Diwali 2026 on November 8: why Lakshmi Puja times differ by panchang

Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, November 8, with Lakshmi Puja in the evening, according to the Drik Panchang calendar for New Delhi, which lists the main puja muhurat (auspicious window) as 5:54 pm to 7:50 pm inside a Pradosh Kaal of 5:31 pm to 8:09 pm. The Amavasya (new moon) tithi that defines the festival begins at 11:27 am on November 8 and ends at 12:31 pm on November 9. Other published panchangs agree on the date but give different puja windows, from 5:48 pm to 7:14 pm in one and roughly 6:29 pm to 8:29 pm in another.

Diwali is fixed not by the solar calendar but by the lunar one. It is celebrated on an Amavasya, the night of the new moon. A tithi is a lunar day: the time the moon takes to move 12 degrees away from the sun. Because the moon's speed varies, a tithi does not line up with the civil day and can start and end at any hour. That is why a festival can start in the late morning one day and end around noon the next.

The rule that decides which day is Diwali follows from when the puja is done. According to tradition, Lakshmi Puja is performed in Pradosh Kaal, the period that begins at sunset and lasts for about two and a half hours. The day on which Amavasya covers Pradosh Kaal is chosen. In 2026, Amavasya starts at 11:27 am on November 8, so it is running at sunset that day; by sunset on November 9 it has already ended. That makes November 8 the clear choice, with no confusion over two possible days.

Why, then, do calendars print different puja times? Each panchang applies its own rules for narrowing the window. Some pick the part of Pradosh Kaal that overlaps with Vrishabha Kaal, the period when the zodiac sign Taurus (Vrishabha) is rising on the eastern horizon, which traditional panchangs treat as a favourable fixed ascendant. Others use slightly different methods for computing sunrise, sunset and the rising sign, or a different reference city. The date stays the same, but the minutes move. Families who follow a particular tradition or temple usually rely on that tradition's own almanac.

There is also a practical point. Because timings depend on sunset, a family in Kolkata, where the sun sets earlier, and one in Ahmedabad, where it sets later, will have different windows on the same evening. Most panchang publishers provide city-wise tables for this reason.

Short-term: Households, temples, shops and businesses planning Lakshmi Puja can fix Sunday, November 8, and check the puja window for their own city.

Long-term: The difference between almanacs is a reminder that traditional time-keeping is a calculated system with its own rules, and that the rules, not just the results, are worth understanding.

Who is affected: Families across India and the diaspora celebrating Diwali; temple priests and panchang publishers; and travellers planning festival journeys.

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