Columbus · Monday, 26 October 2026
The day, hour by hour
Bath before sunrise
6:08 AM – 7:54 AMThe Kartik bath is taken before the sun is up — in a river where there is one, at home with a little Ganga water in the bath water where there is not. The morning puja and the vrat begin from it.
Pradosh · the evening diya
6:37 PM – 9:16 PMFrom sunset through the first part of the night: the diyas are lit at home — before Shiv ji, at the tulasi and at the threshold — and, where one can, in a Shiva temple.
The first stars
7:05 PMWhen the sky has darkened enough for the stars to show. The vrat is opened only after they are seen, with the rice offered to Shiv ji.
Times for Columbus, OH in EDT, UTC−4, rounded to the minute, computed by Kalava's engine for this town's own sunrise, sunset and moonrise. How
Every Monday of Kartik is Shiv ji's, and a Telugu or Kannada house keeps it from a bath before sunrise to the first stars of the evening. The abhishek and the bilva are offered in the morning, a diya is lit at dusk at home and in the temple, and the day's one meal is taken only once the stars are seen.
The vrat
The Kartika Purana's own way is naktam: nothing through the day, and food only after the stars are seen. Those who cannot keep it take milk and fruit, or one meal at midday; and one who can keep no vrat at all keeps the puja.
The exact dates vary between regions following the Amanta calendar (South India, Maharashtra, Gujarat) and the Purnimanta calendar (North India), as the lunar month of Kartik starts 15 days earlier in the Purnimanta system.
Every town is its own sunrise
Karthika Somavara 2026 in other towns
Highlighted rows keep the day on another date than India. Tap a town for its full day.
| Town | Date | Pradosh · the evening diya |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 2 Nov | 5:35 PM–8:11 PM |
| Mumbai | 2 Nov | 6:05 PM–8:36 PM |
| Kolkata | 2 Nov | 4:59 PM–7:31 PM |
| Chennai | 2 Nov | 5:42 PM–8:10 PM |
| Bengaluru | 2 Nov | 5:53 PM–8:21 PM |
| Hyderabad | 2 Nov | 5:44 PM–8:14 PM |
| Ahmedabad | 2 Nov | 6:01 PM–8:34 PM |
| Jaipur | 2 Nov | 5:43 PM–8:18 PM |
| Lucknow | 2 Nov | 5:23 PM–7:58 PM |
| Patna | 2 Nov | 5:08 PM–7:42 PM |
| Abroad | ||
| Columbus US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:37 PM–9:16 PM |
| London GB | 26 Oct a day before India | 4:45 PM–7:33 PM |
| Leicester GB | 26 Oct a day before India | 4:46 PM–7:35 PM |
| Birmingham GB | 26 Oct a day before India | 4:50 PM–7:38 PM |
| New York US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:00 PM–8:40 PM |
| Edison US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:02 PM–8:42 PM |
| Jersey City US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:00 PM–8:40 PM |
| Chicago US | 26 Oct a day before India | 5:53 PM–8:33 PM |
| Houston US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:40 PM–9:14 PM |
| Dallas US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:42 PM–9:17 PM |
| San Francisco US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:18 PM–8:56 PM |
| San Jose US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:16 PM–8:54 PM |
| Los Angeles US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:06 PM–8:42 PM |
| Atlanta US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:51 PM–9:27 PM |
| Washington, DC US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:15 PM–8:54 PM |
| Boston US | 26 Oct a day before India | 5:46 PM–8:26 PM |
| Seattle US | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:01 PM–8:46 PM |
| Toronto CA | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:17 PM–8:58 PM |
| Brampton CA | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:18 PM–9:00 PM |
| Vancouver CA | 26 Oct a day before India | 6:01 PM–8:47 PM |
| Sydney AU | 2 Nov | 7:24 PM–9:30 PM |
| Melbourne AU | 2 Nov | 7:56 PM–9:59 PM |
| Auckland NZ | 2 Nov | 7:55 PM–9:59 PM |
| Singapore SG | 2 Nov | 6:50 PM–9:13 PM |
| Kuala Lumpur MY | 2 Nov | 6:57 PM–9:21 PM |
| Dubai AE | 2 Nov | 5:38 PM–8:12 PM |
| Doha QA | 2 Nov | 4:52 PM–7:26 PM |
| Nairobi KE | 2 Nov | 6:21 PM–8:43 PM |
| Durban ZA | 2 Nov | 6:19 PM–8:27 PM |
| Port Louis MU | 2 Nov | 6:20 PM–8:33 PM |
How Karthika Somavara is kept
Katha
The dog who ate a Monday's offering
Vasishtha said to King Janaka: of all the days of Kartik, Monday is the one dearest to Shiv ji.
Puja vidhi
31 steps, each drawn
The method at the day's own hours, every mantra with its meaning.
Samagri
17 things to set out
Every item pictured, a list to tick and send.
