Choti Diwali 2026: Narak Chaturdashi

Choti Diwali is the rare festival whose central act is finished before the sun is even up. Well before the New Delhi sunrise of 6:38 AM on Sunday, 8 November 2026, the household rises in the dark for the abhyanga snan — a full bath in warm oil and ubtan taken while it is still night. On Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi this ordinary wash becomes a rite: it is said to wash off 'narak', the impurity and dread the day is named for, so that you greet the light already cleansed. That single pre-dawn bath, not an evening puja, is what fixes the character of the day.

This year the day carries a second face. The Chaturdashi tithi is present at dawn but ends at 11:30 AM on the 8th, and Amavasya follows the same afternoon — so Narak Chaturdashi and Diwali fall on one date. The morning belongs to the abhyanga snan and Yama Deepam, and the evening of that same Sunday turns to Lakshmi Puja. In years when the tithis part, Choti Diwali sits a day before the main Diwali; in 2026 the two share 8 November, which is why the 'chhoti', the little Diwali, and the great one arrive together.

Choti Diwali 2026 at a glance

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Festival day

Sun, 8 November 2026

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Tithi

Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi

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Abhyanga snan

Before sunrise, 6:38 AM (Delhi)

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Chaturdashi ends

8 Nov, 11:30 AM

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This year

Diwali the same evening (8 Nov)

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Also observed

Yama Deepam & Kali Chaudas

The two timings that shape the day

The pre-dawn bath, and when Chaturdashi gives way to Diwali

Abhyanga snan

Before sunrise 6:38 AM

8 Nov, New Delhi — the rite that defines the day

Chaturdashi ends

8 Nov, 11:30 AM

Diwali / Lakshmi Puja the same evening

The day is held together by two moments. The first is the abhyanga snan, taken before the 8 November sunrise — 6:38 AM in New Delhi, later as you move west — while the Chaturdashi still holds the sky. The second is the tithi's own close: the Chaturdashi ends at 11:30 AM, and by evening Amavasya has taken over, opening Lakshmi Puja. So the morning belongs to Narak Chaturdashi and the night to Diwali, both on the same Sunday. Because sunrise shifts with your city, confirm your own before you set the alarm for the bath.

The rituals: abhyanga snan, Yama Deepam and Kali Chaudas

How the bath is done, the lamp for Yama, and the regional Kali puja

The abhyanga snan is done in the dark. The body is massaged with warm oil — traditionally sesame — and then with ubtan, a paste of gram flour, turmeric and herbs; some pass a little apamarga leaf over the head first. You bathe before sunrise, put on fresh clothes, and only then light the lamp, so the day begins clean. This is also why the day is called Roop Chaudas — the bath is held to restore roop, one's glow and grace. After dusk comes the Yama Deepam: a single earthen lamp, often set facing south, lit for Yama and for the household's protection from untimely death — the one lamp of the year kept for the lord of death. In Gujarat, Maharashtra and parts of the west and south the night is Kali Chaudas, when Kali is worshipped and, in some homes, protective rites are kept against negativity.

Narakasura, and why the day merges with Diwali in 2026

The katha behind 'narak', and the tithis that meet this year

The name comes from Narakasura, the demon-king whose reign spread fear until Krishna, with Satyabhama, killed him on this Chaturdashi and freed the sixteen thousand he had imprisoned. Dying, Narakasura asked that the day be remembered not with mourning but with light and an early, cleansing bath — and so the abhyanga snan and the lamps stand for the end of that darkness. That is the thread to Diwali: both days celebrate light defeating a long fear, which is why Narak Chaturdashi leads straight into the festival of lamps. In 2026 the link is literal — the Chaturdashi ends before noon on 8 November and Amavasya, Lakshmi's own night, opens the same evening, so the demon's defeat and the goddess's welcome fall on a single day.

Live Panchang

See the 8 November panchang and muhurat for your city

The sunrise and tithi above are for New Delhi. For your own city's sunrise, the Chaturdashi end, and the Lakshmi Puja and choghadiya windows on 8 November, open the live panchang.

Today's Panchang Today's Choghadiya

Choti Diwali 2026 — your questions

Dates, the abhyanga snan, Kali Chaudas and the Diwali overlap

When is Choti Diwali, or Narak Chaturdashi, in 2026?+

Choti Diwali — also called Narak Chaturdashi, Roop Chaudas or Kali Chaudas — is on Sunday, 8 November 2026. It is the Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi, and the tithi is present at dawn before ending at 11:30 AM on the 8th. The day is kept for the Chaturdashi that the pre-dawn hours hold, which is when the abhyanga snan is taken. This year Amavasya follows the same afternoon, so Diwali falls that same evening.

What is the abhyanga snan, and when is it done?+

The abhyanga snan is the oil-and-ubtan bath that gives the day its meaning. You wake before sunrise — 6:38 AM in New Delhi in 2026, later further west — massage the body with warm oil and then ubtan, bathe while it is still dark, and put on fresh clothes before lighting any lamp. It is held to wash off "narak", the impurity the day is named for, and to restore one’s roop, which is why the day is also Roop Chaudas.

What is Yama Deepam on Narak Chaturdashi?+

Yama Deepam is a single earthen lamp lit after dusk, often set facing south, for Yama, the lord of death, and for the household’s protection from untimely death. It is the one lamp of the year offered to Yama. Some light it on the evening before as well; keep to your family’s custom. In 2026 it sits between the morning snan and the Lakshmi Puja of the same night.

What is Kali Chaudas?+

Kali Chaudas is the same night observed as a Kali puja, kept mainly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and parts of the south. Kali is worshipped for the removal of fear and negativity, and some homes keep protective rites through the night. It shares the date with Choti Diwali and Narak Chaturdashi — different names and emphases for one Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi.

Why do Narak Chaturdashi and Diwali fall on the same day in 2026?+

Because the tithis meet this year. The Chaturdashi ends before noon on 8 November and Amavasya, the night of Lakshmi Puja, opens the same evening, so both are observed on Sunday the 8th — the morning for Narak Chaturdashi and its snan, the night for Diwali. In years when the two tithis do not overlap this way, Choti Diwali falls on the day before the main Diwali.

Diwali 2026 →Dhanteras 2026 →

Source & Disclaimer: Dates and timings are for New Delhi, in IST, using the Lahiri ayanamsha, and the abhyanga-snan and Yama Deepam customs vary by region and family tradition. Sunrise, the Chaturdashi end and the Lakshmi Puja window all shift with your city, so confirm your local timing on the panchang before you begin. Anyone unwell, elderly or pregnant taking a pre-dawn oil bath in cold weather should take due care.