Astrolium

Free Astrology Tool

Hindu Festival Calendar 2026

Astrolium's Hindu festivals 2026 calendar lists Diwali, Holi, Navratri, 24 Ekadashis, and 12 Purnimas with tithi dates and rituals for any city.

Hindu festival calendar
18 major festivals · 24 Ekadashis · 12 Purnimas · special Amavasyas · tithi-based Swiss Ephemeris calculation

What is Hindu Festival Calendar 2026?

The Astrolium Hindu festival calendar returns the 18 major festivals, all 24 Ekadashis, all 12 Purnimas, and 3 special Amavasyas for any year, computed from your location's latitude and longitude. Each festival entry includes the weekday, Hindi name in Devanagari, deity, classical rituals, regions where it is most observed, and (for multi-day festivals like Navaratri at 9 days) the duration and end date. Computed on the Swiss Ephemeris with Lahiri ayanamsa (24.2°).

This is the free preview. For the daily Hindu calendar with tithi, nakshatra, and muhurta windows, see panchang today. For the deeper sidereal chart work, see the vedic birth chart calculator and the vedic astrology feature.

What you get

The Astrolium Hindu festival calendar returns 18 major festivals for any year (Diwali, Holi, Navaratri, Janmashtami, Maha Shivaratri, Ram Navami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, and more), 24 Ekadashis, 12 Purnimas, and special Amavasyas, each with date, presiding deity, recommended rituals, and the regions where the day is most widely observed. Inputs are a year and an optional location for local sunrise-relative timing; the tool computes the lunar dates using sidereal positions with Lahiri ayanamsa, locates each festival according to the classical Drik calculation, and groups the year by season (Spring, Summer, Monsoon, Autumn, Winter) for quick filtering. Math runs on Swiss Ephemeris, accurate to under 1 arc second. Practitioners use it for client work, muhurta planning, and personal observance scheduling across the Hindu liturgical year, with the regional notes helping when a client's family observes a date differently from the pan-Indian convention. Free, no account required.

The output is structured in four layers. First, the year-summary card. Then the chronological list of the 18 major festivals as cards with date, deity, ritual chips, and regions. Then collapsible tables for the full Ekadashi list (24 per year), the Purnima list (12), and the special Amavasyas. Season filter chips let you narrow the festival view to Spring, Summer, Monsoon, Autumn, or Winter.

The 18 major festivals

Makar Sankranti marks the sun's northward turn (Uttarayan) — celebrated with kite-flying, tilgul (sesame-jaggery sweets), and holy bathing. Roughly January 14 every year, since it is one of the few solar-fixed Hindu festivals.

Maha Shivaratri is the night of Lord Shiva, observed with overnight vigil, fasting, and Shiva puja. Falls on the 14th tithi of Krishna paksha in Phalguna month, usually February or early March.

Holi is the festival of colours, celebrated with Holika Dahan the night before and play with colours the next day. Falls on Phalguna Purnima.

Ugadi / Gudi Padwa is the Hindu New Year in the Deccan and Maharashtra. Panchang reading and neem-jaggery eating mark the day.

Ram Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama on the 9th tithi of Shukla paksha in Chaitra month.

Akshaya Tritiya is the day of "unending merit" — traditionally the most auspicious day of the year for new beginnings, gold purchase, and charity.

Guru Purnima honours spiritual teachers on Ashadha Purnima.

Raksha Bandhan celebrates the brother-sister bond on Shravana Purnima.

Krishna Janmashtami marks Krishna's birth on Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami, observed with midnight celebration, Dahi Handi, and fasting.

Ganesh Chaturthi begins the 1.5 to 11 day festival of Ganesha worship, especially elaborate in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Dussehra (Vijayadashami) marks Rama's victory over Ravana on the 10th tithi of Shukla paksha in Ashwin month.

Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, and Bhai Dooj form the 5-day Diwali sequence. Dhanteras is the day to buy gold or utensils. Diwali itself falls on Kartik Amavasya — lighting diyas, Lakshmi Puja, fireworks, sweets. Govardhan Puja the next day commemorates Krishna lifting Govardhan mountain. Bhai Dooj closes the cycle with sister-brother rites.

Navaratri is nine nights of goddess worship leading up to Dussehra, observed with Durga Puja, Garba, and fasting.

Chhath Puja is the four-day Sun God festival, especially intense in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Eastern UP.

Karva Chauth is the one-day fast married women observe for their husband's longevity, broken at moonrise.

The lunar cycle festivals

Beyond the 18 major festivals, the lunar cycle generates a steady stream of monthly observances. Ekadashi falls twice a month — once in each fortnight — for 24 per year. Each Ekadashi has its own name (Vijaya, Jaya, Mohini, Nirjala, Devshayani) and traditional fast from grains. Purnima is the full moon, 12 per year, each with its own observance. Amavasya is the new moon, also 12 per year; the Astrolium calendar surfaces the special ones: Sarva Pitru (ancestor worship in Bhadrapada), Mahalaya (start of Durga Puja), and Diwali Amavasya.

How festival dates are computed

Most Hindu festivals are tithi-based: they fall on a specific lunar day, not a fixed Western calendar date. The Astrolium calendar computes tithi end-times for noon local time at the location you enter, using the Swiss Ephemeris and Lahiri ayanamsa. This matches the convention used by most Panchang publishers in India. Some regional differences (Tamil Nadu's solar calendar, Bengal's specific Durga Puja timing) carry small variations from the standard calculation; the Astrolium output lists the regions where each festival is most observed.

Cross-references

For the daily five-limb Panchang, see panchang today. For Saturn's 7.5-year transit cycle, run the sade sati calculator. For weak-planet remedies recommended at festival times, see the vedic remedies calculator. For the full sidereal birth chart, see the vedic birth chart.

Related

Tool

Antiscia Astrology Calculator

Astrolium antiscia astrology calculator: solstitial and equinoctial antiscia per Lilly, plus contra-antiscia a

Tool

Astrology Archetype Calculator

Astrolium's archetype calculator scores your natal chart across 12 Jungian archetypes to reveal your dominant

Tool

Asteroid Calculator

Astrolium's asteroid calculator returns 17 bodies: classical asteroids, centaurs, goddess asteroids, and dwarf

Frequently asked questions

Which festivals does the calendar include?
Astrolium returns the 18 major Hindu festivals: Makar Sankranti, Maha Shivaratri, Holi, Ugadi / Gudi Padwa, Ram Navami, Akshaya Tritiya, Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandhan, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Dhanteras, Diwali, Navaratri, Chhath Puja, Karva Chauth, Govardhan Puja, and Bhai Dooj. Each entry includes the date, weekday, Hindi name, presiding deity, significance, rituals, and the regions where the festival is most observed.
Why do Hindu festival dates change every year?
Most Hindu festivals are tithi-based — they fall on a specific lunar day rather than a fixed solar date. Because the lunar cycle is roughly 29.5 days and the solar year is 365.25 days, the lunar calendar drifts about 11 days per year relative to the Gregorian calendar. The Hindu calendar inserts a leap month (Adhik Maas) periodically to keep the seasons aligned. The result is that Holi, Diwali, Janmashtami, and Navaratri shift by 10 to 30 days year-to-year on the Western calendar.
What is Ekadashi and why are there 24 in a year?
Ekadashi is the 11th lunar day of each fortnight (paksha) — once in the waxing fortnight (Shukla Ekadashi) and once in the waning fortnight (Krishna Ekadashi). Twelve lunar months × two Ekadashis each = 24 per year. Each is named (Vijaya, Jaya, Papamochani, Mohini, Nirjala, and so on) and dedicated to Vishnu. The traditional observance is fasting from grains and certain vegetables, treated as one of the most powerful purification practices in Vaishnava tradition.
What is the difference between Purnima and Amavasya?
Purnima is the full moon day — the 15th tithi of the waxing fortnight. There are 12 per year, one per lunar month, each carrying its own observance (Buddha Purnima for Buddha's birth, Guru Purnima for honouring teachers, Kartik Purnima for Dev Diwali, Sharad Purnima when the moon is closest). Amavasya is the new moon day — the 15th tithi of the waning fortnight. The Astrolium calendar surfaces the 'special' Amavasyas: Sarva Pitru (ancestor worship), Mahalaya (start of Durga Puja), and Diwali Amavasya.
Does the calendar adjust for regional differences?
Festival dates are computed using tithi calculations from the Swiss Ephemeris, which fix the lunar day for noon at the location you enter. This matches the convention used by most Panchang publishers in India. Regional differences in observance (Maharashtra observing Ganesh Chaturthi more elaborately than the north, Tamil Nadu following a slightly different solar calendar) are reflected in the regions list on each festival, but the underlying date is uniform for the latitude entered.
Why does Diwali fall in October sometimes and November other years?
Diwali falls on the Amavasya (new moon) of the Hindu month Kartik. The Hindu lunar month begins after the new moon, so Kartik Amavasya is always the new moon roughly between mid-October and mid-November, depending on where the lunar cycle lands relative to the solar year. The Astrolium calendar computes Diwali precisely for each year using the Swiss Ephemeris ephemeris and Lahiri ayanamsa.

Want this inside your client roster?

Run the calculator above for a one-off chart, or save every chart you cast to a client profile in Astrolium.

Open the toolTry Astrolium free