🕯️ Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) 2026
The full moon of Kartik — Ganga bath, floating lamps on the river, Tripurari Purnima, Dev Deepawali and Guru Nanak Jayanti on one day.
Kartik Purnima is among the holiest full moons of the year — exactly fifteen days after Diwali. On this day Lord Shiva killed the demon Tripurasura, so it is called Tripurari Purnima; the gods lit lamps in Kashi in celebration — that is Dev Deepawali. The month-long Kartik bath, lamp-offering and vrat conclude on this day.
Women bathe in a river/pond in the morning, and in the evening float dough lamps on the river or in a water vessel at home (deepdaan) and worship Tulsi; many homes also perform Tulsi Vivah on this day. For Sikhs it is the Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev ji. Below are this year's date, the bath and lamp times, vidhi, samagri, katha and regional customs.
Significance — why this vrat
The Padma Purana equates the merit of the Kartik Purnima bath and lamp-offering with an Ashwamedha yajna. The Kartik bath (bathing in Brahma Muhurat all month) concludes on this day — those who could not keep it all month should do it at least on this one day.
It is traditional to float 365 lamps (or as many as possible) on the river — one for every day of the year; the Dev Deepawali on the ghats of Kashi is world-famous. It is also held to be the day of Vishnu's Matsya avatar.
The Purnima fast and arghya to the moon at moonrise — when Krittika nakshatra falls on Kartik Purnima it is called 'Maha Kartiki', even more auspicious.
Puja vidhi (step by step)
This is the household vidhi — a dawn bath, fasting and charity in the day, lamps and Tulsi-moon puja in the evening.
- Bathe in Brahma Muhurat (time above) in a river/pond or at home with Gangajal added; chant 'Om Namo Narayanaya' while bathing; offer arghya to the sun.
- Sankalp — 'I keep the Kartik Purnima vrat, bath and lamp-offering for the family's welfare.' Fruit or one sattvik meal during the day.
- Morning worship of Vishnu-Lakshmi and Shiva at home — yellow flowers, Tulsi, bel leaves, panchamrit; the Satyanarayan katha is considered specially fruitful on this day (many homes call a priest).
- Charity: grain, clothes, blankets (winter begins), ghee, jaggery, sesame — to the needy/a Brahmin; fodder to cows at a gaushala.
- In the evening after sunset (Pradosh) 11/21 lamps at the Tulsi platform and a circumambulation of Tulsi; lamps in every corner, at the door and on the terrace — this is 'Dev Deepawali'.
- Deepdaan: make dough (or clay) lamps, fill with ghee/oil and float them on a river or pond; if there is no river, fill a large vessel with water at home and float the lamps in it — 5, 11, 21 or 365 in number.
- At moonrise (time above) offer arghya of milk and water to the moon; break the Purnima fast after that.
- At night remember Shiva — 'Tripurari ki jai'; if you can go to Kashi, Prayag or Haridwar join the ghat aarti, otherwise the aarti 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare' at home.
Puja samagri checklist
Make the dough lamps for deepdaan a day earlier at home — 21 or 51 are easily made.
- Gangajal, copper lota (for the bath and arghya)
- Dough/clay lamps (21/51/365), ghee-mustard oil, cotton wicks, leaf plates/bowls to float the lamps
- Tulsi plant, red chunari for the Tulsi puja, roli, akshat, flowers
- Picture of Vishnu-Lakshmi and Shiva, bel leaves, yellow flowers, panchamrit
- Satyanarayan katha items (if held): banana leaves, panchamrit, panjiri (wheat/semolina), banana, betel nut
- Items for charity — grain, blankets, clothes, sesame, jaggery, ghee
- Incense, camphor, agarbatti, aarti thali, conch and bell
- Milk and water for the moon arghya, kheer (bhog)
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Open panchang →Vrat katha (the story)
The three sons of Tarakasura — Tarakaksha, Kamalaksha and Vidyunmali — won from Brahma by penance three flying cities (Tripura) that could be destroyed only when all three came into one line and were pierced by a single arrow. Tormented by them, the gods sought Shiva's refuge.
Shiva made the earth his chariot, the sun and moon its wheels, Meru his bow, Vasuki the bowstring and Vishnu the arrow; on Kartik Purnima, when the three cities aligned, one arrow burnt Tripura to ash. The gods celebrated by lighting lamps in Kashi — that is 'Tripurari Purnima' and 'Dev Deepawali'.
The second story is of the Matsya avatar — on this Purnima Vishnu took the form of a fish and saved Manu and the Vedas from the deluge. And the third — on this day in 1469 Guru Nanak Dev ji was born (by Sikh tradition), hence the Prakash Parv in gurdwaras.
Fasting food, Satyanarayan prasad and kheer
The Purnima fast is fruit all day or one sattvik meal; kheer in the evening after the moon arghya. If the Satyanarayan katha is held, prasad of panjiri, panchamrit and banana.
- Day: fruit, milk, sabudana or singhara halwa; rock salt
- Satyanarayan prasad: semolina/wheat panjiri (ghee-sugar-makhana), panchamrit, banana, Tulsi leaf
- Evening: rice-milk kheer (bhog to the moon), poori-sabzi, halwa
- Bengal-Odisha: khichuri-labra and payesh on 'Raas Purnima'; in Odisha the last meal of the Kartik habisha
- Set the grain, jaggery and sesame for charity aside before the meal
Regional customs
One Purnima, many names — Dev Deepawali, Tripurari, Raas Purnima, Boita Bandana, Prakash Parv.
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✅ Do
- Bathe in Brahma Muhurat with Gangajal added; arghya to the sun
- Lamps in the evening — in a water vessel at home if there is no river
- Winter begins — blanket/cloth donation is special on this day
- Tulsi puja and circumambulation; if Tulsi Vivah is still pending, today is the last day
- Arghya at moonrise, then break the fast
❌ Don't
- No lamps in plastic/thermocol boats — leaf plates/bowls/dough lamps (keep the river clean)
- Cutting hair and nails, meat, alcohol, quarrels — avoided on Purnima
- No lamp-floating in deep water at the ghat; never leave children alone
- Do not pluck Tulsi leaves in the evening
- No tamasic food during the fast
Frequently asked questions
When is Kartik Purnima in 2026?
The date at the top is this year's Kartik Purnima — from panchang calculations; the Delhi times for moonrise, Brahma Muhurat (bath) and Pradosh (lamps) are shown too.
What is the difference between Dev Deepawali and Diwali?
Diwali is the Lakshmi puja of humans on Kartik Amavasya; Dev Deepawali fifteen days later on Kartik Purnima is the festival of lamps of the gods — celebrating the slaying of Tripurasura, grandest on the ghats of Kashi.
How to do deepdaan if there is no river nearby?
Fill a large vessel (tub/paraat) with water in the courtyard/terrace and float dough or clay lamps in it, light lamps at the Tulsi platform — the merit is held to be the same. Do not make plastic boats.
Should the Satyanarayan katha be held on this day?
Kartik Purnima is considered the most auspicious Purnima of the year for the Satyanarayan katha; at home with a priest or from the book yourself — prasad of panjiri, panchamrit and banana.
What is the Kartik bath?
The rule of bathing at dawn, worshipping Tulsi and offering lamps every day through Kartik (Sharad Purnima to Kartik Purnima); it concludes on Kartik Purnima. If the whole month is not possible, the five days from Ekadashi to Purnima (Bhishma Panchak) suffice.
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⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; your own family custom comes first. Mind safety at the ghat and the cleanliness of the river.
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