Amavasya 2026

Significance of Amavasya

Amavasya is the last tithi of the Krishna Paksha, the waning fortnight, when the Sun and Moon stand together and no moon is seen in the sky. In the amanta calendar followed in much of South and West India, it closes the lunar month. In the purnimanta calendar of the north, it falls in the middle of the month.

Every Amavasya is counted as a fit day for shraddha and tarpan, the offerings made to departed ancestors. Some bathe in a holy river, but most families keep it at home with a bath, a lamp, a quiet fast and charity.

Many teachers say the new moon is not unlucky in itself. It is a day for turning inward, for prayer and silence rather than celebration. Shiva, Kali and Shani are often worshipped on Amavasya, and many families avoid starting new ventures until the bright fortnight begins.

The story of Amavasya

A story often told to explain why food and water are offered to ancestors concerns Karna, the great giver of the Mahabharata. After he fell in the war, his soul reached heaven, but he found himself hungry. Every piece of food he touched turned to gold.

When he asked why, he was told that he had been generous with gold but had never fed his own forebears. Karna replied that he had not known who his ancestors were. He was allowed to return to earth for a fortnight to offer them food and water, and that fortnight is remembered as Pitru Paksha. In some tellings Karna puts his question to Indra, in others to Yama.

How to do Amavasya puja at home

1. Bathe early Wake before sunrise and bathe. If you cannot reach a river, add a few drops of Ganga jal to your bathing water and remember the holy rivers as you pour it.
2. Offer water to the Sun Stand facing the rising Sun and offer water from a copper or brass lota.
3. Take a sankalp Sit at the family altar and state your name, your gotra if you know it, and your purpose for the day, whether remembering ancestors, a fast or a prayer for the family.
4. Offer tarpan Those whose father has passed away offer water mixed with black sesame, with a ring of kusha grass on the finger, calling each ancestor by name. Follow your family priest or elders for the exact method, as it differs between lineages.
5. Set food aside for the ancestors Families who perform shraddha offer pinda, rice balls with sesame and ghee. Others keep a portion of the day's simple meal for the crows before the family eats. Many families also set aside a portion for a cow and a dog.
6. Worship at the altar Offer water or milk to a Shivalinga, or worship your family deity with flowers and akshat (unbroken rice). Light a lamp of ghee or sesame oil and chant a familiar mantra such as Om Namah Shivaya.
7. Give daan Give food, clothes or grain to someone in need, or to a temple kitchen. Many families make this gift in the name of a departed parent or grandparent.
8. Close the fast If you are fasting, break it in the evening with simple vegetarian food. Children, elders, pregnant women and anyone with a health condition should eat normally and keep the day through prayer and charity.

Amavasya puja samagri

• Copper or brass lota
• Clean water and Ganga jal
• Black sesame (til)
• Kusha or darbha grass
• Akshat (unbroken rice)
• Flowers
• Sandalwood paste
• Ghee or sesame oil diya with cotton wicks
• Incense sticks
• Milk for abhishek
• Cooked rice, ghee and sesame for pinda, if shraddha is performed
• A small plate of food for crows, cow and dog
• Grain, clothes or food for daan

Regional traditions

Tamil Nadu

Aadi Amavasai, Thai Amavasai and Mahalaya Amavasai are the main days for ancestral rites. Families offer tarpanam on a river bank or at the seashore, with large crowds at Rameswaram.

Gujarat

The ten-day Dashama Vrata, dedicated to the goddess Dashama or Momai, begins on the Amavasya of Ashadha.

Jharkhand and West Bengal

Tribal communities celebrate Sohrai on the Amavasya of Kartik, honouring cattle and the land, remembering ancestors and painting Sohrai art on the walls of their homes.

Amavasya and the ancestors

Tradition holds that the souls of the three preceding generations rest in Pitriloka, a realm between heaven and earth governed by Yama. Shraddha and tarpan are meant for them, and Amavasya is the monthly day set aside for both. Shraddha is the fuller rite, built around the offering of pinda. Tarpan is the simpler offering of water with black sesame.

By custom the eldest son or another male relative on the father's side performs the rite, after bathing and wearing a ring of kusha grass. Many families feed a crow first, since it is believed to carry the offering to the ancestors, and eat only after that. If your parents are living, tarpan is not expected of you; a lamp and a prayer for the family's elders is enough.

What to do on Amavasya

• Bathe early, in a river if you can, or with Ganga jal added to the water
• Offer tarpan with water and black sesame if your father has passed away
• Feed crows, a cow or a dog before the family meal
• Offer water or milk to a Shivalinga
• Light a ghee or sesame oil lamp at the altar in the evening
• Give food, clothes or grain to people in need
• Spend some time in silence, prayer or meditation

What many families avoid on Amavasya

• Starting a new business, project or other auspicious work
• Cutting hair, shaving or cutting nails
• Eating non-vegetarian food
• Lending or borrowing money
• Buying gold, a new vehicle or new clothes
• Arguments and harsh words at home
• In some South Indian families, an oil bath on the day

Amavasya dates