening or midnight. Below, each date is computed by Astrojar's Panchang engine for New Delhi; Makar Sankranti follows the Sun's entry into Capricorn instead.
Hindu festival dates for 2026 and 2027
| Festival | 2026 | 2027 | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makar Sankranti | Wednesday, 14 January 2026 | Friday, 15 January 2027 | Sun enters Makara (before sunset) |
| Maha Shivratri | Sunday, 15 February 2026 | Saturday, 6 March 2027 | Krishna Chaturdashi at Nishita |
| Ugadi and Gudi Padwa (and Chaitra Navratri) | Thursday, 19 March 2026 | Wednesday, 7 April 2027 | Shukla Pratipada at sunrise |
| Janmashtami | Friday, 4 September 2026 | Tuesday, 24 August 2027 | Krishna Ashtami at Nishita |
| Ganesh Chaturthi | Monday, 14 September 2026 | Saturday, 4 September 2027 | Shukla Chaturthi at madhyahna |
| Sharad Navratri (first day) | Sunday, 11 October 2026 | Thursday, 30 September 2027 | Shukla Pratipada at sunrise |
| Dussehra | Tuesday, 20 October 2026 | Saturday, 9 October 2027 | Shukla Dashami at aparahna |
| Karwa Chauth | Thursday, 29 October 2026 | Monday, 18 October 2027 | Krishna Chaturthi at moonrise |
| Diwali | Sunday, 8 November 2026 | Friday, 29 October 2027 | Amavasya at pradosh |
Each page gives the tithi's start and end, the lunar month in both calendars, the puja window and the check behind the date.
Which part of the day decides a festival?
A tithi lasts about 19 to 26 hours, so it nearly always touches two civil days. The digests settle which one by naming the part of the day the tithi must cover. The day and night are each split into equal parts from the engine's sunrise and sunset, so every part moves with the place and the season.
| Part of the day | How it is worked out | Festivals |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise (udaya) | The tithi running at sunrise | Ugadi and Gudi Padwa, the first day of Navratri |
| Madhyahna | The 3rd of the day's five parts, sunrise to sunset | Ganesh Chaturthi |
| Aparahna | The 4th of the day's five parts | Dussehra (Vijayadashami) |
| Pradosh | The first 3 of the night's 15 muhurtas after sunset | Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) |
| Nishita | The 8th of the night's 15 muhurtas, around midnight | Maha Shivratri, Janmashtami |
| Moonrise | The tithi running when the Moon rises | Karwa Chauth |
| Solar ingress | The Sun's entry into a sign; a night ingress moves to the next day | Makar Sankranti |
Amanta and purnimanta: why month names differ
An amanta month ends at the new moon, as in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat; a purnimanta month ends at the full moon, as in most of North India. The bright half has the same name in both; the dark half is named for the next month in purnimanta. So the engine labels Diwali's Amavasya "Kartika (Purnimanta), Ashvina (Amanta)". The festival day is the same; only the month's name differs.
Kshaya tithis: when a tithi touches no sunrise
A tithi can be shorter than a day. In 2026 Chaitra Shukla Pratipada at New Delhi runs 6:53 am, 19 Mar to 4:52 am, 20 Mar, after one sunrise and before the next. The festival is kept on the day it begins, Thursday, 19 March 2026. Sharad Navratri 2027 begins on a kshaya Pratipada too. The opposite, a tithi running at two sunrises, is a vriddhi tithi; then the first day is usually taken.
Festivals not on this list yet
Astrojar publishes a festival's date only when the engine's data gives one clear day by the rule. For these three it does not, in 2026 or 2027:
- Holi (Holika Dahan) 2026: Purnima runs 5:55 pm, 2 Mar to 5:07 pm, 3 Mar, and Bhadra runs to 5:28 am, 3 Mar, over the whole evening (pradosh) of 2 Mar; 2027: Purnima runs 6:21 pm, 21 Mar to 4:13 pm, 22 Mar, and Bhadra runs to 5:15 am, 22 Mar, over the whole evening (pradosh) of 21 Mar. In both years the choice then turns on the Bhadra rules (its tail, Bhadra puchha, or the time after it ends), which panchangs apply differently.
- Raksha Bandhan 2026: Purnima runs 9:09 am, 27 Aug to 9:48 am, 28 Aug, and Bhadra runs to 9:32 pm, 27 Aug, over the whole afternoon (aparahna) of 27 Aug; 2027: Purnima runs 10:28 am, 16 Aug to 12:58 pm, 17 Aug, and Bhadra runs to 11:44 pm, 16 Aug, over the whole afternoon (aparahna) of 16 Aug. The choice then turns on how long Purnima lasts into the next morning, a rule panchangs apply differently.
- Akshaya Tritiya 2026: Tritiya covers 91 of the 389 forenoon minutes on 19 Apr and 97 of the 389 forenoon minutes on 20 Apr; 2027: Tritiya covers 35 of the 403 forenoon minutes on 8 May and 209 of the 403 forenoon minutes on 9 May. Both days are covered in part, so the rule alone does not choose one.
Questions about Hindu festival dates
Why do Hindu festival dates change every year?
Most festivals follow a tithi, a lunar day, and the lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. An extra (adhika) month every two to three years brings the two back together, so a festival moves within a band of about a month. Makar Sankranti follows the Sun, so it stays on 14 or 15 January.
What decides which day a festival falls on?
Two things: the tithi, and the part of the day it must cover. Nirnaya Sindhu and Dharma Sindhu name the part for each festival: sunrise, midday, afternoon, the evening after sunset or midnight. The day on which the tithi covers that part is the festival day.
What are amanta and purnimanta months?
Two ways of naming the lunar month. An amanta month ends at the new moon (used in the south and west of India), a purnimanta month at the full moon (used in the north). The dark half carries different month names in the two, so the same Diwali Amavasya is Kartika in one and Ashvina in the other.
For which city are these dates?
New Delhi (28.61° N, 77.21° E), in IST. Dates rarely change across India, but the windows move with your sunrise and sunset, and a date can change where a tithi ends close to the time the rule looks at.
What is a kshaya tithi?
A tithi that begins after one sunrise and ends before the next, so it is never the tithi at sunrise. Chaitra Shukla Pratipada in 2026 is one at New Delhi: the festival is kept on the day it begins.
Why are Holi and Raksha Bandhan not listed?
Because in 2026 and 2027 Bhadra covers the part of the day their rule looks at, and the exceptions for Bhadra are applied differently by different panchangs. Astrojar publishes a date only when the engine's data gives one clear answer.
Sources
- Dates, tithi start and end times, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, Nishita muhurta, Vijaya muhurta, Abhijit muhurta and the rising sign (udaya lagna): Astrojar's Panchang engine (Lahiri ayanamsa), for New Delhi (28.61° N, 77.21° E, IST), computed on 21 October 2026. The tithi and nakshatra end times were checked against the Swiss Ephemeris and agree to within a minute.
- Which part of the day a festival's tithi must cover: Nirnaya Sindhu (Kamalakara Bhatta) and Dharma Sindhu (Kashinatha Upadhyaya), the chapters on the festivals month by month.
- The Sun's ingress into sidereal Capricorn, to the hour: Astrojar's chart engine, the same data as the Sun transit page.
This is the traditional reading of the classical texts, given for learning and reflection. It is not a prediction for you, and not medical, legal or financial advice.
Today's tithi for where you are
Sign up free: the app's Daily Panchang gives today's tithi, nakshatra, sunrise, moonrise and good times for your place, and the Muhurat finder checks a day against your own birth star.