Narak Chaturdashi is the day that opens into Diwali, kept for Krishna's victory over the demon Narakasura and, above all, for the Abhyanga Snan — the ritual bath of warm oil and ubtan taken before first light. It is the one morning of the year when the pre-dawn bath itself is the festival, held to wash away sin and ill-fortune as a dip in the Ganga would. In 2026 it falls on Sunday, 8 November.
The day is Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi, and it carries more names than any other in the Diwali cluster — Roop Chaudas for the beauty of the bath, Kali Chaudas for the night worship of the goddess, Chhoti Diwali for the 'little Diwali' of the eve, and in Tamil Nadu, Deepavali itself. The Chaturdashi tithi runs from 11:29 AM on 7 November to 11:30 AM on the 8th; the Abhyanga Snan is done before sunrise on the 8th, in New Delhi before 6:38 AM. This year the same day carries Diwali too, as Amavasya begins later that morning.
Narak Chaturdashi 2026 at a glance
- Festival day
- Sun, 8 November 2026
- Lunar month
- Kartik · Krishna Chaturdashi
- Chaturdashi tithi
- 7 Nov 11:29 AM → 8 Nov 11:30 AM
- Abhyanga Snan
- Pre-dawn · Delhi sunrise 6:38 AM
- The day marks
- Krishna’s victory over Narakasura
- Also called
- Roop / Kali Chaudas · Chhoti Diwali
Narak Chaturdashi 2026 is Sunday, 8 November — Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi. The Chaturdashi tithi opens at 11:29 AM on 7 November and closes at 11:30 AM on the 8th, so it covers the pre-dawn of the 8th, when the Abhyanga Snan is taken — in New Delhi before sunrise at 6:38 AM. Sunrise shifts with your city, so confirm your local time on the panchang; the bath is meant for the dark hour before it.
Why Narak Chaturdashi
Krishna, Narakasura, and the pre-dawn bath
The name carries its oldest story. Narakasura, a demon of immense power, had seized the earth and the heavens, stolen the earrings of the mother-goddess Aditi, and imprisoned sixteen thousand women in his city. On this Chaturdashi Krishna rode out with his queen Satyabhama and slew him, freeing the captives and lifting his tyranny from the worlds. As he died, Narakasura asked that his death be remembered not with grief but with light and colour — and so the day is kept with the pre-dawn bath and the lamps, a washing-away of 'naraka,' of hell and darkness, and a celebration of the return of light.
Step 1
Before sunrise
In the dark hour before first light.
Step 2
Oil & ubtan
Warm til oil, a fragrant ubtan, then bathe.
Step 3
Light a lamp
A lamp lit once the bath is done.
One day, many names
The same Chaturdashi across India
No other day of the Diwali cluster is known by so many names. It is one tithi — Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi — seen through the customs of each region.
Narak Chaturdashi
Krishna's victory over the demon Narakasura.
Roop Chaudas
The pre-dawn bath for beauty and glow.
Kali Chaudas
Night worship of Goddess Kali (Gujarat, Bengal).
Chhoti Diwali
The 'little Diwali' on Diwali's eve.
Tamil Deepavali
Tamil Nadu's main Diwali, kept on this day.
How the day is kept
The lamps, the Yama deepam, and Diwali's eve
After the Abhyanga Snan, the day is quiet until dusk, when lamps are lit — fewer than on Diwali night — and a single lamp is often set facing south as the Yama deepam, a light for Yama, the lord of death, prayed to for protection from untimely end. Homes are given their final cleaning and rangoli is laid at the threshold. In the Kali Chaudas regions of Gujarat and Bengal the night belongs to the fierce worship of the goddess Kali, and to Hanuman; and because the day stands on the eve of Lakshmi Puja, it also completes the preparation for Diwali the next night.
See the sunrise and panchang for your city
The Abhyanga Snan is taken before sunrise — New Delhi 6:38 AM on 8 November. For your own city's sunrise, tithi and choghadiya, open the live panchang.
Narak Chaturdashi 2026 — your questions
The date, the Abhyanga Snan, the names, and what is done