Bhai Dooj 2026 (Bhau Beej, Bhagini Hasta Bhojanam, Yama Dwitiya): Date, Tilak Shubh Muhurat by City, Vidhi and Katha

Quick answer: Bhai Dooj 2026 is on Wednesday 11 November 2026 in India, the fifth and last day of Diwali. Drik Panchang gives Kartika Shukla Dwitiya from 2:00 PM IST on Tuesday 10 November to 3:53 PM IST on Wednesday 11 November. The afternoon (aparahna) tilak window in New Delhi is 1:10 PM to 3:20 PM. In the USA, Canada, the UK and the UAE, Bhai Dooj is on Tuesday 10 November.

The day has many names: Bhai Dooj and Bhaiya Dooj in the north, Bhau Beej in Maharashtra, Bhai Bij in Gujarat, Bhai Phonta in Bengal, Bhai Tika in Nepal, Bhagini Hasta Bhojanam in the Telugu states, and Yama Dwitiya in the panchang.

Last updated: 21 October 2026. We have added aparahna tilak windows for India and abroad, the 2026 western Canada clock times and a fuller section on regional customs. For all five days, see the Diwali 2026 complete guide.

Bhai Dooj 2026 kab hai? Date and Dwitiya tithi

Source: Drik Panchang day panchang for 11 November 2026 (Hyderabad and New Delhi) and Drik's Diwali dates by country. Bhai Dooj is fixed on the day when Dwitiya covers the aparahna. In India that is Wednesday; in the Americas, the UK and the Gulf, Dwitiya already covers Tuesday afternoon, so the day falls a day earlier there.

Bhai Dooj 2026 tilak shubh muhurat: aparahna time in Indian cities

The aparahna is the fourth of the five equal parts of the daytime, from sunrise to sunset. All times are local (IST) for Wednesday 11 November 2026. They were calculated with our Drik-method calculator, which reproduces Drik Panchang's published aparahna windows to the minute in the cities where we checked.

Dwitiya lasts until 3:53 PM IST, so every window above falls inside it. If a working day makes the afternoon hard, many families do the tilak later in the day; the meal and the love behind it matter most.

Bhai Dooj 2026 in the USA, Canada, UK, UAE, Singapore and Australia

Dates are from Drik Panchang; the aparahna windows are calculated for each city's own sunrise and sunset and checked so that Dwitiya covers the whole window. Never convert India's time to your clock.

Canada clock rule for 2026: Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces fell back on 1 November with the USA. British Columbia (UTC-7), Alberta (UTC-6) and Manitoba (UTC-5) stay on their summer clock, so their times read about an hour later than in earlier years. Some apps still show Winnipeg an hour off; the table uses the correct 2026 clock. The UK has been on GMT since 25 October.

Country guides: USA, Canada, UK, Australia and UAE.

Bhai Dooj tilak vidhi

Family customs differ. A simple, widely followed order:

1. The sister prepares a plate (thali) with kumkum or roli, akshata (rice), a lamp, a sweet, a coconut or fruit, and a little water.
2. Many families draw a small square of rice flour or rangoli where the brother will sit, facing east or north.
3. The sister applies tilak on her brother's forehead, places a few grains of rice on it, and does aarti with the lamp.
4. She offers him a sweet and prays for his long life and wellbeing. In some homes she ties a sacred thread or gives a coconut.
5. The brother touches her feet or greets her with respect, and gives her a gift.
6. The sister serves a meal she has cooked. In many regions the brother is expected to eat at his sister's home on this day.

Fasting and health note

In some families the sister eats only after the tilak. If the aparahna falls late in your city, do not stay without food or water for long, especially if you are pregnant, diabetic, elderly or on medicine. A doctor's advice comes first, and a light snack before the puja is fine in most families.

Bhai Dooj katha: Yama and Yamuna

This is our own short retelling of the story as commonly told. Tellings differ by region.

Yama, the lord of death, and Yamuna, the river goddess, were the children of Surya, the sun. Yamuna loved her brother and often invited him to her home, but Yama, busy with his duties, kept putting it off. At last, on Kartika Shukla Dwitiya, he arrived. Yamuna welcomed him with joy, applied a tilak on his forehead, did his aarti and served him a meal she had cooked herself.

Touched by her love, Yama asked her to choose a boon. Yamuna asked that every brother who visits his sister on this day, and receives tilak and food from her, be remembered by Yama with kindness. As traditionally believed, Yama granted it, and the day became Yama Dwitiya. In Mathura, many devotees bathe in the Yamuna on this day, especially at Vishram Ghat.

Krishna and Subhadra

A second story, popular in North India, says that after Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura he visited his sister Subhadra. She welcomed him with lamps, a tilak and sweets. Families tell this story alongside the Yama and Yamuna katha.

Bhau Beej, Bhai Phonta, Bhagini Hasta Bhojanam: regional customs

• Maharashtra (Bhau Beej): the sister performs aukshan, an aarti for her brother, and the family often shares a festive meal. Sisters without a brother may pray to the moon, as some families do. See our Diwali in Maharashtra guide.
• Gujarat (Bhai Bij): brothers visit their sisters' homes for a meal, closing the festive days after the Gujarati New Year.
• Bengal (Bhai Phonta): the sister places a phonta (mark) of sandalwood paste and kajal on her brother's forehead while reciting a traditional rhyme. Some families observe it by their own panjika; follow your family calendar.
• Nepal (Bhai Tika): the last day of Tihar. Sisters apply a tika of seven colours and garland their brothers. Nepal's own calendar fixes the time each year.
• Telugu states (Bhagini Hasta Bhojanam): the brother eats a meal served by his sister's own hand, which is what the name means, and gives her a gift. It falls in the first days of Karthika Masam.
• North India (Bhai Dooj): in many homes a figure of Yama and Yamuna is drawn on the floor and worshipped before the tilak. Chitragupta Puja is held the same day.

Bhai Dooj for siblings living apart

• Different countries: each sibling uses their own city's date and time from the table. A brother in New York and a sister in Hyderabad will keep different days; that is normal.
• Video call tilak: the sister lights a lamp and prays; the brother applies a tilak himself and eats a sweet while the family is on the call.
• Send something ahead: a packet of roli, rice, a sweet and a small diya can be posted in time for the day.
• Cousins and friends: many NRI families include cousins or close family friends who are like siblings.
• Working day: Tuesday 10 November is a working day in North America and the UK. An after-work dinner with tilak is common.

Diwali 2026 day by day

Share the Diwali 2026 blessing

Bhai Dooj, also called Yama Dwitiya, brings the Diwali festival to a gentle close with the light of family love. As commonly told, Yamuna welcomed her brother Yama with a tilak, an aarti and a meal, and her devotion became a blessing for all brothers. The diya on the thali today is the same inner light we welcomed with Maa Lakshmi on Diwali night. Light your lamp, pray for your sibling's wellbeing, and share a loving blessing with your family.

Deepa shloka: the lamp prayer

शुभं करोति कल्याणम् आरोग्यं धनसम्पदा। शत्रुबुद्धिविनाशाय दीपज्योतिर्नमोऽस्तु ते॥

Shubham karoti kalyanam arogyam dhana-sampada, shatru-buddhi-vinashaya deepa-jyotir namostu te.

Meaning: I bow to the light of the lamp, which brings what is auspicious and good, health and prosperity, and destroys ill-will. Many families recite it as they light the evening diya.

Lakshmi mantra for Diwali

ॐ श्रीं महालक्ष्म्यै नमः॥

Om Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah.

Meaning: Salutations to Mahalakshmi. Shreem is the seed syllable traditionally associated with Lakshmi.

Diwali 2026 messages to share

🪔 Happy Bhai Dooj, dear brother! With this tilak I pray for your long life, good health and happiness. May our bond only grow stronger with time. 🙏 Share on WhatsApp

✨ Dear sister, your love is my greatest blessing. On this Bhai Dooj, I promise to protect you and stand by you always. May your life be full of light. 🌸 Share on WhatsApp

🙏 To our dear parents and elders: thank you for raising us to love one another. May you be blessed with peace and joy as your children celebrate Bhai Dooj. 🪔 Share on WhatsApp

🌸 Happy Bhai Dooj to you and your family! May your brothers and sisters be healthy, happy and close in heart, wherever they are today. ✨ Share on WhatsApp

🪔 Jai Maa Lakshmi! As the festival of lights ends, may your grace stay in our homes and keep every brother and sister bound in love and harmony. 🙏✨ Share on WhatsApp

🙏 Jai Shri Ganesh! On this Bhai Dooj, may Lord Ganesha clear every obstacle from the path of our siblings and bless them with wisdom and peace. 🪔 Share on WhatsApp

A short Diwali prayer

Maa Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha, on this Bhai Dooj I bow to you and light this lamp for my brothers and sisters. Keep them healthy and safe, and let love, patience and understanding grow between us. Help me to be a caring sibling and to do my own work sincerely. I thank you for the gift of family, and I ask only for light in our hearts.

Use the share buttons on this page to send these blessings to your family and friends.

Bhai Dooj 2026: frequently asked questions

When is Bhai Dooj 2026?

Bhai Dooj 2026 is on Wednesday 11 November 2026 in India, per Drik Panchang. Kartika Shukla Dwitiya runs from 2:00 PM IST on Tuesday 10 November to 3:53 PM IST on Wednesday 11 November. In the USA, Canada, the UK, the UAE and South Africa, Drik places Bhai Dooj on Tuesday 10 November; in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia it is Wednesday 11 November.

What is the Bhai Dooj tilak muhurat in 2026?

The preferred time is the aparahna, the afternoon portion of the day. On Wednesday 11 November it is 1:10 PM to 3:20 PM in New Delhi, 1:30 PM to 3:46 PM in Mumbai, 1:08 PM to 3:25 PM in Hyderabad and 12:27 PM to 2:41 PM in Kolkata. Abroad, use your city's row in the table on this page.

What is Bhagini Hasta Bhojanam?

It is the Telugu name for the day. It means a meal from the sister's hand: the brother visits his sister, she applies tilak and serves him food she has cooked, and he gives her a gift. It is kept on the same Kartika Shukla Dwitiya.

Why is Bhai Dooj called Yama Dwitiya?

As traditionally told, Yama, the lord of death, visited his sister Yamuna on this Dwitiya. She welcomed him with tilak and a meal, and he blessed the day. So the day is called Yama Dwitiya.

Can we do Bhai Dooj by video call if we live in different countries?

Many families do. The sister lights a lamp and prays for her brother at her local aparahna time, and the brother joins on a call and applies a tilak himself. Each sibling should use the time for their own city, not convert one country's time to another.

Is Chitragupta Puja on the same day?

Yes. Drik Panchang lists Chitragupta Puja on Wednesday 11 November 2026 as well. Chitragupta is honoured as the divine keeper of records, often with a pen-and-ink (kalam-dawat) puja.

Editor's note

Editor's note (21 October 2026): Dates and tithi times are from Drik Panchang (Hyderabad and New Delhi) and Drik's Diwali dates by country. Aparahna windows are calculated with our Drik-method calculator, which matched Drik's published windows for Frankfurt, Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town to the minute. Western Canada uses the 2026 clock rule. The stories are our own summaries of traditional tellings; customs vary by family and region, and nothing here promises any particular result.

Related guides

• Diwali 2026: complete five-day guide
• Bhai Dooj 2026 in the USA
• Bhai Dooj 2026 in Canada
• Bhai Dooj 2026 in the UK
• Bhai Dooj 2026 in Australia
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• Diwali 2026 USA: Lakshmi Puja muhurat city by city
• Bhai Dooj 2026 in Germany, Europe and South Africa
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