Dhanteras 2026 on 6 November: Puja Muhurat, Tithi and What to Buy

Every year, the same question returns a few days before Diwali: is Dhanteras on this day or the next? For 2026, the answer is settled by the lunar calendar itself. Dhanteras falls on Friday 6 November, because the Trayodashi tithi that defines it is present during the evening Pradosh Kaal on Friday, and is not present at sunset on Saturday. What varies is not the date, but the exact minutes of the evening puja — and that variation, by city and by panchang method, is why this article gives a Delhi figure with its source, rather than pretending one clock time fits all of India.

The date, and why it is 6 November, not 7 November

Dhanteras, also called Dhantrayodashi, is the first day of the five-day Diwali festival. In 2026 it falls on Friday 6 November. The festival is associated with Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Kubera and Lord Dhanvantari, and it marks the beginning of the Diwali week, which continues until Bhai Dooj on 10 November.

The reason the date is Friday, not Saturday, is the tithi rule explained by panchang sources: Dhanteras belongs to Trayodashi, the thirteenth day of the waning Moon in the month of Kartik. In 2026, that tithi only begins on Friday morning, at about 10:30 am, and runs until about 10:47 am on Saturday 7 November. The evening Lakshmi-Kubera puja must happen in Pradosh Kaal, the stretch just after sunset, while Trayodashi is still running. Friday evening satisfies that condition completely. By Saturday sunset, the tithi has already shifted to Chaturdashi, so Saturday cannot be Dhanteras. That is why every standard panchang shows Friday 6 November, and why purchases are advised after 10:30 am on Friday, when Trayodashi begins.

Puja muhurat in Delhi — and why your city may differ

For New Delhi, the main Dhanteras puja muhurat is 6:02 pm to 7:57 pm on 6 November, a window of 1 hour 56 minutes, during Vrishabha (Taurus) lagna and inside Pradosh Kaal, which runs from about 5:32 pm to 8:09 pm. These timings come from Drik Panchang’s Dhanteras muhurat page for New Delhi, as reported by multiple outlets.

Two cautions belong with that figure. First, Pradosh Kaal itself is sometimes given with slightly different minutes — for example, 5:33 pm to 8:09 pm in some listings — because panchang calculations differ by a few minutes depending on method and exact location. Second, the puja window in other cities is different because it depends on local sunset: Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata all have different Pradosh windows on the same evening. The Delhi figure in this article is a Delhi figure. If you are not in Delhi, check your local panchang rather than using Delhi minutes.

This article does not give a gold price, a silver price or a shopping forecast. Prices move daily and were not verified for the publication date, and a festival guide does not need a price prediction to be useful. What it does give is the timing structure — tithi, Pradosh Kaal and puja muhurat — that lets a household plan the evening.

What Dhanteras means, and what people traditionally buy

Dhanteras is traditionally a day for buying gold, silver, utensils and, in many households, vehicles — purchases associated with prosperity and with welcoming Lakshmi into the home. Gold and silver remain the most prominent Dhanteras purchases, and jewellers treat the day as one of the year’s major buying occasions. That tradition is the reason Dhanteras also matters beyond households: it is one of the days when India’s gold market is watched most closely.

The practical advice that follows from the tithi is simple. Do the main shopping after Trayodashi begins, at 10:30 am on Friday. Do the evening puja inside the muhurat window for your city. And treat any “best time to buy” list that gives clock times without naming a city with caution — the same logic that makes Delhi’s puja window specific to Delhi applies to shopping windows too.

Dhanteras is also, in 2026, the opening of a festival week that many households will feel in other ways — including, in Delhi, the air-quality debate that surrounds Diwali itself. That is a separate story, and it is covered separately on NewsXphere. For Dhanteras itself, the signal is simpler: a fixed date, a clear evening window, and a tradition that begins the Diwali week with a purchase meant to last.