Kartik Purnima 2026 on November 24: why Dev Deepawali falls that evening

Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik, falls on Tuesday, November 24, 2026, and Varanasi's Dev Deepawali, when the ghats of the Ganga are lit with lamps, will be held that evening, according to published panchang (Hindu almanac) calculations. The Purnima tithi, the lunar day of the full moon, runs from about 11:42 pm on Monday, November 23 to about 8:23 pm on Tuesday, November 24, Indian Standard Time, which places both the dawn river bath and the evening lamp offerings on November 24.

Kartik Purnima is one of the most important full moons in the Hindu calendar, and in many places it is the closing day of the month-long Kartik observances that began in late October. Its date is easy to get wrong because of how the calendar defines a day. A tithi is a lunar day, measured by the angle between the sun and the moon, and it does not start at midnight or at sunrise. In 2026 the Purnima tithi begins late on the night of November 23 and ends on the evening of November 24.

Two rules then settle the observance. For rituals tied to the morning, such as the holy dip in a river, most calendars look for the tithi that is present at sunrise. On November 24 Purnima is present at sunrise in Varanasi, so the dawn bath falls on that day. For rituals tied to the evening, such as lighting lamps, calendars look for the tithi during the twilight period after sunset. On November 24 Purnima continues until about 8:23 pm, well after the Varanasi sunset of about 5:07 pm, so Dev Deepawali's lamps are lit that evening. On November 23, by contrast, Purnima begins only near midnight, long after sunset, so neither rule points to that day.

The way the tithi ends early in the evening on November 24 also explains why the main lamp ceremonies on the ghats start soon after sunset. The festival's meaning is a matter of tradition. According to the Puranic tradition, Kartik Purnima is linked with Shiva's victory over the demon Tripurasura, which is why the day is also called Tripuri Purnima, and Dev Deepawali is described as the "Diwali of the gods", when, according to belief, the gods descend to the Ganga at Kashi.

For India's heritage calendar, the date matters well beyond Varanasi. The same full moon is also observed as Guru Nanak Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the first Sikh Guru, according to the festival calendars that list the day, and it is the time of the Pushkar fair in Rajasthan. Families, temple administrations, tour operators and local governments plan around it weeks ahead.

Short-term: Devotees and visitors planning to be in Varanasi should plan for the dawn bath and the evening Dev Deepawali on Tuesday, November 24, and check local administration advisories for ghat access and crowd arrangements closer to the date.

Long-term: Clear explanations of tithi rules help readers judge conflicting dates that circulate online each year, such as the November 5 listing found this year, and connect a living festival to the calendar science behind it.

Who is affected: Hindu devotees across India, residents and visitors in Varanasi, temple trusts and ghat committees, the Sikh community marking Guru Nanak Jayanti, and the travel and hospitality businesses that serve pilgrims.

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