Deepavali 2026: The Lakshmi Puja Muhurtha, City by City
Deepavali falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. The Lakshmi Puja is done on the Amavasya evening, in Pradosha, while a fixed lagna rises — the Vrishabha window after sunset. How the time is chosen, why Rahu Kalam ends at sunset this year, and the window for Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, New Jersey and Dallas.
Deepavali Falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026
In the Telugu reckoning Deepavali is the అమావాస్య of Ashwayuja — the same night North India calls Kartika Amavasya, because the two calendars name the dark half of the month differently. In 2026 the Amavasya begins at 11:28 AM on 8 November and ends at 12:32 PM on 9 November (Hyderabad times), so the evening of 8 November is the Amavasya evening, and that is the evening of the లక్ష్మీ పూజ. Dhana Trayodashi, the evening for buying gold and silver, falls two days earlier, on 6 November.
What Makes a Lakshmi Puja Time Auspicious
The tradition asks for three things at once, and the muhurtha is the time when all three hold together:
- The Amavasya itself must be running — the puja belongs to the no-Moon night.
- ప్రదోష కాలం — the first part of the night, which begins at sunset. Lamps are lit as the light goes.
- A fixed (స్థిర) lagna rising at that moment. Of the twelve rising signs, four are fixed — Vrishabha, Simha, Vrischika and Kumbha — and the puja is timed to one of them so that Lakshmi's arrival, in the tradition's own image, stays. In the early evening of Deepavali the fixed sign rising is వృషభ లగ్నం (Taurus).
That is why the "Lakshmi Puja muhurtha" is not one clock time for the whole country. Sunset differs from city to city, and the rising sign depends on where you stand.
Rahu Kalam Ends at Sunset This Year
8 November 2026 is a Sunday. Rahu Kalam on a Sunday is the last eighth of the daytime — in Hyderabad 04:16 PM to 05:42 PM — and it ends exactly at sunset. The evening that follows is free of it, so this year there is no conflict between Rahu Kalam and the Pradosha puja.
The Vrishabha Window, City by City
These are our engine's times for the evening of 8 November 2026 — sunset, and the span in which Vrishabha is the rising sign. The puja is done inside the window, after the lamps are lit:
| City | Sunset | Vrishabha lagna |
|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad | 05:42 PM | 06:08 PM – 08:09 PM |
| Visakhapatnam | 05:23 PM | 05:49 PM – 07:49 PM |
| Tirupati | 05:43 PM | 06:10 PM – 08:12 PM |
| Edison, New Jersey | 04:46 PM | 05:05 PM – 06:53 PM |
| Dallas, Texas | 05:30 PM | 05:51 PM – 07:45 PM |
For families abroad the evening is the same evening: in New Jersey the Amavasya runs from 12:58 AM on 8 November to 2:02 AM on 9 November local time, and in Dallas from 11:59 PM on 7 November to 1:02 AM on 9 November — so the Lakshmi Puja is on Sunday, 8 November there too.
Why the Same Night Gives Different Times
Visakhapatnam's sun sets nineteen minutes before Hyderabad's, and its Vrishabha window opens nineteen minutes earlier with it. Move west and the window moves later; move north or south and the length of each rising sign changes. A time printed for one city is wrong for another — a muhurtha copied from a North Indian calendar can miss a Telugu city's window by a quarter of an hour or more. Always read the window for your own city.
For the Midnight Puja
Families who keep the midnight worship time it to the next fixed sign, సింహ లగ్నం (Leo), which rises in Hyderabad at 12:33 AM and runs to 2:40 AM on the night of 8–9 November, with the Amavasya still running.
See the Window for Your City
The Daily Panchang shows the Lagna timings for any city and any date — open it for 8 November 2026, choose your city, and the Vrishabha window is the one that begins after sunset.