The 2026 dates were checked on October 15, 2026 against the Government of India's Incredible India Dev Deepawali page, the central government's 2026 holiday list issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, three location-aware Drik Panchang Kartik Purnima calendars calculated for New Delhi, New York, and Los Angeles, and Drik Panchang's Dev Deepawali page for Varanasi, with its Prabodhini Ekadashi and Tulsi Vivah pages read for the same three cities. This is a household-planning article. It does not provide spiritual instruction, fasting guidance, or health advice, and does not claim priest, scholar, or spiritual review. Kartik Purnima is observed in many regional and family forms; confirm your local dates and any tradition-specific details with a source your household trusts. Read Ghar's editorial policy.
Kartik Purnima 2026 is one date with several things attached to it, and that is the planning problem. The full moon day falls on Tuesday, November 24, a working day in most places; the same evening is Dev Deepawali in Varanasi, the same day is Guru Nanak's Birthday, and Prabodhini Ekadashi and Tulsi Vivah come just before it. In the US calendars checked, the Purnima begins on Monday.
This guide stays with that planning problem: what the dates are, which local times to look up, and how to use five weeks of runway so the last days of Kartik do not arrive all at once. It does not prescribe a puja sequence, offerings, fasting rules, or how the day should be kept. Kartik Purnima carries different traditions across regions and families, and your own household's version stays at the centre of the plan.
When is Kartik Purnima in 2026?
Kartik Purnima 2026 falls on Tuesday, November 24, in the sources checked, and Dev Deepawali is celebrated in Varanasi the same evening. Drik Panchang's Kartik Purnima calendars list Tuesday, November 24 for New Delhi, New York, and Los Angeles. Incredible India's Dev Deepawali page, which describes the festival as celebrated on Kartik Purnima, gives the date as 24 November 2026 with Varanasi as the venue, and Drik Panchang's Varanasi page agrees, with an evening window from 5:08 PM to 7:47 PM.
The central government's 2026 holiday list gives Guru Nanak's Birthday as Tuesday, November 24, a compulsory holiday for its offices across India, and Drik Panchang notes that Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated on Kartik Purnima. In India the Purnima tithi runs from 11:42 PM on Monday, November 23 to 8:23 PM on Tuesday, November 24, so Tuesday's daytime and its evening window both fall inside it.
The days before it matter too. Drik Panchang lists Prabodhini Ekadashi, also called Devutthana Ekadashi, on Friday, November 20 and Tulsi Vivah on Saturday, November 21 for all three cities, and New Delhi's calendar adds a second-day Ekadashi on the Saturday. Its Kartik Purnima page notes that Tulsi Vivah can fall on any suitable day from Prabodhini Ekadashi to Kartik Purnima, and that many people choose the Purnima itself, so ask which day your own household keeps.
Families in the US need one more check. In the New York and Los Angeles calendars the date is still Tuesday, November 24, but the Purnima tithi falls at different local hours: in New York it runs from 1:12 PM on Monday, November 23 to 9:53 AM on Tuesday, and in Los Angeles from 10:12 AM on Monday to 6:53 AM on Tuesday. In both cities the only evening inside the Purnima is Monday's, and the Los Angeles calendar lists the Purnima upavasa, the fast some households keep, on Monday, November 23. A tithi begins and ends at one instant everywhere, so it lands at a different local time in each place. Ask your temple or community organizers which day and which evening they are using, and plan around their answer. Ghar's guide to the Hindu calendar and panchang at home explains the mechanics.
Five weeks out: write down the dates and the shape of the day
Open one shared calendar and enter the days for the city you will be in: Prabodhini Ekadashi on Friday, November 20, Tulsi Vivah on whichever day your household keeps it, and Kartik Purnima on Tuesday, November 24. If relatives in another country are working to a different day, add theirs too, labelled by city, so nobody re-derives it in November.
Then settle the shape of the day in one line: who is observing, whether the evening is at home, at a temple, or by a river, whether anyone is travelling to Varanasi, and whether a gathering such as a Tulsi Vivah or a Satyanarayan puja is planned. Everything else, from how much to cook to who drives, follows from that line. If a puja with guests is part of the plan, Ghar's Satyanarayan puja planning guide covers sizing the guest list, prasad, and the space.
The calendar does not help this time. November 24 is a Tuesday, so the day competes with work and school in most places, and for families abroad whose temple marks the Monday evening, so does Monday. In India, check whether your own office, bank, or school closes for Guru Nanak's Birthday: the central government list covers its own offices, and banks, schools, and other employers set their own calendars.
Three to four weeks before: travel, Varanasi, and the lamps
If anyone is travelling to Varanasi for Dev Deepawali, decide now and book as early as you can. Incredible India's page describes lamps along the ghats from Assi Ghat to Raj Ghat and says that for many visitors the most memorable view is from a boat on the Ganga, so treat the room, the train or flight, and any boat as three separate bookings, each confirmed in writing.
Plan the evening there like an outing with a fixed start. Decide where the group will watch from, how you will get there and back, and where you will meet if anyone is separated, and aim to be in place before the evening window opens. If you book a boat, ask the operator how many people it carries and whether there are life jackets on board, and keep children within reach near the water.
If the household is staying home, the travel question becomes a supplies question. If your household lights lamps that evening, count what is left from Diwali before buying more, and decide now where the lamps will go so they stay clear of curtains, children, and pets; the safety row in Ghar's Diwali 2026 planner applies here too. Households keeping Chhath have a week in between: in Ghar's Chhath Puja 2026 planner, Usha Arghya falls on Monday, November 16, eight days before the Purnima.
Ekadashi to Purnima: name the jobs before the five days start
Drik Panchang's Kartik Purnima page describes the festivities as lasting five days, from Prabodhini Ekadashi to the Purnima. In 2026 that is Friday, November 20 to Tuesday, November 24, with a weekend in the middle. Treat the five days as one unit and give each practical job a name a week ahead: shopping, the kitchen, guests, children, older relatives, and the calls to family in other time zones. These are logistics rather than obligations, and writing names beside them is what stops one person absorbing all of them silently.
If anyone in the household is keeping the Ekadashi or the Purnima upavasa, plan the household's days around them rather than around the usual week. Ask what they need from everyone else on each day, then move the cooking, errands, and school runs so they do not land on that person. This article does not advise on fasting; if anyone has a health-related question, use qualified medical guidance rather than a festival checklist. The approach in the Ekadashi family fasting guide transfers directly: confirm the practice, plan the kitchen, skip the pressure.
If Tulsi Vivah is part of your household's week, settle the day and the guest list early. Held on Saturday, November 21, the day Drik Panchang lists, it has a weekend's room for guests; held on the Purnima, it becomes a weekday evening.
Kartik Purnima itself: an early start and a protected evening
Drik Panchang notes that many people keep a holy dip before sunrise through the month of Kartik, ending on Kartik Purnima. If anyone in your household plans an early visit to a river or ghat, plan it like any outing before dawn: who wakes whom, who drives, warm layers and dry clothes, a light for the walk, and who watches each child near the water. Pack the car the night before.
Then protect the evening. Tuesday is a working day for most households, so leave work on time, keep dinner simple, and stack nothing important behind the evening. If relatives elsewhere are joining by phone, fix the call times by city in advance, and remember that for family in the US the evening may be Monday's.
If children are involved, give them something concrete to own, such as counting the lamps or calling a grandparent who cannot be there, and answer the questions they actually ask. Ghar's guide on teaching Hindu traditions to kids takes that further.
Kartik Purnima 2026 planning checklist
| Area | What to confirm | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Your dates | Kartik Purnima Tue Nov 24, Prabodhini Ekadashi Fri Nov 20, and Tulsi Vivah on the day your household keeps it, confirmed for your own city. | Write all three in the shared calendar, labelled by city where relatives differ. |
| Which evening | Whether your temple or community marks the Purnima on Mon Nov 23 or Tue Nov 24, especially in the US. | Keep it on its own line; ask again in the final week. |
| Work and school | Tuesday commitments, and in India whether your office, bank, or school closes for Guru Nanak's Birthday. | Move what you can now; say early that you will leave on time. |
| Varanasi travel | The room, the train or flight, and any boat for Dev Deepawali, each confirmed in writing. | Hold one flexible booking rather than several fixed, expensive ones. |
| At the ghats | Where you will watch from, how you get there and back, and life jackets on any boat. | Agree a meeting point and a leave-by time before you set out. |
| Kitchen | Who is keeping a fast on which day, and how the rest of the household eats across the five days. | Keep one simple prepared meal for the busiest evening. |
| Guests | Who is coming to any Tulsi Vivah or puja, on which day, and how many the room holds. | Settle the list a week ahead and share it once. |
| Lamps and safety | Where lamps go, who lights and watches them, and who puts them out. | Keep them clear of curtains, children, and pets. |
| Privacy | Who can see photos and video of family members before sharing. | Send pictures one-to-one, not into a large group. |
The final week: confirm, then keep the evening simple
In the last week, re-check only what moves: which evening your temple or community is using, bookings, guests, and the weather for the evening and any early morning. Then send one clear message with the household's plan: the dates you are working to, who is doing what, and when the calls happen. One message beats five overlapping chats.
On the day, keep the logistics quiet and let what slips simply slip. Afterwards, write down what worked somewhere you will find it next year: the bookings, the route, the list, and who did which job.
Use Ghar to keep Kartik Purnima in order
Ghar brings location-aware Hindu calendar context, festival preparation runways, reminders, and household organization into one place. Its calendar shows the tithi, sunrise, and sunset for the panchang location you set, so the dates this plan turns on sit beside your own city's timings instead of in a forwarded screenshot. The Chhath Puja 2026 planner covers the festival just before it.
Ghar supports planning and home practice; it does not replace your family's temple, priest, guru, elder, or tradition. Start free on iPhone and keep the guidance your household trusts first.
FAQ
When is Kartik Purnima in 2026?
In the sources checked, Kartik Purnima 2026 falls on Tuesday, November 24. Drik Panchang calendars for New Delhi, New York, and Los Angeles list November 24, Incredible India gives 24 November 2026 for Dev Deepawali in Varanasi, which is celebrated on Kartik Purnima, and the central government's 2026 holiday list gives Guru Nanak's Birthday, kept on the same day, as Tuesday, November 24. Confirm your own city and your community's plan.
Is Dev Deepawali on the same day as Kartik Purnima in 2026?
Yes, in the sources checked. Incredible India gives 24 November 2026 for Dev Deepawali in Varanasi, and Drik Panchang's Varanasi page lists Tuesday, November 24, with an evening window from 5:08 PM to 7:47 PM.
Is Kartik Purnima 2026 on the same date in the USA as in India?
The date is the same: Drik Panchang's New York and Los Angeles calendars list Tuesday, November 24. But there the Purnima tithi runs from Monday, November 23 into Tuesday morning, so Monday is the only evening inside it, and the Los Angeles calendar lists the Purnima upavasa on Monday, November 23. Ask which day and evening your temple or community is using before you plan.
What time does the Purnima begin and end for Kartik Purnima 2026?
It depends on your time zone. In Drik Panchang's calendars, the Purnima tithi runs from 11:42 PM on Monday, November 23 to 8:23 PM on Tuesday, November 24 in India, from 1:12 PM on November 23 to 9:53 AM on November 24 in New York, and from 10:12 AM on November 23 to 6:53 AM on November 24 in Los Angeles. Look up your own city close to the date.
Keep one Kartik Purnima plan instead of five chats.
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