November 2026 Panchang: Diwali Week, Auspicious Days, Chhath and Wedding Season Calendar

2026-08-14

Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November — and the whole month follows its rhythm. Here is the complete November 2026 panchang: the five days of Diwali with exact muhurats, the Choti Diwali date question answered, Chhath Puja, Dev Uthani Ekadashi and the opening of the wedding season.

Let us settle the biggest question of the month first: Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November. Not the 9th. Amavasya tithi begins at 11:28 in the morning on 8 November and ends at 12:32 the next afternoon — but Lakshmi Puja belongs to pradosh kaal, the evening hours after sunset, and Amavasya covers the evening only on the 8th. That single rule decides the date, and it shapes everything else in this calendar.

November 2026 is the most festival-dense month of the year: the five days of Diwali in the first half, Chhath Puja in the middle, and Dev Uthani Ekadashi at the end — the day Chaturmas ends and the wedding season formally opens. All timings below are for Delhi, following the Purnimanta calendar. For your own city, the daily panchang adjusts every muhurat to your local sunrise and sunset.

Auspicious days in November 2026 at a glance

1 November (Sunday) — Ravi Pushya Yoga + Ahoi Ashtami: Pushya nakshatra falling on a Sunday, with Sarvarth Siddhi Yoga alongside. The classical day for first purchases of gold, vehicles and investments — the biggest such shopping yoga of the season before Dhanteras itself arrives. Mothers keep the Ahoi Ashtami fast; puja muhurat 17:36 to 18:54.
5 November (Thursday) — Rama Ekadashi: the Ekadashi fast that precedes Diwali; observe it for Vishnu and Lakshmi together.
6 November (Friday) — Dhanteras: buy metal, utensils or gold; puja muhurat 18:02 to 19:57.
7 November (Saturday) — Choti Diwali lamps + Masik Shivratri: light the evening diyas of Naraka Chaturdashi.
8 November (Sunday) — Diwali: abhyang snan before dawn, Lakshmi Puja 17:54 to 19:50 in the evening.
10 November (Tuesday) — Govardhan Puja / Annakut: morning puja 06:40 to 08:50.
11 November (Wednesday) — Bhai Dooj: tilak in the aparahna window, 13:10 to 15:20; the day also carries Amrit Siddhi and Sarvarth Siddhi Yogas, making it good for new beginnings generally.
13 November (Friday) — Vinayak Chaturthi: Ganesha fast; also Nahay-Khay, the first day of Chhath.
15 November (Sunday) — Chhath Puja: sandhya arghya to the setting sun at 17:27.
16 November (Monday) — Vrishchika Sankranti: the Sun enters Scorpio at 19:43 IST; a day for daan and river snan.
17 November (Tuesday) — Masik Durga Ashtami: monthly Durga fast.
20 November (Friday) — Dev Uthani Ekadashi: Chaturmas ends; the wedding season opens.
21 November (Saturday) — Tulsi Vivah: the ceremonial marriage of Tulsi and Shaligram on Dwadashi.
22 November (Sunday) — Pradosh Vrat + Sarvarth Siddhi Yoga: Shiva puja at dusk on a day strengthened for any fresh start.
24 November (Tuesday) — Kartik Purnima / Dev Diwali + Guru Nanak Jayanti: deepdaan by the river, with Sarvarth Siddhi Yoga in support.

The five days of Diwali 2026, date by date

The shopping day before the shopping day — 1 November. Before Dhanteras arrives, the month opens with something rarer: Ravi Pushya Yoga, Pushya nakshatra on a Sunday, paired with Sarvarth Siddhi Yoga. Classical texts rank Pushya as the most stable nakshatra for acquisitions meant to last — gold, property tokens, vehicles, long-term investments. If you plan a major purchase this season, 1 November is the day tradition points to first. It is also Ahoi Ashtami: puja muhurat 17:36 to 18:54, tara darshan around 18:00, and moonrise for those who wait for the chandra arghya at 23:40.

Dhanteras — Friday, 6 November. Trayodashi runs from 10:31 on the 6th to 10:48 on the 7th, so the pradosh evening of the 6th is the day. Dhanteras puja muhurat is 18:02 to 19:57, within pradosh kaal of 17:32 to 20:09. The same evening is Dhanvantari Jayanti and a Pradosh Vrat — buy your utensil or metal in daylight, then do the puja after sunset.

Choti Diwali — the honest answer to "7 or 8?" is both. Naraka Chaturdashi splits into two rituals that fall on two different days in 2026, and this is where most confusion lives:

The lamps: Saturday evening, 7 November. Chaturdashi begins at 10:48 on the 7th and holds through that evening's pradosh, so the diyas of Choti Diwali — and Masik Shivratri — belong to the night of the 7th.
The abhyang snan: Sunday pre-dawn, 8 November, 05:41 to 06:38. The ritual oil bath is prescribed for arunodaya while Chaturdashi is still running and after moonrise (05:41). That window falls on the morning of the 8th.

So if someone asks "Choti Diwali kab hai?" — the lamps are on the 7th, the snan is on the 8th. Neither date is wrong; they mark different rites.

Diwali — Sunday, 8 November. The same day that begins with the abhyang snan ends with Lakshmi Puja. The muhurat is 17:54 to 19:50, which is both pradosh kaal (17:31 to 20:09) and Vrishabha lagna (17:54 to 19:50) — the fixed sign that tradition prefers so that Lakshmi, once invited, stays. Note that 9 November is a deliberate gap day: Amavasya ends at 12:32 that afternoon, too late for a pratahkal Govardhan Puja and past the previous evening's pradosh, so no festival falls on it.

Govardhan Puja — Tuesday, 10 November. Pratipada covers the morning of the 10th; make the Annakut offering in the pratahkal muhurat of 06:40 to 08:50.

Bhai Dooj — Wednesday, 11 November. Dwitiya prevails through the aparahna of the 11th; sisters should do the tilak between 13:10 and 15:20. With Amrit Siddhi and Sarvarth Siddhi Yogas both present, it is also a fine day to begin ledgers, studies or journeys.

If you kept last month's calendar handy, this one follows the same method — see the October 2026 panchang for how Sharad Purnima and Karva Chauth led into this Diwali fortnight.

Chhath, Dev Uthani and the wedding season

Chhath Puja spans four days. Nahay-Khay on 13 November, Kharna on 14 November, and the heart of the vrat on Sunday, 15 November: the sandhya arghya offered to the setting sun at 17:27. The concluding usha arghya is offered to the rising sun on 16 November at 06:45. Shashthi tithi runs from 23:23 on the 14th to 02:00 on the 16th, cleanly covering the main evening, and 15 November also carries Sarvarth Siddhi Yoga. Later that same Monday, Vrishchika Sankranti occurs at 19:43 IST.

Dev Uthani Ekadashi falls on Friday, 20 November. The tithi runs from 07:15 on the 20th to 06:31 on the 21st — touching neither sunrise fully, which is why the fast is kept on the 20th. This is Prabodhini Ekadashi: Vishnu wakes, Chaturmas ends, and the vivah season opens. Tulsi Vivah follows on Saturday, 21 November, on Dwadashi.

Two strong general-purpose days follow quickly — 22 November (Pradosh Vrat with Sarvarth Siddhi) and 24 November (Kartik Purnima with Sarvarth Siddhi). But a word of care: these yogas support engagements, griha pravesh and new ventures — an actual wedding date is a different matter, fixed by matching the couple's birth charts, not by the calendar alone. Begin with your kundli, and let a proper muhurta be drawn from it.

Key vrats and fasting days

1 November — Ahoi Ashtami: mothers fast for their children; break the fast after tara darshan (~18:00) or moonrise (23:40).
5 November — Rama Ekadashi: Vishnu fast on the Ekadashi before Diwali.
6 November — Pradosh Vrat: coincides with Dhanteras evening.
7 November — Masik Shivratri: night worship of Shiva alongside the Choti Diwali lamps.
13 November — Vinayak Chaturthi: midday Ganesha puja.
17 November — Masik Durga Ashtami.
20 November — Dev Uthani Ekadashi: the most consequential fast of the month.
22 November — Pradosh Vrat.
24 November — Kartik Purnima: snan-daan purnima; Purnima tithi begins 23:42 on the 23rd and holds through the night of the 24th.

Those who kept the Karva Chauth fast last month will find the same moonrise-and-tithi logic at work in Ahoi Ashtami — our Karva Chauth 2026 guide explains that method in detail.

Reading the month for personal timing

A month like this offers many open doors, but not every door is yours. The panchang tells you when the sky is generally supportive — Ravi Pushya on the 1st, the Siddhi Yogas on the 11th, 15th, 22nd and 24th. What it cannot tell you is how those days sit against your own dasha and transits: a Sarvarth Siddhi day that suits one chart for a business launch may suit another better for a property registration. For anything with real stakes — a wedding, a griha pravesh, a company incorporation — treat this calendar as the shortlist, and let a consultation with your birth chart make the final choice. May the lamps of this Diwali month light the timing that is truly yours.