Kali Chaudas 2026: 7 November Night in Gujarat and Why It Differs from Narak Chaturdashi

2026-09-18

Kali Chaudas 2026 is the night of Saturday 7 November, because Krishna Chaturdashi runs from 10:48 on 7 November to 11:28 on 8 November. Narak Chaturdashi's abhyang snan comes the next morning, Sunday 8 November.

Kali Chaudas 2026 falls on the night of Saturday, 7 November. The Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi tithi begins at 10:48 on 7 November and ends at 11:28 on 8 November. Kali Chaudas rituals — Hanuman puja, kakalat, lamps in dark corners — are night rituals, so they belong to the night of the 7th. Narak Chaturdashi's abhyang snan is a pre-sunrise ritual, so it belongs to the next morning, Sunday 8 November. One tithi, two rituals, two dates. That is the whole confusion.

Why is Kali Chaudas on 7 November when Narak Chaturdashi is on 8 November?

Start with one word. A tithi is a lunar day, the Hindu calendar's basic unit, set by the Moon's motion. Unlike an English date it does not change at midnight. A tithi can start or end at any hour of the day or night.

In 2026, Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi starts at 10:48 on Saturday 7 November and ends at 11:28 on Sunday 8 November. Krishna paksha means the waning-moon fortnight; Chaturdashi is its fourteenth tithi. So this one tithi covers the entire night of the 7th and the morning of the 8th.

Now the rule. Kali Chaudas rituals are performed in the evening and at night. Tradition treats it as a nishita festival, nishita being the middle portion of the night, around midnight. On 7 November sunset is at 17:30, and Chaturdashi runs right through the night after it. So Kali Chaudas is the night of the 7th.

Narak Chaturdashi's central ritual is abhyang snan: a bath taken before sunrise after applying oil and ubtan. It is a morning ritual, and the condition is that Chaturdashi must still be running at that hour. On 8 November sunrise is at 06:39 and Chaturdashi lasts until 11:28. So abhyang snan is the morning of the 8th.

This is also why some calendars may print Kali Chaudas against 8 November. At sunrise on the 8th the tithi is Chaturdashi, and many calendars name a day by its sunrise tithi. But Gujarat's tradition is a night tradition, and that night is 7 November. Both are correct in their own frame. The only question is which ritual you are doing.

Tithi, ritual and time in 2026 at a glance

Times are for Delhi. Tithi start and end times are practically the same across India; only sunrise and sunset shift by a few minutes depending on your city. The nakshatra (the star group the Moon is passing through) is Chitra on 7 November and Swati on 8 November.

One more thing worth noticing. According to our panchang engine, 8 November carries both Narak Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) and Diwali's Lakshmi Puja. In 2026 the morning of Choti Diwali and the evening of the main Diwali fall on the same day. The full sequence from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj is in the Diwali 2026 five-day calendar.

What is done on Kali Chaudas night in Gujarat?

In Gujarat, Kali Chaudas is a festival in its own right inside Diwali week, and its identity is the night. By tradition, four things matter.

Hanuman puja

On this night families worship Hanuman, either at the home shrine or at a nearby Hanuman temple. An oil lamp is lit and the Hanuman Chalisa is recited. This is the centre of Kali Chaudas; everything else sits around it.

Kakalat: a vada at the crossroads

Kakalat is a distinctly Gujarati custom. A vada is made at home, and at night a family member carries it to a nearby crossroads and leaves it there. In the tradition this means leaving the year's worries, tiredness and negativity behind at the crossroads, so that Diwali morning begins with a lighter mind. Read it as a symbol of emptying the mind, nothing more.

Lamps in the dark corners of the house

On Diwali night lamps go on the threshold and in the courtyard. On Kali Chaudas night they go where light does not usually reach: under the staircase, in the storeroom, at the back of the house. The belief is that on this dark night just before amavasya (the new moon), no corner of the home should be left in darkness.

Mahakali puja in some homes

"Chaudas" is simply the everyday form of Chaturdashi. "Kali" is read two ways: some connect it to the dark night of the waning fortnight, many families connect it to the goddess Mahakali. That is why some homes also perform Kali or Mahakali puja on this night. Both readings sit side by side in the tradition.

Why is Hanuman worshipped on Kali Chaudas?

By tradition, Hanuman is the deity of strength, courage and fearlessness. The whole spirit of Kali Chaudas is exactly that: on the dark night before amavasya, set down the worry and the weight the mind has been carrying, so that Diwali begins the next morning with a clear mind. This is why Gujarat's tradition places Hanuman puja at the centre of the night.

Keep the puja simple. After sunset at 17:30, light an oil lamp, offer flowers and prasad to Hanuman, and sit with the family to recite the Hanuman Chalisa. The full text with meaning is on our Hanuman Chalisa, 40 chaupai page. The one thing to get right is timing: the recitation should be at night while Chaturdashi is running, which means between the evening of 7 November and around midnight.

The next morning: Roop Chaudas and abhyang snan

The morning after Kali Chaudas night is Roop Chaudas, also called Narak Chaturdashi: Sunday 8 November. Its ritual is abhyang snan. Before sunrise at 06:39, oil is applied to the body, followed by a bath with ubtan, a home-made paste of the gram-flour-and-turmeric kind. Tradition sees it as the bath that readies both body and mind for Diwali.

Watch the timing: the bath should be before sunrise, with Chaturdashi still running. On 8 November Chaturdashi lasts until 11:28, so the early-morning hours are fine. The full method, the katha (the traditional story behind the day) and the muhurat are in our Narak Chaturdashi 2026 abhyang snan guide.

And that same evening, in pradosh (the period after sunset), comes Diwali's Lakshmi Puja. So in a Gujarati home the sequence is: Hanuman puja on the night of the 7th, abhyang snan on the morning of the 8th, Lakshmi Puja on the evening of the 8th. Three stops on one road.

A simple plan for Kali Chaudas 2026

• Saturday 7 November, before noon: prepare the vada and the puja items. Chaturdashi begins at 10:48.
• Saturday 7 November, after 17:30: oil lamp before Hanuman and the Hanuman Chalisa; lamps in the dark corners of the house; the vada to the crossroads for kakalat.
• Sunday 8 November, before 06:39: abhyang snan with oil and ubtan.
• Sunday 8 November, evening: Diwali, Lakshmi Puja.

If you live outside Gujarat and Kali Chaudas is not part of your family's custom, a Hanuman Chalisa and a single lamp on the night of the 7th carry the spirit of the tradition. Customs change from home to home; the tithi does not.

Sunrise, sunset and the running tithi for your own city are in our daily panchang; one look before the festival is enough.