Cultural calendar
Hindu Calendar 2026 — Panchang & Festivals
The Hindu calendar (Panchang) is a lunisolar system used across India and the Hindu diaspora. Festivals shift annually relative to the Gregorian calendar — here's 2026 mapped to Western dates.
Major Hindu festivals in 2026
| Festival | Hindu month | Gregorian date |
|---|---|---|
| Makar Sankranti | Pausha → Magha | Jan 14, 2026 |
| Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja) | Magha | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Maha Shivaratri | Phalguna | Feb 15, 2026 |
| Holi (Holika Dahan) | Phalguna full moon | Mar 3, 2026 |
| Holi (Rangwali / Dhulandi) | Chaitra | Mar 4, 2026 |
| Ugadi / Gudi Padwa (Hindu New Year) | Chaitra | Mar 19, 2026 |
| Ram Navami | Chaitra | Mar 27, 2026 |
| Akshaya Tritiya | Vaisakha | Apr 20, 2026 |
| Buddha Purnima | Vaisakha full moon | May 1, 2026 |
| Raksha Bandhan | Shravana | Aug 27, 2026 |
| Janmashtami | Shravana | Sep 4, 2026 |
| Ganesh Chaturthi | Bhadrapada | Sep 15, 2026 |
| Navratri begins | Ashwina | Oct 12, 2026 |
| Dussehra (Vijayadashami) | Ashwina | Oct 20, 2026 |
| Karwa Chauth | Kartika | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) | Kartika | Nov 8, 2026 |
| Govardhan Puja | Kartika | Nov 10, 2026 |
| Bhai Dooj | Kartika | Nov 11, 2026 |
| Tulsi Vivah | Kartika | Nov 19, 2026 |
Dates are tithi-based and may differ slightly by region. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and Punjabi calendars each have their own variant of the lunisolar system; the dates above follow the North Indian Vikram Samvat tradition.
The five Panchang elements
Each day in the Hindu calendar is defined by five elements (the "five limbs" — Panchang):
- Tithi — lunar day (1/30 of a synodic month)
- Vara — weekday
- Nakshatra — lunar mansion (27 divisions of the ecliptic)
- Yoga — sun-moon longitudinal relationship
- Karana — half of a tithi
Auspicious times (muhurta) for ceremonies are calculated by combining these factors.
Vikram Samvat year numbering
2026 CE corresponds to Vikram Samvat 2083 (starting mid-April 2026 with Chaitra month). The new year date varies by regional calendar — Tamil New Year (Puthandu) falls around April 14, while Bengali New Year (Pohela Boishakh) is also mid-April.