Latitude, longitude and time zone 13.08, 80.27
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place.
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A tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Nepal calendar, computed for Chennai
- Wednesday, 27 October 2027
- Monday, 16 October 2028
- Sunday, 4 November 2029
Where Kag Tihar falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2027: 27 Oct
- 2028: 16 Oct, 10 days earlier
- 2029: 4 Nov, 18 days later
The days of Tihar
Part of the same festival, in order, in the Nepal calendar
- Kag Tihar(this page) …
- Kukur Tihar …
- Laxmi Puja · Gai Tihar …
- Bhai Tika …
The dates, year by year
Nepal calendar, computed for Chennai
What the day is
The first of the five days of Tihar, kept for the crow. Rice, sweets and a little of whatever is cooked are put out on the roof or on a leaf plate at the door at dawn, and the crow, who is held to be the messenger of Yama, is asked to carry the message away and to keep grief and death from the house. The five days honour a creature or a person in turn, and this is where they begin.
- Deity
- Yama
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
Significance
Tihar honours those who share the house with us, one creature a day, and the crow comes first because it is held to be Yama's messenger, the one who carries word of death. Feeding it well is asking it to carry grief away rather than bring it. The elders also say it is simply good manners to feed the neighbours first, and the crow is the noisiest neighbour a house has. The five days are also called Yamapanchak, the five days of Yama, and the kindness shown on them is held to be remembered at the end of life.
How it is kept
The puja as a household does it, in order. Tick each step as it is done.
Kag Tihar: how it is kept
Keep ready
- a leaf plate
- cooked rice
- sweets or sel roti
- a small oil lamp for the door
The steps
0 of 6 done
What is cooked
Rice, a sweet and a little of everything cooked are offered to the crow first; the family eats the same food afterwards. The first sel roti of Tihar are often fried on this day.
The hour
Clock times for Wednesday, 27 October 2027 at Chennai
Kartik Krishna Trayodashi at sunrise; the offering is put out early in the morning, before the household eats.
The main rite. Kartik Krishna Trayodashi at sunrise. The food is put out early in the morning, before the household eats.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 06:01 | the udaya tithi, the tithi running as the sun comes up |
Sunrise 06:01, sunset 17:44, UTC+5.5. These are the instants the rule is read at, not the temple's own puja times, which every temple prints for itself.
The day itself
| What | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi | Krishna Trayodasi from 01:04 until 22:50 | then Krishna Chaturdasi until next day 20:49 |
| Nakshatra | Uttara Phalguni until 13:01 | then Hasta until next day 11:36 |
| Rahu kaal | 11:53 to 13:21 (1 h 28 min) | the eighth of the daylight left alone for a beginning |
| Yamaganda | 07:29 to 08:57 (1 h 28 min) | the eighth ruled by Yama, also avoided |
| Gulika | 10:25 to 11:53 (1 h 28 min) | the eighth of Saturn’s son; what is done in it is said to repeat |
| Abhijit | 11:29 to 12:16 (0 h 47 min) | the midday muhurta, not counted on a Wednesday |
| Moonrise | 03:41 | moonset 15:55 |
For Wednesday, 27 October 2027 at Chennai. A time marked "previous day" or "next day" is on the clock of that day.
The fast
No fast is kept. What is cooked is offered to the crow first and eaten afterwards.
What is avoided
A crow is not shooed away, struck or scolded on the day, and the family does not eat before the crow has been fed.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
Where the regions differ
Nepal and the Nepali-speaking hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim keep the five days as Tihar or Yamapanchak; the rest of India keeps the same five days as Diwali without the animals. Traditions vary on whether the count begins here or at Dhanteras.
In other regions
- North India
- North India keeps the same tithi as Dhanteras, for Dhanvantari and Lakshmi and the buying of a new vessel, with the Yama deepam lit at the door at night.
- Nepal (the dates above)
- Nepal and the Nepali-speaking hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim keep Kag Tihar as the first day of the five.
The dates above are the Nepal reckoning, because that is the calendar this key belongs to. Switch the tradition on the calendar page to see how another one dates the same day.
Greeting
What is said to family and friends on the day
शुभ दीपावली तथा तिहारको शुभकामनाShubha Deepawali tatha Tiharko shubhakamana
Mantras
The prayers said with the day. Each opens with its words and meaning.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it.
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A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.