Bhai Dooj 2026 and 2027: Date and Tika Time in 49 Cities

Bhai Dooj, the festival of brothers and sisters, closes the five days of Diwali. It falls on Kartika Shukla Dwitiya, the second day of the bright half of the month of Kartika. A sister applies a tika to her brother’s forehead, prays for his well-being and offers him sweets, and he gives her a gift in return. Some regions call it Bhau Beej, Bhai Phonta or Yama Dwitiya, and each has its own stories and customs.

The date is fixed by the Aparahna, the afternoon. Bhai Dooj is kept on the civil day on which Dwitiya is in force in the afternoon, and the tika is applied in that window. The time in the table is the Aparahna window for each city. If Dwitiya covers the afternoon of two days, the calendar takes the rule that prefers the day on which the tithi is longer in the afternoon.

Why do cities differ? Dwitiya starts and ends at one instant worldwide, but the afternoon is at a different clock time in each city. A tithi that starts after midday in one city may have started in the morning in another, so the festival can be kept a day apart, and the window differs by the local clock everywhere.

A calm note: the day is about affection, and a phone call or a small parcel is a full observance for siblings who live far apart. The exact hour of the tika is a guide, not a condition. If your family keeps a different day, follow them.

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