Gujarati New Year 2026 on November 10: why Samvat 2083 starts twice

Gujarati New Year, known as Bestu Varas, falls on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, two days after Diwali, according to panchang listings published for the year. On that day, Kartik Shukla Pratipada, Gujarat's traditional calendar moves from Vikram Samvat 2082 to Vikram Samvat 2083. In much of north India, however, the same Vikram Samvat 2083 already began in the spring, in the month of Chaitra. The difference comes from two old ways of starting the same calendar year, known as Kartikadi and Chaitradi reckoning. A few calendars list the Gujarati New Year on Monday, November 9, and the reason lies in how a tithi is counted at sunrise.

India has never had a single new year's day. The same Vikram Samvat era, which by tradition is linked with King Vikramaditya, is used across north and west India, yet the day on which its year number changes depends on the region. In Gujarat, and among Gujarati communities worldwide, the year turns on the first day of the bright half of Kartik, the morning after the Diwali new moon. In much of north India, the year turns in spring, on the first day of the bright half of Chaitra. Both are lunar months; the choice of starting month is a matter of regional custom, not a difference in astronomy.

That is why a Gujarati calendar and a north Indian calendar can show different Vikram Samvat numbers on the same day for several months of every year. From Chaitra in spring until Kartik, the north Indian count is already on the new number while the Gujarati count is still on the old one. After Bestu Varas, the two numbers match again until the next Chaitra.

The question of November 9 or November 10 comes from the sunrise rule that governs most Hindu festival dates. A tithi is a lunar day, defined by the angle between the sun and moon, and it does not start or end at midnight. Panchangs generally assign a day to the tithi that is current at local sunrise. In 2026, Amavasya, the new moon tithi of Diwali, is still running at sunrise on Monday, November 9, and Pratipada begins only later that day. So by the sunrise rule, the first full day of Pratipada, and therefore Bestu Varas, is Tuesday, November 10. Calendars that simply count the day after Diwali night arrive at November 9. Families usually follow their own community panchang or temple almanac.

For Gujarati families and traders, the date matters in a practical way, since many household and community observances are timed by the Gujarati panchang rather than the Gregorian calendar. "Saal Mubarak" is the customary greeting exchanged on the day.

Short-term: Gujarati families, traders and diaspora communities will mark Bestu Varas on November 10 by most panchangs, with some following November 9. Temples and community groups usually announce the date they follow.

Long-term: The two reckonings will continue side by side. Each year, the Gujarati Samvat number catches up with the north Indian one at Bestu Varas.

Who is affected: Gujarati households and businesses in India and abroad; temple and community calendars; and anyone reading dates written in Vikram Samvat across different regions.

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