# Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) 2026 -- Date, Significance & How It's Celebrated > Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) falls on Tuesday, 24 November 2026. Exact dates for 2026 and 2027, the real mythology, honest rituals and regional variations, plus the computed panchang for the day -- no fear-selling. - **Canonical URL**: https://merirashi.com/en/festivals/kartik-purnima - **Language**: en --- 1. [Home](https://merirashi.com/en) 2. / 3. [Festivals](https://merirashi.com/en/festivals) 4. / 5. Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) Hindu Festivals 2026 - Lunar (tithi) observance ## Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) 2026 Tuesday, 24 November 2026 ![](https://merirashi.com/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Ffestivals%2Fkartik-purnima.png&w=3840&q=85) When is Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) in 2026? Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) falls on **Tuesday, 24 November 2026** -- Kartik Purnima -- the full moon of the month of Kartik, one of the most sacred lunar days of the year across multiple traditions. Purnima - Shukla Paksha krittika nakshatra Sunrise 06:46 AM Panchang computed live from the sidereal (Lahiri) ephemeris at Ujjain, the classical Hindu reference meridian -- not a stored guess. [Check today's Panchang & muhurat](https://merirashi.com/en/panchang)[All 2026 festival dates](https://merirashi.com/en/festivals) Dates ## Kartik Purnima dates: 2026 & 2027 Exact verified dates for each covered year, with the computed tithi for the day. | Year | Date | Tithi | Status | | ---- | ------------------------- | ----------------------- | -------- | | 2026 | Tuesday, 24 November 2026 | Purnima - Shukla Paksha | Upcoming | | 2027 | Sunday, 14 November 2027 | Purnima - Shukla Paksha | | Overview ## What Kartik Purnima marks Kartik Purnima, the full moon that closes the sacred month of Kartik, is one of the most densely layered dates in the Hindu calendar: it is Tripurari Purnima, marking Shiva's victory over the demon Tripurasura; Dev Deepawali, when Varanasi's ghats are lit with lakhs of lamps to welcome the gods themselves to the Ganga; and, for Sikhs, Guru Nanak Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Sikhism's founder. Falling roughly two weeks after Diwali, it functions as a kind of quieter, second festival of lights, with river bathing, lamp-lit ghats, and temple worship replacing Diwali's household fireworks and family gatherings. Its overlapping significance across traditions makes it one of the year's genuinely pan-religious observance dates. Significance ## Mythology & meaning The Puranas tell that Tripurasura, a demon who had won a boon granting him three flying, near-indestructible cities (the Tripura) that could only be destroyed by a single arrow fired when all three aligned in the sky, used his power to terrorise the three worlds. Shiva, uniquely capable of the feat, built a chariot from the universe itself -- the earth as its base, the sun and moon as its wheels, the Vedas as his horses -- and, waiting for the rare celestial alignment of the three cities, fired a single arrow that destroyed all three at once, earning him the epithet Tripurantaka, "destroyer of Tripura." This victory is what Tripurari Purnima, one of the day's several names, commemorates, and it is why some Shiva temples hold a special evening arati on this date comparable in devotion to Maha Shivaratri. Varanasi's Dev Deepawali draws on a separate, complementary tradition: this is held to be the night the gods themselves descend to bathe in the Ganga at Varanasi to celebrate Shiva's victory, and the city's ghats are lit with lakhs of earthen lamps in their honour -- a modern civic revival, particularly over the last few decades, of what is described in local tradition as an ancient practice. The same full moon carries entirely independent significance for Sikhs as Guru Nanak Jayanti (Gurpurab), the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, observed with Akhand Path readings of the Guru Granth Sahib, processions, and langar at gurdwaras worldwide -- a celebration that shares only the date with the Hindu observances, not their content. For Jains, Kartik Purnima is significant as the day associated with the completion of the Shatrunjaya pilgrimage in Gujarat, when large numbers of pilgrims undertake the climb to the Palitana temples. The day is also widely held to be auspicious for holy bathing more generally, and river ghats across North India -- not only Varanasi -- see large crowds of pilgrims taking a ritual dip, a practice believed to carry the accumulated merit of the entire, especially sacred month of Kartik. Rituals ## How it's celebrated Varanasi's Dev Deepawali is the day's most visually spectacular observance: on the evening before or of the full moon, the ghats along the Ganga -- all eighty-plus of them -- are lined with lakhs of earthen lamps, drawing crowds that now rival Diwali itself in scale, alongside boat processions, classical music performances, and a grand Ganga aarti larger than the city's nightly version. Pilgrims across North India take a ritual dip in a sacred river at dawn, considered especially meritorious on this date, and many temples hold a special Tripurari Purnima puja and evening arati honouring Shiva's victory over Tripurasura. Some Vaishnava traditions also mark this period with Tulsi Vivah, the ceremonial "wedding" of the tulsi plant to Vishnu, performed with small household rituals reminiscent of an actual wedding ceremony, though the exact date can shift slightly by regional convention. Sikh gurdwaras hold their Guru Nanak Jayanti (Gurpurab) observances on the very same day: an Akhand Path (continuous 48-hour reading of the Guru Granth Sahib) is typically timed to conclude on the morning of Purnima, followed by a Nagar Kirtan procession and a communal langar open to all. Many households observe a simpler version of the day at home -- a small puja, a lit diya, and perhaps a donation of food or lamps to a temple -- without needing to travel to Varanasi or a major pilgrimage site. Jain communities undertake the Shatrunjaya pilgrimage in Gujarat around this date, with large numbers climbing to the Palitana temple complex. Fasting on this day, where observed, tends to be a lighter, optional practice compared to some of the calendar's more rigorous fasts, and is treated as a personal devotional choice rather than an obligation tied to the day's mythology. Some Vaishnava households and temples also perform a Satyanarayan Puja around this date, a reading and ritual devoted to Vishnu believed to bring prosperity and remove obstacles for the household hosting it, whether performed simply at home or with a priest presiding over a larger gathering. Across India ## Regional variations Same festival, many names Varanasi's Dev Deepawali is the day's best-known modern expression, transforming the city's ghats into one of India's most photographed religious spectacles. Amritsar's Golden Temple holds a major Gurpurab illumination for Guru Nanak Jayanti, with the temple and its surrounding tank lit for the occasion in a manner distinct from, though contemporaneous with, Varanasi's Hindu observance. Gujarat's Palitana sees a surge of Jain pilgrims completing the Shatrunjaya climb around this date. Odisha and parts of eastern India mark the day with river bathing and temple visits rather than large-scale lamp displays. Punjab and the wider Sikh diaspora worldwide, including gurdwaras in the UK, Canada, and the US, hold Gurpurab as one of the year's most significant Sikh religious observances, entirely independent of the Hindu Kartik Purnima customs occurring on the same date elsewhere in India. Dates ## Kartik Purnima in 2027 In 2027, Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) falls on Sunday, 14 November 2027 -- Kartik Purnima -- the full moon of the month of Kartik, one of the most sacred lunar days of the year across multiple traditions. At Ujjain the day runs Purnima (Shukla Paksha), with the Moon in bharani nakshatra. Tithi-based dates move with the lunar calendar each year; the rituals and significance stay the same. ## Frequently asked questions When is Kartik Purnima in 2026? Kartik Purnima falls on Tuesday, 24 November 2026, the full moon that closes the month of Kartik. When is Kartik Purnima in 2027? Kartik Purnima falls on Sunday, 14 November 2027, the full moon that closes the month of Kartik. What is Dev Deepawali and how is it different from Diwali? Dev Deepawali is Varanasi's lamp-lit celebration on Kartik Purnima, roughly two weeks after Diwali, held in the belief that the gods themselves descend to bathe in the Ganga that night to mark Shiva's victory over the demon Tripurasura. It shares Diwali's imagery of lamps and light but is a separate observance with its own distinct mythology. Who is Guru Nanak and why is his birthday marked on the same date? Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism, and his birth anniversary, Guru Nanak Jayanti (Gurpurab), happens to fall on the same Kartik Purnima full moon observed by Hindus for entirely separate reasons -- an overlap of calendar, not content, marked independently at gurdwaras with an Akhand Path, processions, and langar. What is the Tripurasura story behind Tripurari Purnima? Tripurasura was a demon granted three flying, near-indestructible cities that could only be destroyed by a single arrow fired at the rare moment all three aligned. Shiva built a chariot from the universe itself and destroyed all three cities in one shot, earning the name Tripurantaka -- a victory this day specifically commemorates. Is Kartik Purnima significant for Jains too? Yes -- it's associated with the completion of the Shatrunjaya pilgrimage in Gujarat, when large numbers of Jain pilgrims undertake the climb to the Palitana temple complex around this date. Do you need to visit Varanasi to observe Kartik Purnima meaningfully? No -- a simple puja at home, a lit diya, and a small donation of food or lamps to a local temple cover the day's core meaning. Varanasi's Dev Deepawali is the most visually spectacular expression of the day, not a requirement for observing it. Explore ## Related festivals [<- Tulsi Vivah - 21 Nov 2026](https://merirashi.com/en/festivals/tulsi-vivah) [Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) - 08 Nov 2026](https://merirashi.com/en/festivals/diwali) [Chhath Puja - 15 Nov 2026](https://merirashi.com/en/festivals/chhath-puja) ## Plan around the real muhurat See today's tithi, nakshatra, and Rahu Kaal for your own city, or compute your full birth chart -- free, no fear-selling. [Panchang for New Delhi](https://merirashi.com/en/panchang/new-delhi)[Calculate my chart](https://merirashi.com/en/birth-chart-calculator)