Govardhan Puja 2026 on November 10: why it comes two days after Diwali

Govardhan Puja 2026, also called Annakut, falls on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, according to temple calendars and published panchang guides, including the festival listing of ISKCON Bangalore. That is two calendar days after Diwali on Sunday, 8 November, not the very next day, which has left many families asking whether the puja is on 9 or 10 November. Panchang guides explain that the Kartik Shukla Pratipada tithi, the lunar day on which the festival is kept, begins around midday on Monday, 9 November and runs until early afternoon on 10 November. Because Govardhan Puja is traditionally performed in the morning, the date is taken from the day on which Pratipada is current at sunrise, which is 10 November.

Hindu festivals follow a lunar calendar in which a tithi, or lunar day, does not begin and end at midnight as a calendar date does. A tithi can start in the middle of a solar day and finish the next afternoon. When that happens, calendar makers need a rule to decide which solar day "owns" the festival. For festivals whose worship belongs in the morning, the common rule is udaya tithi: the tithi that is current at sunrise counts for the whole day.

In 2026 the Amavasya (new moon) tithi of Diwali carries on into the morning of Monday, 9 November, and Pratipada begins only around midday, according to the panchang guides. On the morning of 9 November, therefore, it is still Amavasya; by the morning of 10 November, it is Pratipada. That is why the guides and temple calendars place Govardhan Puja on Tuesday, leaving Monday as a gap day between Diwali and Annakut. Because the festival is usually described as the day after Diwali, the gap has surprised many people.

The tradition behind the day comes from the Bhagavata Purana. In the story, Krishna persuades the people of Braj to honour Govardhan hill, which fed their cattle, instead of the rain god Indra. Indra responds with a storm, and Krishna lifts the hill to shelter the villagers and their cows; explainers on the festival say he held it up for seven days. Devotees today make a small image of the hill, often from cow dung, worship cows, and prepare a large spread of vegetarian food, the Annakut or "mountain of food", which is offered and then shared. In the Vallabhacharya tradition, the hill is regarded as not different from Krishna himself, and some devotees worship stones from Govardhan as they would a temple image of Krishna.

These are matters of faith and tradition, and the dates come from calendar calculation rather than from any single authority. Different regional panchangs can differ by a day, and the guides themselves give slightly different times for the start and end of the tithi.

Peepals timeline: Diwali Lakshmi Puja is on the evening of Sunday, 8 November; the Amavasya tithi continues into Monday, 9 November; Pratipada begins around 12:31 pm that Monday, according to panchang guides; Govardhan Puja and Annakut are kept on the morning of Tuesday, 10 November; and Pratipada ends around 2 pm that day.

Short-term: Families, temples and caterers preparing Annakut offerings will plan for Tuesday morning, 10 November.

Long-term: Years like 2026, when a tithi starts at midday, are a reminder of how the lunar calendar works, and why two calendars can show different dates for the same festival.

Who is affected: Households that observe Govardhan Puja, Krishna temples and their devotees, and anyone planning leave or travel around the Diwali week.

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