Bhai Dooj 2026: Date, Tilak Muhurat, Vidhi and Story

Bhai Dooj is on Wednesday, 11 November 2026 in India. It falls on Kartik Shukla Dwitiya, the second day of the bright half of Kartik, and closes the five days of Diwali.

Timings for New Delhi (India, IST):

• Dwitiya tithi: 2:00 pm on 10 November to 3:53 pm on 11 November
• Aparahna, the traditional tilak time: 1:10 pm to 3:20 pm on 11 November

Why the 11th and not the 10th? Bhai Dooj is kept on the day Dwitiya holds through the afternoon (aparahna). On 10 November Dwitiya begins at 2:00 pm, part way through the afternoon; on 11 November it covers the whole afternoon, so the tilak belongs to that day. Some families do the tilak in the morning as a household custom; that is fine as long as Dwitiya is running.

The Diwali sequence this year is Dhanteras on 6 November, Lakshmi Puja on 8 November, Govardhan Puja on 10 November and Bhai Dooj on 11 November. Times shift by a few minutes from city to city, so check a local panchang or our daily panchang.

Families abroad often keep Bhai Dooj a day earlier than India this year:

• USA and Canada: Tuesday, 10 November. Tilak time 12:40 pm to 2:41 pm in New York and 1:00 pm to 2:59 pm in Toronto (local time)
• UK: Tuesday, 10 November. Tilak time 12:39 pm to 2:29 pm in London (UK time)
• UAE: Tuesday, 10 November in most calendars, 1:09 pm to 3:21 pm in Dubai (UAE time). Dwitiya covers the afternoon of both days there, and some calendars give Wednesday, 11 November
• Australia: Wednesday, 11 November. Tilak time 2:02 pm to 4:47 pm in Sydney (Sydney time)
• Singapore: Wednesday, 11 November. Tilak time 2:01 pm to 4:26 pm (Singapore time)

When a brother and sister live in different countries, each usually keeps the date of the place they are in.

Bhai Dooj is also called Yama Dwitiya. The story most families tell is of Yamuna and her brother Yama, the god of death, both children of Surya. Yamuna often invited her brother to her home, but Yama, busy with his duties, kept putting it off. On Kartik Shukla Dwitiya he finally came.

Yamuna welcomed him with joy. She bathed him, applied a tilak to his forehead, did his aarti and fed him a meal she had cooked herself. Pleased, Yama asked her to name a wish. She asked that he visit her every year on this day, and that any brother who visits his sister on this day and receives tilak from her be free from the fear of untimely death. The story says Yama granted it.

Another story tells of Krishna visiting his sister Subhadra after defeating the demon Narakasura, and Subhadra welcoming him with a tilak, flowers and sweets.

Whatever the story, the custom holds the same meaning: a sister's prayer for her brother's long and safe life, and a brother's promise to stand by her.

The day is kept across India and beyond under different names:

• Bhai Dooj or Bhaiya Dooj in North India
• Bhau Beej in Maharashtra, Goa and parts of Karnataka
• Bhai Phonta in Bengal, where sisters apply a tilak of sandalwood paste and pray for their brothers
• Bhai Tika in Nepal, as the last day of Tihar, with a seven-coloured tika
• Bhratri Dwitiya, its Sanskrit name

Kayastha families also worship Chitragupta, the keeper of records in Yama's court, on this day, often with pen, ink and account books placed before him.

Regional calendars sometimes fix the date differently, especially in Bengal and Nepal, so check your community's own calendar for Bhai Phonta and Bhai Tika.

• Roli or kumkum, and a little haldi
• Akshat (unbroken rice)
• A ghee diya
• Sweets, often the brother's favourite, and a dry coconut (gola) in many North Indian homes
• A few flowers
• Mauli (sacred thread), which some sisters tie on the brother's wrist
• A small bowl of water
• A handkerchief or cloth for the brother's head, where that is the custom
• Paan and supari, or batasha, in some families
• A low seat (pidha) for the brother

As most North Indian families do it:

1. The sister bathes, prepares the thali and, where the custom is kept, fasts until the tilak.
2. She makes a small square or rangoli on the floor with rice flour and sets the pidha on it.
3. The brother sits facing north or east, often with a handkerchief on his head.
4. In the tilak time, the sister applies roli and akshat to his forehead, places a flower and the dry coconut in his hands, and ties mauli if that is the family custom.
5. She does his aarti with the diya, praying for his long life and wellbeing, and many sisters remember Yama and Yamuna as they do.
6. She feeds him sweets, and in many homes a full meal follows.
7. The brother touches her feet or embraces her, as the family does, gives her a gift, and promises to stand by her.

If you are far apart this year, the prayer can still be said at the same time on a call; the brother can keep a tilak on his own forehead while the sister does the aarti at home.

Archana does not perform a Bhai Dooj ritual on your behalf; the tilak is something only a sister can give. If you live far from your brother or sister this year and would like a prayer offered for them, a pandit can perform an archana at a temple in their name and gotra, and photo proof is sent to you by email afterwards. You can see the poojas on our pooja page.

For the days before Bhai Dooj, see our Diwali 2026 guide and our Govardhan Puja 2026 guide. Our festival calendar has the dates for the rest of the year.