Kartik Purnima 2026कार्तिक पूर्णिमा

When is Kartik Purnima?

Observed on Purnima of Kartik. Dates follow the Panchang for New Delhi and can differ by a day in other places — check the Panchang for your city.

What Kartik Purnima means

Kartik Purnima is the full moon that closes the month of Kartik, which many Puranas call the holiest month of the year. For a whole month devotees have bathed before dawn, lit lamps every evening and kept small vows; this full moon is the culmination of all of it — the last and most important day of Kartik snan and deepdaan, the giving of lamps.

It is a festival that belongs to everyone. For Shaivas it is Tripurari Purnima, the day Shiva destroyed the three demon cities. For Vaishnavas it closes Bhishma Panchak and the Tulsi Vivah season that began on Prabodhini Ekadashi, when Vishnu woke from his four-month sleep. In Varanasi the gods themselves are said to come down to the Ganga, and the ghats are lit as Dev Deepawali — the Diwali of the gods. Sikhs celebrate the birth of Guru Nanak Dev on this day, and Jains begin the pilgrimage season to Shatrunjaya at Palitana.

Underneath the many stories is one simple practice: bathe, give and light a lamp. A dip in a river or at home before sunrise, a gift of food, clothing or lamps to those who need them, and a diya at the door, the tulsi, the temple or the riverbank — tradition holds that a lamp offered on this night carries its light far beyond the one who lights it.

The story of Kartik Purnima

The best-known story is the destruction of Tripura. The three sons of the asura Taraka — Tarakaksha, Kamalaksha and Vidyunmali — won a boon from Brahma: three flying cities of gold, silver and iron that could be destroyed only when they came into one line, and only by a single arrow. Sheltered in these cities they tormented the three worlds, and the gods turned to Shiva. The earth became his chariot, the sun and moon its wheels, Mount Meru his bow, Vasuki its string and Vishnu himself the arrow. When the three cities aligned, Shiva released one arrow and burnt them all. Shiva is therefore called Tripurari, the enemy of Tripura, and the gods celebrated by lighting lamps — the origin, tradition says, of Dev Deepawali in Kashi.

Several other traditions are attached to the day. Some Puranic accounts place the Matsya avatar of Vishnu, who saved Manu and the Vedas from the great flood, on Kartik Purnima. The day also closes Bhishma Panchak, the five-day vow from Prabodhini Ekadashi said to honour the teachings Bhishma gave from his bed of arrows. In the Krishna tradition it is remembered as a night of the rasa with the gopis in Vrindavan, kept with lamps and kirtan.

Kartik Purnima puja vidhi, step by step

A simple observance for home or a riverbank. Practices differ between families, regions and sampradayas — follow your own where they differ.

What you need

• Clean water for bathing — Ganga jal, if you have it, to add to the bath
• Diyas (clay or flour lamps) with ghee or sesame oil and cotton wicks
• Flowers, tulsi leaves, and bel leaves for Shiva
• Roli or kumkum, akshat, sandalwood paste, incense and camphor
• Kheer, fruits or another simple naivedya
• Things to give: food grain, warm clothes or blankets, lamps, or money for a cause you trust

When to do the puja

Snan and daan are done in the early morning of the day on which Purnima prevails at sunrise; deepdaan and Dev Deepawali are in the evening, after sunset, while Purnima lasts. Exact times change by city and year — check the Panchang for your city. See the Panchang for your city.

Steps

1. Bathe before sunrise. Bathe in a river or at home, adding a little Ganga jal to the water, and recite the river mantra below. Many keep a fast or eat one simple sattvic meal through the day.
2. Morning puja. Offer water to the rising sun. Worship Vishnu with tulsi and Shiva with water and bel leaves; many families read the Satyanarayan katha on this Purnima.
3. Give. Daan on Kartik Purnima is especially praised — food, grain, warm clothing, lamps — given quietly and with respect to those who need them.
4. Deepdaan in the evening. After sunset light lamps at the threshold, at the tulsi, before the household deities, at a temple, or float them on a river or pond. Some light a lamp of 365 wicks, one for each day of the year.
5. Close with aarti. Perform aarti, offer the naivedya and share it as prasad. If you fasted, break the fast after the evening puja or after seeing the moon, as your family does.

Offerings & food: Kheer, puri, panchamrit, bel patra for Shiva

Mantras for Kartik Purnima

Kartik Purnima across India

Dev Deepawali at Varanasi (the ghats lit with countless diyas), Kartigai Deepam in Tamil Nadu (large hilltop fires), Pushkar Mela in Rajasthan (world's largest camel fair, pilgrim bath), Guru Nanak Jayanti coincides

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

Dev Deepawali: the ghats of the Ganga are lined with diyas, with a grand Ganga aarti, boats on the river and lamps floated on the water.

Tamil Nadu

Karthigai Deepam falls in the Tamil month of Karthigai on Krittika nakshatra, often on or near this full moon (in 2026 on the same day). The Maha Deepam is lit on the Arunachala hill at Tiruvannamalai and homes are lined with agal vilakku lamps.

Odisha

Boita Bandana: before dawn people float small boats of banana bark carrying lamps, remembering the sea voyages of Kalinga's traders; Cuttack holds the Bali Jatra fair.

Rajasthan

The Pushkar fair reaches its peak with a holy bath in Pushkar lake, sacred to Brahma.

Bihar

The Sonepur fair begins where the Gandak meets the Ganga, with a dip at the Harihar Nath temple.

Punjab and Sikh homes everywhere

Guru Nanak Jayanti (Gurpurab): Akhand Path, prabhat pheris, kirtan and langar in every gurdwara.

Gujarat (Jain tradition)

Chaturmas ends and the yatra to the Shatrunjaya hills at Palitana reopens.

Prayers to recite

Do’s and don’ts

Temples to visit for Kartik Purnima

Kashi Vishwanath TempleVaranasi, Uttar PradeshHarmandir SahibAmritsar, Punjab

Frequently asked questions