Diwali / Lakshmi Puja in Chitrakoot

Date and timing in this city

In Chitrakoot (चित्रकूट), India, Diwali and Lakshmi Puja fall on Sunday 8 November 2026 and on Friday 29 October 2027. Both dates follow the same tithi — Kartik Amavasya — but they are computed for Chitrakoot's own sunrise, not for a single national reference point. Chitrakoot keeps Asia/Kolkata as its time zone.

The observance is Lakshmi puja in Pradosh kaal, the window after sunset and before the night deepens. The deity honoured is Lakshmi, and by long custom Ganesha is worshipped alongside her. Diwali itself is pan-India in scope; what changes from place to place is the clock, not the tithi.

Why the date can differ from India

A tithi is a segment of the lunar month measured from the changing angle between the Moon and the Sun. It begins and ends at moments, not at midnight. Because sunrise differs from one longitude and latitude to another, the tithi that is current at sunrise in Chitrakoot may not be the one current at sunrise in another part of the country on the same civil day.

This is why a pan-India calendar listing and a locally computed Chitrakoot date can occasionally sit on adjacent days. Neither is an error; they answer slightly different questions. Here the date has been fixed for Chitrakoot's own sunrise, which is the standard used for determining the day of a vrata or puja in that place.

Communities also differ on month reckoning. Some follow the amanta system, where the month ends at Amavasya; others follow the purnimanta system, where it ends at Purnima. Regional and sampradaya practice — Smarta or Vaishnava, North or South — can shift which day is treated as the primary one. Where traditions differ, families usually follow the convention of their own lineage and local panchangam.

Where and how the community celebrates (general, no venue claims)

Chitrakoot is associated with the forest years of Rama's exile, and Diwali there carries the same broad shape as elsewhere in India: homes cleaned and lit, lamps placed at doorways and thresholds, and Lakshmi puja performed in Pradosh kaal with Ganesha invoked first.

• Lamps are lit at dusk and kept burning through the evening.
• Lakshmi and Ganesha are worshipped together in the Pradosh window.
• Accounts and ledgers are traditionally opened and honoured on this day.
• Families greet one another, share sweets, and keep the evening quiet and devotional.

Details of ritual order, mantras and offerings vary by family and region; follow your own tradition or a local purohit.

Practical tips

• Confirm the exact Pradosh kaal window for Chitrakoot from a local panchangam for 2026 and 2027, since the window shifts each year.
• Note the two dates: 8 November 2026 and 29 October 2027.
• If your family follows a different month reckoning, check which day your lineage observes.
• For questions about your own chart, consult a qualified jyotishi.