Diwali 2026: Date, the Five Days, Lakshmi Puja Muhurat and Celebrations in Braj

Key facts at a glance

Diwali 2026: the date and overview

Diwali 2026, the great festival of lights, falls on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the day of the main Lakshmi Puja. But Diwali is not a single day; it is a radiant five-day festival, running in 2026 from Friday, November 6 to Tuesday, November 10, each day with its own meaning, from Dhanteras through the main Diwali night to Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. Across India and the world, homes are cleaned and decorated, rows of lamps are lit, Lakshmi is worshipped, sweets are shared and families come together in the triumph of light over darkness.

This guide gives the full Diwali 2026 calendar, the Lakshmi Puja muhurat, the meaning of each of the five days, how Diwali is celebrated, and, above all, the special way Diwali and Govardhan Puja are observed in Mathura and Vrindavan, the land of Krishna, where the festival takes on a depth found nowhere else. For all the Braj festival dates through the year, see our braj festival calendar.

From the ground (Gurudutt): If you can, experience Diwali once in Braj. While Diwali is beautiful everywhere, in the land of Krishna it carries a special magic, above all Govardhan Puja on November 9, 2026, the day after the main Diwali, when Krishna's lifting of Govardhan Hill is celebrated with the great Annakut, mountains of food offered to the deities. The temples of Mathura and Vrindavan, ablaze with lamps and the Yamuna ghats glowing with deepdaan, are among the most moving sights of the whole festival. See our Mathura Vrindavan tour or message WhatsApp +91 7302265809.

Diwali 2026 dates at a glance

Here is the full five-day Diwali 2026 calendar. Because Diwali follows the lunar calendar, the dates fall in early November in 2026.

The main day: The main Diwali, when Lakshmi Puja is performed, is Sunday, November 8, 2026. The five-day festival runs from Dhanteras on November 6 to Bhai Dooj on November 10, 2026.

The Lakshmi Puja muhurat 2026

On the main Diwali night, Sunday, November 8, 2026, Lakshmi Puja, the worship of the goddess Lakshmi for prosperity and wellbeing, is performed in the evening, during the auspicious muhurat. For 2026, the auspicious Lakshmi Puja window is generally given as around 06:27 pm to 08:27 pm, a duration of about two hours, falling within the Pradosh Kaal, the twilight period, of roughly 06:02 pm to 08:34 pm.

One honest and important note: muhurat timings are calculated for a specific place and vary from city to city, since they depend on the exact times of sunset and the tithi at your location. The times above are indicative; for the precise muhurat where you are, check a reliable panchang or a local priest for your own city. The general principle holds everywhere, though: Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening twilight of the main Diwali day, during the Pradosh Kaal, when the goddess is invited into the clean, lamp-lit home.

The five days of Diwali explained

Each of the five days of Diwali has its own meaning and observance.

• Dhanteras, November 6: the first day, dedicated to wealth and health, when people clean their homes, buy gold, silver or new utensils for good fortune and worship Dhanvantari, the deity of healing and Lakshmi and Kubera.

• Naraka Chaturdashi or Choti Diwali, November 7: the second day, marking Krishna's slaying of the demon Narakasura, celebrated with early baths, lamps and smaller festivities, a prelude to the main day.

• Lakshmi Puja, the main Diwali, November 8: the third day and the heart of the festival, when the goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in the evening muhurat, homes blaze with lamps and families celebrate together.

• Govardhan Puja or Annakut, November 9: the fourth day, celebrating Krishna's lifting of Govardhan Hill, when great mountains of food, the Annakut, are offered to the deities, especially beloved in Braj.

• Bhai Dooj, November 10: the fifth day, honouring the bond between brothers and sisters, when sisters pray for their brothers' wellbeing and the two share food and gifts.

So Diwali begins with prosperity at Dhanteras, rises to the great night of Lakshmi Puja and continues through Govardhan Puja and the family bond of Bhai Dooj, five days of light, worship and togetherness.

The significance of Diwali

Diwali or Deepavali, meaning a row of lamps, is celebrated as the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance and it carries several cherished traditions at once. By the most widely told, it marks the return of Rama to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and his victory over Ravana, when the people lit rows of lamps to welcome him home. It is also the great festival of the goddess Lakshmi, worshipped for prosperity and wellbeing.

In the Krishna tradition of Braj, the days carry further meaning: Naraka Chaturdashi recalls Krishna's slaying of the demon Narakasura and Govardhan Puja celebrates Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill to shelter the people of Braj. For Jains, Diwali marks the liberation of Mahavira and for Sikhs, the release of Guru Hargobind Ji. We share these traditions as they are cherished by the communities that hold them. At its heart, across all of them, Diwali is the festival of light, hope, renewal and coming together.

How Diwali is celebrated

Diwali is celebrated with a rich array of customs, which unfold across the five days.

• Cleaning and decorating the home, since Lakshmi is said to enter clean, welcoming houses and adorning doorways with rangoli, marigolds and torans.

• Lighting rows of diyas, oil lamps and candles and today also decorative lights, filling homes and streets with a glow, the very heart of the festival.

• Performing Lakshmi Puja on the main evening, worshipping the goddess of prosperity, often with Ganesha, during the auspicious muhurat.

• Sharing sweets and savouries and exchanging gifts with family, friends and neighbours and wearing new clothes.

• Family gatherings, and, on Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj, the special observances of the Annakut offering and the brother-sister bond.

A gentle, honest word on firecrackers: while fireworks are a popular part of Diwali for many, they cause significant air and noise pollution and injuries each year and a growing number of people now choose a quieter, greener Diwali, focusing on lamps, rangoli, sweets and togetherness. If you do use fireworks, do so safely and considerately, sparingly, away from people and animals and with care for children. The festival's true light is in the lamps, the worship and the coming together, not the noise.

Diwali in Mathura and Vrindavan

While Diwali is beautiful everywhere, in Mathura and Vrindavan, the land of Krishna, it is extraordinary. Through the five days, the thousands of temples of the twin cities are cleaned, decorated and lit with countless lamps and the great temples, Banke Bihari, ISKCON, Prem Mandir and the rest, hold special darshans, decorations and celebrations. The marble Prem Mandir, always lit in the evening, is especially magical at Diwali.

On the main Diwali night, the Yamuna ghats glow with deepdaan, the floating of lamps upon the sacred river and the evening aartis are especially beautiful; our keshi ghat yamuna aarti guide covers the ghat and its aarti. But the true crown of Diwali in Braj comes the next day, with Govardhan Puja, which is celebrated here, at the very hill Krishna lifted, more grandly than anywhere on earth. To spend Diwali in Mathura and Vrindavan is to see the festival of lights in its most devotional and joyful form.

Govardhan Puja and Annakut in Braj

Govardhan Puja, falling on Monday, November 9, 2026, the day after the main Diwali, is the great Braj festival of the five days and it is celebrated in Mathura, Vrindavan and above all at Govardhan itself with unmatched fervour. It commemorates the beloved leela in which Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill on his little finger to shelter the people and cows of Braj from a terrible storm sent by Indra, teaching them to honour the hill and nature that sustained them rather than to fear the gods of storm.

In its honour, devotees perform the Annakut, meaning a mountain of food, offering vast arrays of dishes and sweets to Krishna and to Govardhan and many make images of the hill from cow dung and food and worship them. At Govardhan, huge numbers of pilgrims come to worship the sacred hill and walk the Govardhan parikrama, covered in our govardhan parikrama guide guide and to take darshan of Giriraj, the hill itself, covered in our govardhan hill guide. The Annakut darshans in the temples, the deities before their mountains of food, are among the most beautiful sights of the entire Diwali season, a uniquely Braj glory of the festival.

Visiting Braj for Diwali 2026

Diwali 2026, from November 6 to 10, falls in the pleasant, cool early-November weather that is among the best times to visit Mathura and Vrindavan, so it is a wonderful, if busy, time to come. The Kartik season around Diwali is one of the most sacred and beautiful of the whole year in Braj. Expect large crowds, higher prices and heavy pressure on transport and accommodation over the festival, so book well ahead. Our best time to visit vrindavan mathura guide covers the season and our how to reach vrindavan guide the routes into Braj.

A lovely Diwali plan is to be in Vrindavan for the lamp-lit temples and the deepdaan on the main Diwali night of November 8, then at Govardhan for the Govardhan Puja and Annakut on November 9. We arrange Diwali and Govardhan Puja trips to Braj, with the darshan, the timing around the festival, the transport and the crowds all handled, so you simply take in the lights and the devotion. A shared day tour starts from around ₹1,499 per person, with darshan free throughout and our govardhan barsana tour covers Govardhan, while our vrindavan tour package covers the Vrindavan temples. Message me on WhatsApp at +91-7302265809 with your dates to plan a Diwali in Braj.

Tips for a happy and safe Diwali

A few simple tips make for a joyful and safe Diwali.

• Clean and decorate early and prepare your diyas, rangoli and puja items ahead of the main day so the evening is unhurried.

• For the Lakshmi Puja, confirm the muhurat for your own city from a reliable panchang and perform the puja calmly in the evening twilight.

• Favour lamps, rangoli, sweets and togetherness over firecrackers; if you use fireworks, do so safely, sparingly and considerately, with care for children, elders and animals.

• Keep diyas and candles away from curtains and flammable things and never leave them unattended.

• If visiting Braj, book transport and accommodation well ahead, keep belongings secure in the crowds and look after elders and children.

Above all, remember that the heart of Diwali is light, gratitude, renewal and coming together, whether at home with family or amid the lamp-lit temples of Krishna's Braj. We wish you a very happy and blessed Diwali 2026.

Related guides

• mathura vrindavan with elderly parents

• famous food in vrindavan and mathura

• vrindavan guide for foreigners

• gokul barsana nandgaon day trip

• how to commute in vrindavan