Dev Deepawali 2026
Kartik Purnima · Kartik Purnima · Vikram Samvat 2083
Significance
Dev Deepawali (Varanasi); Tripuri Purnima; sacred lamp-lighting on the Ganga ghats.
Kartik is the holiest month for Vishnu devotees who bathe in sacred rivers before sunrise every day. Dev Uthani Ekadashi marks Vishnu waking from Yoganidra, and the Kartik Purnima that follows concludes the month with river lamps.
The 29.5-day synodic cycle arises because the Moon must "catch up" with the Sun as Earth advances along its own orbit. On Purnima night, the Moon rises near sunset and sets near sunrise — it is visible above the horizon all night. The IST peak time listed is the astronomically exact moment of 180° solar-lunar elongation as measured from Earth's geometric centre.
How to Observe Dev Deepawali
Light 108 diyas along a riverbank or at home and float them on water after sunset — this is the festival of a million lamps (Dev Deepawali). A pre-sunrise bath in a sacred river on this day equals a Kumbh Mela dip in merit. Visit a Vishnu or Satyanarayan temple and perform the Satyanarayan Katha puja if possible.