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Festival · Kartik Shukla Dwitiya

Bhai Dooj 2026

भाई दूज

Wednesday 11 November 2026 · in 11 days

YamaFestivalAll India

Bhai Dooj closes the five days of Diwali with sisters applying tilak to their brothers and sharing a meal, a day kept for the bond between them.

Tilak muhurat1:09 PM to 3:19 PM

The afternoon fifth of the day, inside Dwitiya. Dwitiya runs from 2:01 PM on 10 Nov to 3:54 PM on 11 Nov.

Delhi · times in IST

Diwali, five days

6 to 11 Nov
  1. 6 NovDhanterasPuja 6:02 PM to 7:58 PM
  2. 7 NovChoti DiwaliThe first lamps
  3. 8 NovLakshmi Puja5:54 PM to 7:50 PM
  4. 10 NovGovardhan PujaAnnakut
  5. 11 NovBhai DoojTilak 1:09 PM to 3:19 PM

Pujas for Bhai Dooj, in order

Ganesha Puja

गणेश पूजा
First, before the tilak (1:09 PM to 3:19 PM)

Ganesha is remembered first; then the sister applies tilak to her brother in the afternoon window.

You will need
  • Ganesha idol or picture
  • Durva grass
  • Red flowers
  • Modak or laddu
  • Ghee diya
  • Incense
Steps
  1. Light the diya and incense in front of Ganesha.
  2. Offer durva grass, red flowers and modak.
  3. Chant the mantra 11 times.
  4. Sing the aarti.
Mantraवक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ। निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा॥vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha, nirvighnam kuru me deva sarvakaryeshu sarvada
Aarti: Jai Ganesh Deva

जय गणेश जय गणेश जय गणेश देवा।
माता जाकी पार्वती पिता महादेवा॥

एक दंत दयावंत चार भुजा धारी।
माथे सिंदूर सोहे मूसे की सवारी॥

पान चढ़े फूल चढ़े और चढ़े मेवा।
लड्डुअन का भोग लगे संत करें सेवा॥

अंधन को आंख देत कोढ़िन को काया।
बांझन को पुत्र देत निर्धन को माया॥

The opening verses.

Add your own deity

Many families also worship their own deity on a festival day. Each one opens a full guide with steps, mantra and aarti.

Ganesha Puja

गणेश पूजा
First, before the tilak (1:09 PM to 3:19 PM)

Ganesha is remembered first; then the sister applies tilak to her brother in the afternoon window.

You will need
  • Ganesha idol or picture
  • Durva grass
  • Red flowers
  • Modak or laddu
  • Ghee diya
  • Incense
Steps
  1. Light the diya and incense in front of Ganesha.
  2. Offer durva grass, red flowers and modak.
  3. Chant the mantra 11 times.
  4. Sing the aarti.
Mantraवक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ। निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा॥vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha, nirvighnam kuru me deva sarvakaryeshu sarvada
Aarti: Jai Ganesh Deva

जय गणेश जय गणेश जय गणेश देवा।
माता जाकी पार्वती पिता महादेवा॥

एक दंत दयावंत चार भुजा धारी।
माथे सिंदूर सोहे मूसे की सवारी॥

पान चढ़े फूल चढ़े और चढ़े मेवा।
लड्डुअन का भोग लगे संत करें सेवा॥

अंधन को आंख देत कोढ़िन को काया।
बांझन को पुत्र देत निर्धन को माया॥

The opening verses.

Add your own deity

Many families also worship their own deity on a festival day. Each one opens a full guide with steps, mantra and aarti.

Other mantras for the day

  • ॐ यं यमाय धर्मराजाय भीतमृत्यु हराय... Yama mantra

Bhai Dooj 2026: date and timings

Date
Wednesday 11 November 2026
Tithi
Kartik Shukla Dwitiya
Dwitiya begins
2:01 PM, 10 November
Dwitiya ends
3:54 PM, 11 November
Tilak muhurat
1:09 PM to 3:19 PM
Sunrise
6:40 AM
Sunset
5:29 PM

The days

  1. Friday 6 November 2026Dhanteras
  2. Saturday 7 November 2026Choti Diwali
  3. Sunday 8 November 2026Diwali (Lakshmi Puja)
  4. Tuesday 10 November 2026Govardhan Puja
  5. Wednesday 11 November 2026Bhai Dooj

Times for New Delhi (IST). Use the city button above for your own city.

Other years

Bhai Dooj 2027: date and timings

Date
Sunday 31 October 2027
Tithi
Kartik Shukla Dwitiya
Dwitiya begins
5:53 PM, 30 October
Dwitiya ends
5:14 PM, 31 October
Tilak muhurat
1:11 PM to 3:24 PM
Sunrise
6:32 AM
Sunset
5:37 PM

How to observe

  1. The sister prepares a thali with roli, rice, a lamp and sweets.
  2. She applies tilak on her brother's forehead in the afternoon and does aarti.
  3. She offers him sweets and prays for his wellbeing.
  4. The brother gives a gift, and the two share a meal together.

For your chart

Add your birth details to see whether Bhai Dooj lines up with your birth nakshatra or tithi.

Coming up after Bhai Dooj

About Bhai Dooj

Bhai Dooj falls on Kartik Shukla Dwitiya, the second day of the bright half of Kartik, usually two days after Diwali. It is also called Yama Dwitiya, after the story at its heart. Yama, lord of the departed, and Yamuna, the river goddess, were brother and sister. Yamuna had asked her brother many times to visit, and on this day he finally came. She welcomed him with a tilak on his forehead, an aarti and a meal cooked with her own hands. Pleased, Yama said that any brother who visits his sister on this day and receives her tilak would be blessed. The day has been kept in that spirit ever since.

The festival has many names. It is Bhai Dooj or Bhaiya Dooj in the north, Bhau Beej in Maharashtra, Bhai Phota in Bengal, and Bhai Tika in Nepal, where it is the last day of Tihar and sisters put a tika of seven colours on their brothers' foreheads. In Bengal sisters apply a phota of sandal paste with the little finger, often keeping a fast until it is done.

The customs are simple and warm. The sister prepares a thali with roli or sandal paste, rice, a lamp and sweets, and seats her brother facing her. She applies the tilak, does aarti, offers him sweets and often a coconut, and prays for his wellbeing and long life. The brother gives her a gift and a promise to stand by her, and the two share a festive meal. Where brothers and sisters live far apart, many meet over a call, and some families have cousins or friends stand in.

The tilak is traditionally done in the aparahna, the afternoon part of the day, and the date is chosen by the Dwitiya tithi present at that time. In some homes the tilak is done earlier or later by family custom.