Diwali 2026 in India: Dates, the Five-Day Festival, Lakshmi Puja Muhurat and Significance

Diwali, the festival of lights, is the greatest and most joyful of all Hindu festivals, when homes and temples across India glow with countless lamps, families gather and Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped for prosperity. It is a five-day celebration, at the heart of which is the main Diwali night of Lakshmi Puja. In 2026, Diwali in India falls on Sunday, 8 November, on Kartik Amavasya. Here, from one born in Braj, is the complete guide to Diwali 2026: the date, the Lakshmi Puja muhurat, the five-day schedule, its meaning and where to experience it most beautifully. Plan your visit with our Mathura Vrindavan tour packages.

Key takeaways

• Diwali 2026 in India is on Sunday, 8 November, on Kartik Amavasya.

• The Lakshmi Puja shubh muhurat is 6:29 PM to 8:29 PM (during Pradosh Kaal).

• Exact puja timings vary by a few minutes with your city's local sunset.

• The five-day festival runs from Dhanteras (6 Nov) to Bhai Dooj (10 or 11 Nov).

• Diwali marks Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya and the worship of Lakshmi and Ganesha.

• In Braj, Diwali is followed by the great Govardhan Puja (Annakut), a signature Krishna festival.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018, more than 50,000 of them. Diwali is a festival I know both as a devotee and as a host, for in Krishna's Braj it is celebrated with special beauty. Here I give you the essentials for Diwali 2026 across India, the dates, the muhurat, the meaning and then how to experience it most beautifully, in the land of Krishna.

Diwali 2026 date and tithi

Here are the key date details for the main Diwali in 2026.

Diwali 2026 date, tithi and Lakshmi Puja muhurat. Exact timings vary by a few minutes with your city's sunset.

Lakshmi Puja muhurat 2026

The most auspicious time for the Lakshmi Puja on the main Diwali night falls during Pradosh Kaal, the sacred evening window just after sunset. In 2026, the Lakshmi Puja shubh muhurat is from 6:29 PM to 8:29 PM, when Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha are worshipped at home with lamps, sweets and prayers, to invite prosperity and good fortune. Because the muhurat depends on the exact moment of sunset, it varies by a few minutes from city to city, so confirm the precise timing for your own place; the window above is the widely-followed one.

The five-day Diwali 2026 festival schedule

Diwali is not one day but a five-day festival, each with its own meaning. Here is the full schedule for 2026.

The five-day Diwali 2026 schedule. Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj dates vary locally by a day.

Note that the dates of Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj vary by a day from region to region, depending on the tithi, so confirm them locally. In Braj, Govardhan Puja is especially grand, as we shall see.

The significance of Diwali

Diwali carries several beautiful strands of meaning, woven together:

• The return of Rama: it celebrates Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana after fourteen years of exile and the defeat of Ravana, the people lighting lamps to welcome him home.

• The worship of Lakshmi: on the main night, Goddess Lakshmi (of wealth and fortune) and Lord Ganesha (of auspicious beginnings and wisdom) are worshipped, to invite prosperity and peace into the home.

• The victory of light over darkness: above all, Diwali symbolises the triumph of good over evil, of knowledge over ignorance and the awakening of the inner light of the soul.

How Diwali is celebrated

Across India, Diwali is celebrated by cleaning and decorating homes; drawing rangoli at the threshold; lighting rows of diyas (oil lamps) and lights; performing the Lakshmi-Ganesha puja at the evening muhurat; sharing sweets and gifts with family and friends; wearing new clothes; and, traditionally, fireworks, though many now choose a quieter, greener celebration. It is, above all, a time of family, of light and of hope, when the whole land glows with lamps and the new year of prosperity is welcomed in.

Diwali in Vrindavan and Braj: the most beautiful place to celebrate

If Diwali is beautiful everywhere, it is most beautiful in Krishna's Braj. In Vrindavan and Mathura, the thousands of temples are lit and decorated, the marble Prem Mandir glows in colour, the beloved Banke Bihari shines with lamps and, most magically, deepdaan is offered at the Yamuna ghats, where thousands of little diyas are set afloat and the river becomes a ribbon of light. To spend Diwali among the temples and ghats of Braj is unforgettable. For the full Braj celebration, see our Diwali in Mathura and Vrindavan guide.

Govardhan Puja and Annakut: Braj's great festival after Diwali

The day after Diwali comes Govardhan Puja and nowhere is it grander than in Braj, for it commemorates the day Krishna lifted the Govardhan hill on his finger to shelter Braj from Indra's storm. On this day, the hill is worshipped as Giriraj and a mountain of food, the Annakut or 'fifty-six dishes' (chappan bhog), is offered to Krishna and shared. Pilgrims flock to circle the sacred hill in the Govardhan parikrama. It is one of the greatest festivals of Braj and a wonderful reason to be here at Diwali. See our Vrindavan and Govardhan guide and the Mathura Vrindavan festivals calendar.

Tips for Diwali 2026

• Confirm your city's exact Lakshmi Puja muhurat, as it varies by a few minutes with local sunset.

• Perform the Lakshmi-Ganesha puja during the Pradosh Kaal window (about 6:29 to 8:29 PM).

• Clean and decorate the home, draw rangoli and light diyas at the threshold and windows.

• Choose a greener Diwali: prefer diyas and lamps over heavy fireworks, for cleaner air.

• To experience it at its most beautiful, spend Diwali and Govardhan Puja in Krishna's Braj.

• Book Braj stays early, as Diwali and Kartik are a peak, crowded season in Vrindavan and Mathura.

The honest bit

Honest words from one born in Braj. Diwali is the most joyful of festivals, but a few honest notes. The Lakshmi Puja muhurat above (6:29 to 8:29 PM) is the widely-followed window, but it shifts by a few minutes with your city's sunset, so confirm locally; and the dates of Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj can fall a day either way by region, so check those too. On fireworks, I will gently say what many now feel: a quieter, greener Diwali of lamps and diyas is kinder to the air, the animals and the elderly and loses nothing of the festival's true light. And if you wish to feel Diwali at its deepest, come to Braj, not for the loudest crackers but for the ghats aglow with floating diyas and the great Govardhan Puja, where the festival's light is spiritual, not just bright. Celebrated with heart, Diwali is a festival of the soul.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul in the Mathura district and every Diwali and Kartik I host guests, families and international visitors among them, through the beauty of the season in Braj. Guiding since 2018, more than 50,000 pilgrims, 4.5 stars on Google, WhatsApp first, 8 AM to 9 PM daily. For a Diwali visit we secure your stay early, plan your days around the lit temples and the ghat deepdaan, bring you to the great Govardhan Puja and Annakut, arrange your puja and seva and host you through the crowded peak season, with a local's access and no touts. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: if you can, do not spend Diwali only at home; come and spend at least the Govardhan Puja in Braj. On the main Diwali night, see the temples of Vrindavan lit like the sky and offer a diya to the Yamuna at the ghats, watching your little flame join a thousand others drifting on the dark water. Then, the next day, join the pilgrims circling Govardhan hill and share in the Annakut, the mountain of food offered to Krishna. To celebrate the festival of light in the land of Krishna is to understand what Diwali truly means, not only lamps in the dark, but the light of the divine on earth.

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Plan your Diwali trip to Braj

Diwali and Kartik are the peak season in Braj, so book early. Tell me your dates and group and I will secure your stay, plan your days around the lit temples, the ghat deepdaan and the Govardhan Puja and host you, families and international guests especially welcome, for one clear price. Our Mathura Vrindavan tour packages from Delhi and Mathura tour packages cover the heart of Braj. WhatsApp +91 7302265809, any day 8 AM to 9 PM. Packages from ₹1,999 per person, 4.5 stars on Google. Born in Gokul, Mathura.