Diwali 2026: the Lakshmi Pujan date and the five days
Diwali is the festival of lamps, kept over five days that end the lunar year in much of India. Its heart is Lakshmi Pujan, on the night of the new moon, when every home lights its lamps and welcomes Lakshmi.
When it falls next
Diwali — Lakshmi Pujan in each region
What Diwali is
The five days begin with Dhantrayodashi, or Dhanteras, kept for Dhanvantari and for Lakshmi, when families buy something new for the home, often a utensil or a little gold. Narak Chaturdashi follows, the day Krishna ended Narakasura, kept with an early bath before dawn.
Lakshmi Pujan falls on the amavasya itself. After dusk the family worships Lakshmi, often with Ganesh and Kuber, and the account books of a shop are worshipped with them as the new year of accounts begins. Lamps are lit in every doorway and window.
The next day is Balipratipada, or Padwa, remembering King Bali, and in many homes in the north Govardhan Puja, when Krishna lifted the hill to shelter Gokul. The last day, Bhau Beej or Bhai Dooj, is kept by sisters for their brothers.
How families keep it at home
Homes are cleaned and whitewashed in the weeks before. Rangoli is drawn at the door each morning, lamps and an akash kandil are hung, and new clothes are worn.
In Maharashtra the season opens a day earlier with Vasubaras, when the cow and calf are worshipped, and the faral is made: chakli, karanji, shankarpali and ladoo, shared with neighbours.
For Lakshmi Pujan the puja ghar is set with a new cloth, a kalash, coins or ornaments, and the family sits together after dusk. Many keep a lamp burning through the night.
On Bhau Beej the sister does her brother's aarti and he offers her a gift; where a sister has no brother, families often keep the day with the Moon as her brother.
How it differs by region
In Maharashtra, Padwa is also a new year for traders and a day couples keep together. In Gujarat the new year begins the day after Lakshmi Pujan, with greetings of Saal Mubarak.
In Bengal and Assam the new-moon night is kept for Kali, while in the south many homes keep Naraka Chaturdashi as the main day of Deepavali, with an oil bath before sunrise.
In the north, the day after Lakshmi Pujan is Govardhan Puja, with an annakut, a mountain of food offered to Krishna.
How its date is set
Lakshmi Pujan falls on the amavasya of the month called Ashwin where months end at the new moon (amanta, as in Maharashtra) and Kartik where they end at the full moon (purnimanta). It is kept on the evening the amavasya holds after sunset, in the period called pradosh.
Dhanteras is the trayodashi two days before, and Bhau Beej the second day of the bright half after it, so the days move together when a tithi is skipped or repeated.
Read the Lakshmi aarti, our guides to a yantra for Diwali and what to buy on Dhanteras, and see the Mahalaxmi and Kuber yantra cards.