Karthigai Deepam 2026 is on Tuesday, 24 November. The Tamil solar month of Karthigai begins on 17 November, and this festival of lamps is kept on the day of the month when the Moon is in the Krittika (Tamil: Karthigai) nakshatra. In 2026 Krittika runs from 2:03 AM to 11:26 PM on 24 November, and the Purnima (full moon) also lasts until 8:24 PM that day; Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai also gives Karthigai Deepam on 24 November. At the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai, by tradition, the Bharani Deepam is lit before dawn that day and the Maha Deepam at dusk on the summit of the Annamalai hill; the temple will announce the 2026 times. North India’s Kartik Purnima and Dev Deepawali fall on the same day.
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City-wise times
The Krittika nakshatra and Purnima times are the same in every city; sunset, when the lamps are lit, changes with the city. For another city, pick it in the box above.
| City | Sunset |
|---|---|
| Chennai | 5:39 PM |
| Madurai | 5:53 PM |
| Coimbatore | 5:56 PM |
| Bengaluru | 5:50 PM |
| Kochi | 6:00 PM |
At a glance
- Date
- Tuesday, 24 November 2026 (day 8 of the Tamil month Karthigai)
- Krittika nakshatra
- 24 November, 2:03 AM to 11:26 PM (Drik Panchang: 2:02 AM to 11:25 PM)
- Purnima tithi
- 11:43 PM on 23 November to 8:24 PM on 24 November (Drik: 11:42 PM to 8:23 PM)
- Tamil month Karthigai
- From 17 November 2026 (Vrishchika Sankranti on the evening of 16 November, after sunset)
- Tiruvannamalai
- Bharani Deepam in the temple before dawn, Maha Deepam on the hill at dusk (tradition); the temple will announce the 2026 times
- Deity
- Shiva as Arunachaleswarar (Annamalaiyar), the fire linga among the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams
- Kerala
- Thrikarthika, the same day (Drik Panchang’s Malayalam calendar)
- Same day in North India
- Kartik Purnima, Dev Deepawali
- Next Karthigai Deepam
- 11 December 2027 (Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam, Chennai)
How the date is set
The Tamil calendar is solar: each month begins with the Sankranti, when the Sun enters the next sign, and if the Sankranti falls after sunset the month is counted from the next day. In 2026 the Vrishchika Sankranti is at 7:50 PM on 16 November, after sunset in Chennai, so the month of Karthigai begins on 17 November. The day of this month when the Moon is in the Krittika nakshatra is Karthigai Deepam, and it usually falls close to the full moon. In 2026 the whole of 23 November is in Bharani nakshatra, which ends at 2:03 AM on 24 November; after that Krittika holds through the morning, evening and night of 24 November until 11:26 PM. So there is no doubt about the day, and Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai also gives 24 November. In some years Krittika and the full moon fall on different days; the festival then follows the evening of Krittika. In 2025, for example, Krittika began at about 6 PM on 3 December and the full moon was on 4 December, and the Maha Deepam at Tiruvannamalai was lit on 3 December (PTI).
Tiruvannamalai: Bharani Deepam and Maha Deepam
The Arunachaleswarar (Annamalaiyar) temple at Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, is held to be the place of the element fire among the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams, and Karthigai Deepam is its greatest festival. The temple is administered by the Tamil Nadu government’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE). By 18 October 2026 the temple had not published its 2026 festival schedule; the order below is from reports of earlier years.
A ten-day festival
The festival begins with the hoisting of the temple flag (kodiyetram) and reaches the Deepam on the tenth day. In 2025 the flag was hoisted on 24 November and the Maha Deepam lit on 3 December; in 2023 the flag went up on 17 November and the festival was on 26 November. By the same count the flag would go up around 15 November 2026, but check the temple’s notice for the date.
PTI (The Week), 24 November 2025; DT Next, 19 October 2023Bharani Deepam: before dawn, in the temple
Before dawn on the Deepam day the Bharani Deepam is lit in front of the sanctum. A 2013 report says the priests lit it at 4 AM. It takes its name from Bharani, the nakshatra just before Krittika.
PTI, 24 November 2025; Deccan Chronicle, 18 November 2013Maha Deepam: at dusk, on the summit
In the evening a great ghee lamp is lit in a large cauldron on the summit of the 2,668-foot Annamalai hill behind the temple. In 2013 it was lit at exactly 6 PM, burned more than 3,500 kg of ghee, and by the temple authorities was to burn for more than 11 days; before it was lit the processional image of Ardhanareeswarar was taken around the flagmast. The temple will announce the 2026 time; sunset at Tiruvannamalai on 24 November is at about 5:45 PM.
PTI, 24 November 2025 (height); Deccan Chronicle, 18 November 2013Girivalam
Every full moon thousands of pilgrims walk barefoot around the Annamalai hill, a circuit of about 14 km (girivalam), and at the Deepam their number runs into lakhs. In 2025 the administration expected about 40 lakh people at the festival.
Wikipedia: Arunachalesvara Temple; PTI, 24 November 2025Arunachala, the hill of fire
In the Shiva Purana (Vidyeshvara Samhita), when Brahma and Vishnu quarrel over who is greater, Shiva appears as an endless column of fire; Vishnu as a boar searches for its base and Brahma as a swan for its top, and neither finds an end. In the ninth chapter of the same samhita Shiva says that because this linga rose like a mountain of fire, the place will be famous as the “Aruna” mountain, Arunachala (Motilal Banarsidass English translation, verse 21). The same chapter gives the day of this manifestation as the Ardra nakshatra in the month of Margashirsha, kept in the South as Arudra Darshanam. The tradition of Tiruvannamalai sees the lamp lit on the hill at Karthigai Deepam as a remembrance of this form of Shiva as fire.
Lamps at home
In Tamil Nadu rows of clay lamps (agal vilakku) are lit that evening at the doors, thresholds and courtyards of homes. The festival is mentioned in the Sangam-age anthology Akananuru and in songs of the poet Avvaiyar. How many lamps, where to place them and what offerings to make are each family’s own custom; follow the tradition of your home and temple.
Murugan and the six Krittikas
Tamil tradition also links Karthigai Deepam with Murugan (Kartikeya, Skanda). In the Kanda Puranam account the six infant forms of Skanda were raised by the Krittikas and later united into one by Parvati; by tradition he is called Kartikeya after them. The Tamil Nadu government’s tourism description says the festival remembers the Krittikas and the day Parvati united the six forms of Kartikeya. These are stories of the tradition.
Thrikarthika in Kerala
In Kerala the same festival is called Thrikarthika and is kept as a day of worship of the Devi; lamps are lit in homes. Drik Panchang’s Malayalam calendar (Thiruvananthapuram) also gives it on 24 November 2026.
Checked against Drik Panchang
The times on this page are from our panchang calculation (Indian Standard Time, Lahiri ayanamsha). The date of 24 November is in Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai, which we read on 18 October 2026 for our Tamil calendar pages. Drik’s own Karthigai Deepam page did not open that day because of a reCAPTCHA; its search result showed Krittika beginning at 2:02 AM and ending at 11:25 PM on 24 November, and our calculation gives 2:03 and 11:26. Drik’s list has the Purnima from 11:42 PM on 23 November to 8:23 PM on 24 November; ours gives 11:43 to 8:24, a minute later.
Frequently asked questions
When is Karthigai Deepam in 2026?
On Tuesday, 24 November. That day the Krittika (Karthigai) nakshatra runs from 2:03 AM to 11:26 PM and the Purnima until 8:24 PM; Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai gives the same day.
What time is the Tiruvannamalai Maha Deepam in 2026?
The Maha Deepam will be lit on the evening of 24 November on the summit of the Annamalai hill. In past years it was lit at about 6 PM (at exactly 6 PM in 2013, Deccan Chronicle), with the Bharani Deepam in the temple before dawn the same day (4 AM in 2013). The Arunachaleswarar temple will announce the exact 2026 time.
Are Karthigai Deepam and Kartik Purnima on the same day?
In 2026, yes: both are on 24 November. But not every year, because Karthigai Deepam is the day of the Krittika nakshatra in the Tamil solar month of Karthigai, while Kartik Purnima is a tithi of the lunar month. In 2025 Karthigai Deepam was on 3 December and the full moon on 4 December.
What is the Bharani Deepam?
The lamp lit before dawn in front of the sanctum of the Arunachaleswarar temple at Tiruvannamalai on the Deepam day (PTI). It is named after the Bharani nakshatra, which comes before Krittika. The Maha Deepam on the hill follows in the evening.
When is Karthigai Deepam in 2027?
On 11 December 2027, by Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai. That year the month of Karthigai begins on 17 November 2027.
How is Karthigai Deepam kept at home?
In the evening rows of clay lamps are lit at the door, the threshold and the courtyard. The number of lamps, the puja and the offerings follow each family’s own custom. See your city’s sunset in the box above.
Why is Arunachala called the hill of fire?
In the Shiva Purana, Vidyeshvara Samhita (chapter 9), Shiva says that the linga which appeared as a column of fire rose like a mountain of fire, so the place will be called the “Aruna” mountain. The Tiruvannamalai temple is held to be the place of the element fire among the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams.
What is Thrikarthika?
In Kerala Karthigai Deepam is called Thrikarthika; it is a day of worship of the Devi, and lamps are lit in homes. In 2026 it too is on 24 November (Drik Panchang, Malayalam calendar).
Sources
- Drik Panchang: Tamil panchangam, Chennai, November 2026 and December 2027 (Karthigai Deepam 24 November 2026, 11 December 2027) and Malayalam calendar, Thiruvananthapuram (Thrikarthika), read on 18 October 2026; the Krittika times of its Karthigai Deepam page from its search result (the page itself was behind a reCAPTCHA)
- Drik Panchang: Purnima list 2026, New Delhi (Kartik Purnima: 11:42 PM on 23 November to 8:23 PM on 24 November)
- Haindavam, Karthigai Deepam 24 November 2026: “Krittika upto 11:25 PM”, “Purnima upto 8:23 PM”
- PTI (The Week), 24 November 2025: the ten-day festival at Tiruvannamalai begins with the flag hoisting; Bharani Deepam and the Maha Deepam on the 2,668-foot hill on 3 December 2025
- DT Next, 19 October 2023: the 2023 festival from 17 November (flag) to 26 November
- Deccan Chronicle, 18 November 2013: Bharani Deepam at 4 AM, Maha Deepam at 6 PM, over 3,500 kg of ghee, Ardhanareeswarar
- Shiva Purana, Vidyeshvara Samhita, chapter 9 (the column of fire; the “Aruna” mountain, verse 21; the Ardra nakshatra, verse 15), Motilal Banarsidass English translation (wisdomlib.org)
- Wikipedia: Arunachalesvara Temple (the Shiva Purana story, HR&CE, girivalam) and Karthika Deepam (Akananuru, Avvaiyar, Kanda Puranam, Thrikarthika)
- Government of Tamil Nadu: Karthigai festival (tourism description, via Wikipedia)
- Lamps at home and the temple festival’s customs: folk tradition
- Nakshatra, tithi, sunset and parana: SanatanBodh panchang calculation (astronomy-engine, Lahiri ayanamsha), checked against Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam (Chennai) and Ekadashi list (New Delhi), 18 October 2026
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