Bali Padyami 2026: Date & Bali Puja Time

Significance of Bali Padyami

Bali Padyami, also called Bali Pratipada, Padva, Virapratipada or Dyutapratipada, is the fourth day of Diwali. It is the first day of the bright half of Kartik. It honours Mahabali, the asura king remembered as generous and just, on the one day each year he is believed to return to earth.

The festival is very old. Patanjali’s Mahabhashya already speaks of the Bali story being acted out on stage, and the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and several Puranas mention its festivities. Texts such as the Dharmasindhu count it among the most auspicious days of the year. Padwa is also named as the half among the three and a half muhurtas.

Bali gave away everything he ruled to keep his word, and Vishnu rewarded that honesty. Families welcome him as a beloved former king, with lamps, food and a shared feast.

The story of Bali Padyami

Prahlada’s grandson Bali was a worshipper of Vishnu who won the three worlds from the devas. His own rule was fair, yet the asuras around him gave the gods no peace. The devas, led by Indra, asked Vishnu to act, and he chose a way that needed no battle against his own devotee.

At a yajna where Bali had vowed to refuse no one, a small brahmin boy named Vamana came forward. All he wanted, he said, was the ground his feet could measure in three steps. The king granted it, and Vamana swelled into Trivikrama, the giant whose first two steps took in earth and sky. With nothing left to give, Bali bowed his head for the third step, and it sent him down to Patala.

Because Bali had kept his word to the end, Vishnu gave him a boon. Each year, for one day, he may come back to the people he ruled and receive their worship. In a future age he is to become Indra.

How to do Bali Padyami puja at home

1. Take an oil bath Rise early and take an oil bath, as the Dharmasindhu recommends for this day. Put on new or freshly washed clothes.
2. Draw Bali at the doorway In the main hall or before the door, draw Bali and his queen Vindhyavali in rangoli of five colours. Some families shape a Bali figure from cow dung or clay instead.
3. Decorate with flowers Adorn the figure with flowers, especially marigolds, and light a lamp beside it.
4. Invite and worship Bali During the Bali Puja time shown above, invite Bali as a guest. Offer kumkum, akshata (unbroken rice) and flowers, and place curd, fruits and food before him.
5. Honour the cows If you keep cattle, clean the cowshed, wash the animals, decorate their horns and feed them jaggery and millet. City families can feed a cow at a gaushala.
6. Give in charity In Madhva tradition, gifts of cows, clothes or land are made today to please Vamana. Giving clothes or food to someone in need keeps that custom alive.
7. Light rows of lamps As night falls, place rows of diyas along the threshold of the house and at the local temple.
8. Share the feast Exchange gifts and share a festive meal.

Bali Padyami puja samagri

• Sesame oil for the morning bath
• Rangoli powder in five colours
• Cow dung or clay for a Bali figure (optional)
• Marigold and other flowers
• Kumkum
• Turmeric
• Akshata (unbroken rice)
• Curd
• Fruits and cooked food for the offering
• Diyas, oil and wicks
• Incense sticks
• Jaggery and millet for the cattle
• New clothes

Regional traditions

Karnataka

Balindra puja welcomes the king home, with Bali figures at the door and lamp-lit temples.

Maharashtra

Called Padwa or Diwali Padwa. In many Marathi homes the wife performs aukshan (aarti) for her husband, who gives her a gift.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (farming families)

Some farming families keep the Kedaragauri vrata and the Gouramma puja, both to forms of Parvati. They also scrub out the cattle shed and worship their cows.

Himachal Pradesh

Here the day is Barlaj, a worn-down form of Bali Raj. Villagers sing songs of Vamana and leave the fields unploughed. Craftsmen honour their tools for Vishvakarma, and kitchens make ekaloo from rice flour.

Jammu

Known simply as Raja Bali. Women shape murtis of Bali from wheat dough, worship them and later immerse them in water.

Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan

In Gujarat, and among some communities in Rajasthan, the same tithi is the Vikram Samvat New Year, Bestu Varas.

Bali Padyami in Karnataka

In Karnataka, Bali Padyami is one of the main days of Deepavali. Kannada families perform Balindra puja to mark the king’s arrival on earth. At night, temples are decorated with rangoli and lit with rows of lamps, and the deity receives a special abhisheka with milk.

Village households mould Bali out of cow dung and crown the figure with marigolds. Often the figure is triangular and rests on a plank bright with kolam patterns. Some families go further and raise a little fort in the yard, with lamps all around it, as a welcome for the king.

Cattle share the festival too. After a good scrub, the animals get coloured horns, a ring of bells and flower garlands. Their treat for the day is sajje (pearl millet) mixed with jaggery, a thank-you for the farm year.

Bali Pratipada, Diwali Padwa and Gudi Padwa

Padva or Padwa comes from pratipada, the first day of a lunar fortnight, so more than one festival carries the word. In Maharashtra, Bali Pratipada is called Padwa or Diwali Padwa. It is the fourth day of Diwali and usually comes the day after Lakshmi Puja.

Gudi Padwa is a different festival. It is the spring new year of Marathi and Konkani Hindus, on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. Families raise a gudi, a decorated flag. The two share the word padwa, not the season or the rituals.

The Bali figure and rangoli

The custom of drawing Bali is old. The Dharmasindhu asks that Bali and his wife be drawn on the floor with five coloured powders and flowers. Today the figure may be a rangoli, a cow-dung image or a clay model. Some Madhva families set curd before the drawing as they invite Bali in.

Bali Padyami dates