Kartik Purnima and Dev Deepawali

What Kartik Purnima is

Kartik Purnima is the full moon of the lunar month of Kartik, usually in November, fifteen days after Diwali. It is one of the most sacred full moons of the year, for three reasons that run together: it closes the month of Kartik, the holiest month of the Vaishnava year; it is Tripuri Purnima, the day of Shiva's victory over the three demon cities; and in Varanasi it is Dev Deepawali, "the Diwali of the gods", when the ghats of the Ganga are lit with lakhs of lamps. For Sikhs it is also the Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev ji.

Kartik Purnima dates in 2026 and 2027

Dates below are for New Delhi, from Drik Panchang. For bathing and deep-daan times in your city, check the Panchang.

Year	Kartik Purnima and Dev Deepawali
2026	Tuesday, 24 November
2027	Sunday, 14 November

The day before, Kartik Shukla Chaturdashi, is Vaikuntha Chaturdashi, the one night of the year when Vishnu and Shiva are worshipped together. When the Purnima tithi begins the previous afternoon, the Panchang may give the vrat and the snan-daan on different days.

The month of Kartik and its close

Kartik is called the dearest month of Vishnu and is also known as Damodar month, after the child Krishna who was bound with a rope (dama) around his waist (udara) by Yashoda. Many devotees keep the month, from Sharad Purnima or from the start of Kartik, with a set of simple vows:

• Kartik snan: a bath before sunrise every day, in a river if possible.
• Deep-daan: lighting a ghee or sesame-oil lamp each evening before Vishnu, Tulsi, at a temple or by water. In Vaishnava homes the Damodarashtakam is sung as the lamp is offered.
• Tulsi seva: watering Tulsi and lighting a lamp before her; the month includes Dev Uthani Ekadashi and Tulsi Vivah, and the Tulsi Stotram is recited.
• Simple food: many give up certain foods for the month, and some eat once a day.

The last five days, from Dev Uthani Ekadashi to Kartik Purnima, are Bhishma Panchak, remembered as the days when Bhishma, on his bed of arrows, taught dharma to the Pandavas; some keep a stricter fast through them. Kartik Purnima completes all these vows.

Tripuri Purnima: Shiva and the three cities

The story is told in the Shiva Purana and in the Karna Parva of the Mahabharata. The three sons of the demon Taraka, Tarakaksha, Kamalaksha and Vidyunmali, won a boon from Brahma: three flying cities built by the asura architect Maya, of gold in heaven, silver in the sky and iron on earth, which could be destroyed only by a single arrow at the moment, once in a thousand years, when the three came into a line. Safe in their fortresses, they tormented the three worlds.

The gods built Shiva a chariot from the whole of creation: the earth for its body, the sun and moon for its wheels, Brahma as charioteer, Mount Meru as the bow and Vishnu himself as the arrow. When the cities aligned, Shiva loosed that one arrow and burned all three at once. He is worshipped for this as Tripurari or Tripurantaka, the destroyer of Tripura, and the full moon of Kartik became Tripuri Purnima. The gods celebrated with lamps, which is the root of Dev Deepawali. The story is often read inwardly too: the three cities as the three kinds of bondage, burned in one moment of grace.

Dev Deepawali in Varanasi

In Kashi, Kartik Purnima is Dev Deepawali. At dusk the long crescent of ghats along the Ganga, from Assi to Raj Ghat, is lit with lakhs of clay lamps, and Ganga aarti is performed on a grand scale at Dashashwamedh and other ghats. The belief is that the gods themselves come down to bathe in the Ganga at Kashi on this night. Boats fill the river to see the ghats, and homes and temples across the city, including the Kashi Vishwanath temple, are lit. The great Diwali of the people comes on the new moon; this one, a fortnight later, is said to be the gods' own.

If you plan to visit: rooms and boats are booked weeks ahead, the ghats are extremely crowded at dusk, and the administration often limits boat numbers. Keep children close, choose licensed boats with life jackets, and keep away from the water's edge in the crush.

Other reasons the day is sacred

• Snan and deep-daan: a dawn dip in the Ganga or another holy river, followed by lamps by the water in the evening, is the central observance across North India. Haridwar, Garhmukteshwar, Prayagraj and Varanasi are crowded.
• Matsya avatar: some traditions hold that Vishnu took his first avatar, the fish, on this day.
• Pushkar fair, Rajasthan: the Pushkar mela runs from Kartik Ekadashi and culminates on the full moon with a dip in the lake sacred to Brahma.
• Sonepur fair, Bihar: one of Asia's oldest cattle fairs begins at the confluence of the Ganga and Gandak at Harihar Kshetra, the place traditionally linked with the Gajendra Moksha story.
• Guru Nanak Jayanti: Sikhs celebrate the Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev ji, with prabhat pheris in the preceding days, an Akhand Path, langar and illuminated gurdwaras.
• Jain tradition: the pilgrimage to the Shatrunjaya hill at Palitana, closed during Chaturmas, reopens on Kartik Purnima.
• Boita Bandana, Odisha: before dawn, people float small boats of banana bark or paper with lamps on rivers and the sea, remembering the merchant sailors (sadhabas) who once set out for South-East Asia at this season.

How to observe it

1. Bathe before sunrise, in a river if possible; at home, add a few drops of Ganga jal to the bath water.
2. Worship Shiva and Vishnu. Offer water and bel leaves to the Shivling (see the jalabhishek method) and tulsi to Vishnu. Om Namah Shivaya and Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya are commonly chanted.
3. Give charity: food, grain, warm clothes, lamps or ghee. Charity on Kartik Purnima is held to be especially meritorious.
4. Read the Satyanarayan katha if it is your family's custom on Purnima; see the Satyanarayan vrat.
5. Light lamps in the evening at a river, a temple, under a peepal or tulsi, and at the door of the house. If you float lamps on a river, use clay or leaf lamps rather than plastic.

Frequently asked questions

When is Kartik Purnima in 2027?

On Sunday, 14 November 2027 in New Delhi. In 2026 it fell on 24 November. Dev Deepawali in Varanasi is celebrated on the same evening.

Why is it called Dev Deepawali?

Because it is believed to be the Diwali of the gods: they celebrated Shiva's destruction of the three cities of Tripura by lighting lamps, and they are said to descend to bathe in the Ganga at Kashi on this night.

What is Tripuri Purnima?

Another name for Kartik Purnima, after Shiva's victory over the three asura cities of Tripura, for which he is called Tripurari.

Is Kartik Purnima the same day as Guru Nanak Jayanti?

Yes. Guru Nanak Dev ji's Prakash Purab is celebrated on Kartik Purnima.

What should be donated on Kartik Purnima?

Lamps, ghee, food, grain and warm clothes are the common gifts. Deep-daan, offering lit lamps, is the most characteristic.

How is Dev Deepawali different from Diwali?

Diwali falls on the new moon (Amavasya) of Kartik and centres on Lakshmi and Ram's return; Dev Deepawali falls on the full moon fifteen days later and celebrates the gods, Shiva's victory and the Ganga at Kashi.

What is Bhishma Panchak?

The last five days of Kartik, from Dev Uthani Ekadashi to Kartik Purnima, remembered as the days Bhishma taught dharma from his bed of arrows. Some devotees keep a stricter fast during them.

Can I do Kartik Purnima snan at home?

Yes. If you cannot reach a river, bathe before sunrise at home with a little Ganga jal in the water, then offer water to the Sun and light a lamp. The intention matters more than the place.