Labh Pancham, also called Labh Panchami or Saubhagya Panchami, is the fifth day of the bright half of Kartika, four days after the Gujarati New Year. Labh means gain and saubhagya good fortune. In Gujarat many shops and offices open again on this day after the Diwali break, and traders begin the year’s accounts with a puja to Ganesha and Lakshmi. In 2026 it falls on Saturday 14 November 2026.
Panchami at sunrise, puja in the morning
The day is the civil day on which Kartika Shukla Panchami is running at sunrise. If it is running at two sunrises, the first is taken. The puja is done in the morning, in the first third of the daylight (Pratahkala), while Panchami runs, and that is the window in the table. For New Delhi our date and window agree with the ones Drik Panchang publishes for 2026 to within a minute.
In 2026 Panchami runs from 8:43 pm on Friday 13 November to 11:24 pm on Saturday 14 November, the same instants everywhere in India. The morning window in each city depends on its own sunrise and sunset.
Opening the new books
Customs differ between families and trades, and many keep them simple:
- Clean the shop or office and the place of worship, and light a lamp.
- Draw a swastik and write “shubh” and “labh” with kumkum on the first page of the new account book, or on the door.
- Worship Ganesha first, then Lakshmi, with flowers, rice, kumkum and sweets.
- Make the first entry of the year in the books, and greet customers and staff with sweets.
Families who did chopda pujan on the Diwali evening often treat Labh Pancham as the first working day of the year.
Gyan Panchami for Jains
For Jains the same tithi is Gyan Panchami (Jnana Panchami), a day to honour knowledge and the sacred books. Our Jain site has a Gyan Panchami page with its own date and observances.
Why the window differs from city to city
Panchami begins and ends at one instant, but sunrise, and so the first third of the daylight, comes at a different clock time in each city. Ahmedabad’s morning starts later than Kolkata’s on the same Indian clock, so its window starts later too. Abroad the date itself can move by a day where Panchami meets sunrise on another day.