Diwali / Lakshmi Puja in Dwarka

Date and timing in Dwarka

In Dwarka (द्वारका), the Lakshmi Puja of Diwali falls on Kartik Amavasya, the new moon of the Kartik month, and the observance is held in Pradosh kaal, the window around dusk. Because the tithi is reckoned from the city's own sunrise and sunset, the date given here is the one computed for Dwarka itself, in the Asia/Kolkata time zone.

For the coming years, the date in Dwarka is:

• 2026: Sunday 8 November
• 2027: Friday 29 October

The deity honoured is Lakshmi, and by long custom Ganesha is worshipped alongside her. The puja is observed across India, so the same tithi is kept in Dwarka as elsewhere, but the clock time of Pradosh kaal shifts with the local sunset.

Why the date can differ from India

It is common to see one date printed for "India" and a slightly different one in a local panchang. This is not a contradiction. Amavasya is a tithi, a span of the moon's movement, not a fixed 24-hour day. A tithi may begin before sunrise and end after it, or begin and end within the same daylight hours, depending on where you are.

Panchangs therefore tie the observance to the tithi prevailing at the local sunset, since Lakshmi Puja belongs to Pradosh kaal. Dwarka's sunset, on the western coast of Gujarat, comes at its own moment, and the tithi's position at that moment decides the day. When a city's sunrise or sunset falls near a tithi boundary, its date can move by a day relative to another region. This is why a Dwarka-specific date is more useful than a single national listing.

Traditions also differ in how months are counted. Some follow the amanta reckoning, others the purnimanta; Smarta and Vaishnava households may keep slightly different sequences of observance. These differences are long-standing and are best settled by the family's own tradition or a qualified jyotishi.

Where and how the community celebrates

In Dwarka, as across India, Diwali is a home-centred festival. Families clean and light the house, arrange lamps, and set up a place for the puja. Lakshmi is invoked with Ganesha, and the worship is timed to Pradosh kaal. The wider celebration is pan-India in character, so the forms seen in Dwarka reflect the customs of the households and communities living there rather than any single local rite.

Practical tips

• Fix the puja to Pradosh kaal as computed for Dwarka, not to a time taken from another city.
• Confirm the tithi with a panchang that uses Dwarka's sunrise and sunset.
• Keep the household's own tradition for amanta or purnimanta counting.
• For personal chart questions, consult a qualified jyotishi.