Deepavali 2026 in Tamil Nadu: 8 November, Oil Bath Time
Deepavali in Tamil Nadu is Sunday, 8 November 2026. The oil bath is taken between moonrise and sunrise: in Chennai, 5:06 am – 6:05 am.
Deepavali 2026: the oil-bath morning
- Tamil Nadu: Sunday 8 November. Oil bath in Chennai 5:06 am – 6:05 am.
- Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, the Gulf cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland: Sunday 8 November.
- The American, Canadian and British cities listed below: Saturday 7 November, a day earlier.
Why the date differs abroad
Tamil Deepavali is the morning of Naraka Chaturdashi, the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, when the oil bath is taken before sunrise. The day is set by moonrise: the waning Moon rises in the last hours of the night, and the bath is taken on the Chaturdashi that holds that moonrise, best from moonrise to sunrise. If both mornings' moonrises fall in Chaturdashi, the first is taken.
In 2026 Chaturdashi begins at 10:48 am on Saturday 7 November India time. That is after Saturday's moonrise, so in India the moonrise that falls in Chaturdashi is Sunday's, and Deepavali is Sunday 8 November. In America and Canada the same instant falls in the night before Saturday's moonrise, so the oil-bath morning there is Saturday 7 November.
London is the rule's other case. There Chaturdashi begins at 5:18 am on Saturday 7 November, a few minutes after that morning's moonrise, and ends before the next moonrise, so neither moonrise falls in it. For this the rule gives the first day, with the bath in the part of the dawn that Chaturdashi holds: from 5:18 am to sunrise.
Oil-bath time, Tamil Nadu
From moonrise to sunrise. Each city's full day is a tap away.
| City | Day | Oil bath |
|---|---|---|
| Chennai | Sun 8 Nov | 5:06 am – 6:05 am |
| Madurai | Sun 8 Nov | 5:11 am – 6:09 am |
| Coimbatore | Sun 8 Nov | 5:17 am – 6:15 am |
| Tiruchirappalli | Sun 8 Nov | 5:10 am – 6:08 am |
| Salem | Sun 8 Nov | 5:13 am – 6:11 am |
| Tirunelveli | Sun 8 Nov | 5:11 am – 6:09 am |
The Tamil day sheet: Chennai · Madurai · Coimbatore.
Outside India
| City | Day | Oil bath |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Sun 8 Nov | 5:45 am – 6:46 am |
| Kuala Lumpur | Sun 8 Nov | 5:56 am – 6:57 am |
| Colombo | Sun 8 Nov | 5:00 am – 5:59 am |
| Dubai | Sun 8 Nov | 5:37 am – 6:31 am |
| Abu Dhabi | Sun 8 Nov | 5:39 am – 6:33 am |
| Doha | Sun 8 Nov | 4:52 am – 5:46 am |
| Muscat | Sun 8 Nov | 5:21 am – 6:16 am |
| Sydney | Sun 8 Nov | 4:47 am – 5:49 am |
| Melbourne | Sun 8 Nov | 5:06 am – 6:06 am |
| Auckland | Sun 8 Nov | 5:06 am – 6:09 am |
| London | Sat 7 Nov | 5:18 am – 7:04 am |
| Toronto | Sat 7 Nov | 5:28 am – 7:01 am |
| New York | Sat 7 Nov | 5:00 am – 6:33 am |
| Edison | Sat 7 Nov | 5:02 am – 6:34 am |
| Chicago | Sat 7 Nov | 4:59 am – 6:30 am |
| Houston | Sat 7 Nov | 5:12 am – 6:40 am |
| Dallas | Sat 7 Nov | 5:23 am – 6:50 am |
| Atlanta | Sat 7 Nov | 5:32 am – 7:02 am |
| Washington, DC | Sat 7 Nov | 5:10 am – 6:42 am |
| Boston | Sat 7 Nov | 4:51 am – 6:25 am |
| Seattle | Sat 7 Nov | 5:37 am – 7:03 am |
| San Jose | Sat 7 Nov | 5:14 am – 6:38 am |
| Los Angeles | Sat 7 Nov | 4:54 am – 6:18 am |
The best time for the bath
Of the three times, from the last watch of the night to dawn, from dawn to moonrise, and from moonrise to sunrise, each is better than the one before: the time after moonrise is the principal one, and the morning after sunrise is secondary. If moonrise falls in the Chaturdashi on the first morning only, the first; if on the second only, the second.
Calendars that end the month at the new moon (amanta) call this fortnight Ashvina; calendars that end it at the full moon (purnimanta) call the same fortnight Kartika.
Questions
When is Deepavali in Tamil Nadu in 2026?
Sunday 8 November 2026. The oil bath in Chennai is 5:06 am – 6:05 am.
Is Deepavali on 7 or 8 November 2026?
8 November in India and in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, the Gulf cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. 7 November in the American, Canadian and British cities listed on this page.
When is Lakshmi Puja?
The evening of Sunday 8 November in India. See Diwali 2026.
Moonrise and sunrise at each city's own horizon; Drik method, Lahiri ayanamsha. Tamil Nadu's 2026 government holiday: Deepavali, Sunday 8 November.