Festival Yama, Bhairava
Kukur Tihar
The second of the five days of Tihar, kept for the dog, who guards the gate of Yama and who went with Yudhishthira to the end of the road when everyone else had fallen.
Kukur Tihar 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November, computed for Chennai.
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
- Sunday, 8 November 2026
- Thursday, 28 October 2027
- Tuesday, 17 October 2028
Where Kukur Tihar falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2026: 8 Nov
- 2027: 28 Oct, 11 days earlier
- 2028: 17 Oct, 10 days earlier
The days of Tihar
Part of the same festival, in order, in the Nepal calendar
- Kag Tihar …
- Kukur Tihar(this page) …
- Laxmi Puja · Gai Tihar …
- Bhai Tika …
The dates, year by year
Nepal calendar, computed for Chennai
What the day is
The second of the five days of Tihar, kept for the dog, who guards the gate of Yama and who went with Yudhishthira to the end of the road when everyone else had fallen. Every dog is given a tika of red sindur on the forehead, a garland of marigold and a good meal, the street dogs and the police dogs along with the household ones. Nothing is asked of the dog in return, which is much of the point of the day.
- Deity
- Yama, Bhairava
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
Significance
The dog is honoured because it guards the door of Yama as it guards the door of the house, and because in the Mahabharata it was the dog that walked with Yudhishthira to the end when everyone else had fallen. Every dog is honoured, not only the family's own: the street dog, the police dog and the dog of a neighbour are all given the tika and the garland. It is the elders' lesson in gratitude without condition, since the dog is given everything and asked for nothing. Children usually remember it as their favourite day of Tihar.
How it is kept
The puja as a household does it, in order. Tick each step as it is done.
Kukur Tihar: how it is kept
Keep ready
- red tika powder, abir or sindur
- rice grains
- marigold garlands
- a small lamp and incense
- good food for the dog
The steps
0 of 7 done
What is cooked
The dog is given meat, eggs, milk and sel roti, or rice with curd for a vegetarian house; the family eats its own meal after, and the Tihar sweets are fried for the next day's Laxmi Puja.
The hour
Clock times for Sunday, 8 November 2026 at Chennai
Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi at sunrise; the tika and the garland are given in the morning.
The main rite. Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi at sunrise. The tika and the garland are given in the morning, and the dog is fed at midday.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 06:05 | the udaya tithi, the tithi running as the sun comes up |
Sunrise 06:05, sunset 17:40, 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 Chaturdasi from previous day 10:48 until 11:28 | then Krishna Amavasai until next day 12:32 |
| Nakshatra | Swati until next day 07:24 | then Vishakha until 2 days later, 09:19 |
| Rahu kaal | 16:13 to 17:40 (1 h 27 min) | the eighth of the daylight left alone for a beginning |
| Yamaganda | 11:53 to 13:20 (1 h 27 min) | the eighth ruled by Yama, also avoided |
| Gulika | 14:46 to 16:13 (1 h 27 min) | the eighth of Saturn’s son; what is done in it is said to repeat |
| Abhijit | 11:29 to 12:16 (0 h 46 min) | the midday muhurta, good for most things |
| Moonrise | 05:03 | moonset 16:51 |
For Sunday, 8 November 2026 at Chennai. A time marked "previous day" or "next day" is on the clock of that day.
The fast
No fast is kept. The dog is fed first, with meat, egg, milk or whatever the house has.
What is avoided
No dog is beaten, chased or refused food on the day, and a stray is not driven away from the gate.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
Where the regions differ
Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim keep it; the rest of India keeps the same day as Naraka Chaturdashi and Chhoti Diwali with the oil bath instead. Bhairava's dog is given the same honour at the Kathmandu shrines on the day.
In other regions
- North India
- North India keeps the same tithi as Naraka Chaturdashi, Chhoti Diwali, with the oil bath and the Yama lamp.
- Nepal (the dates above)
- Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim keep Kukur Tihar; the police and the army hold their own ceremony for their dogs in Kathmandu.
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
Where this day is kept
Nearest first from Chennai, with what is recorded about each.
Temples of Bhairava near you
Not recorded for this day in particular: the nearest temples of the day's own gods, for a reader whose own temple is not listed above.
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal, with the peacock shrine
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Adipureeswarar and Vadivudai Amman with Thyagaraja
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Masilamaniswarar with Kodiyidai Nayaki
- Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu · Vadaranyeswarar with Vandarkuzhali, and the Urdhva Tandava Nataraja
Your family's own temple comes first, and its calendar is the one that decides.
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A temple is listed here only where the gazetteer's own line names this day, or where this day's own entry names the town, or where the day belongs to the ancestors or the nagas and the temple is recorded for that rite. Where neither table says anything, nothing is listed as kept for the day; where fewer than three are, the nearest temples of the day's own gods are added under a heading of their own.
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.