Narak Chaturdashi 2026: Date and Choti Diwali

Narak Chaturdashi and Choti Diwali 2026: timings (New Delhi)

Times are computed with the Swiss Ephemeris for New Delhi and agree within a minute with published panchangs. The Chaturdashi begins in the late morning of the 7th, so the evening of the 7th is Choti Diwali, and it still runs at the pre-dawn of the 8th, so the ritual bath is on Diwali morning itself.

Abhyang snan muhurat and vidhi, step by step

1. Before sunrise, while the moon is up: rise in the dark, between 5:37 and 6:39 am in Delhi.
2. Ubtan and oil: sesame oil massaged over the body, then a paste of gram flour, turmeric and sandalwood (ubtan); in the south, oil with a pinch of turmeric and a drop of camphor.
3. The apamarg: a sprig of apamarg (prickly chaff) or a bitter-gourd twig is turned three times over the head during the bath, for the removal of what Narakasura stood for.
4. After the bath: new or clean clothes, a lamp to Yama, and in the south the first firecracker and the Deepavali sweets before sunrise.

Significance and story: Narakasura, Krishna and Satyabhama

The asura Narakasura of Pragjyotisha had imprisoned sixteen thousand women and seized the earrings of Aditi. Krishna, with Satyabhama driving his chariot, killed him before dawn on this Chaturdashi; Narakasura's dying wish was that the day be marked with lamps and a bath. The oil bath washes away the "naraka", the hell of one's own faults, and the Yama Deepam of the evening before asks that no untimely death enter the home.

How it is celebrated across India (regional customs)

• South India: this is the main Deepavali day; the pre-dawn oil bath (Ganga snanam), new clothes and crackers happen on 8 November morning.
• Gujarat: Kali Chaudas on 7 November, with Hanuman and Kali worship and a lamp at the crossroads to ward off ill.
• Rajasthan and the north: Roop Chaudas, the beauty-bath of ubtan, and Choti Diwali lamps on the evening of the 7th.
• Bengal: Bhoot Chaturdashi, fourteen lamps and fourteen leafy greens (choddo shaak) for the ancestors, on the 7th.
• Goa: Narakasura effigies burnt before dawn on the 8th.

Dos and don'ts

• Do finish the bath before sunrise on 8 November (6:39 am in Delhi); after sunrise it is an ordinary bath.
• Do light the Yama Deepam facing south on the evening of 7 November.
• Don't sleep through sunrise on Narak Chaturdashi; the day's merit is in the pre-dawn.
• Don't move the Lakshmi Puja to the morning because both fall on the 8th: the bath is at dawn, the puja in the evening muhurat.

Frequently asked questions