Is Bhai Dooj on 10 or 11 November 2026

Short answer: Bhai Dooj 2026 is on Wednesday, 11 November in India. If you live in the US, Canada, the UK or the UAE, your local calendar will most likely say Tuesday, 10 November. Both are correct for where they were calculated. This guide explains why, gives the tilak timing, and covers the festival's other names. For gift ideas and a way to reach a sibling in another country on the day, see our Bhai Dooj gifts page.

Bhai Dooj closes the five days of Diwali. In 2026 the days fall like this:

• Dhanteras: Friday, 6 November
• Choti Diwali: Saturday, 7 November
• Diwali (Lakshmi Puja): Sunday, 8 November
• Govardhan Puja: Monday, 9 November
• Bhai Dooj: Wednesday, 11 November in India

You may notice a gap on Tuesday. That is the reason for the confusion, and it is explained below.

Why two dates are going around

Hindu festivals follow tithis, the lunar days, which start and end at any hour. Bhai Dooj falls on the Dwitiya tithi, the second lunar day of the bright half of Kartik. In 2026:

• Dwitiya begins: about 2:00 pm IST, Tuesday 10 November
• Dwitiya ends: about 3:53 pm IST, Wednesday 11 November

So the tithi touches both days. Panchangs decide which day to keep by looking at the afternoon, the Aparahna period, because the tilak is traditionally done then. On Tuesday the tithi only starts in the middle of the afternoon in India. On Wednesday it covers the whole afternoon. So India keeps Wednesday, 11 November.

Some sites explain the date with the udaya tithi rule instead: the tithi that is running at sunrise gives the day its name. At sunrise on Wednesday in India, Dwitiya is running. At sunrise on Tuesday, it hasn't started. Both rules point to the 11th in India.

Why the US, UK and UAE get 10 November

The tithi starts at the same instant everywhere in the world. What changes is the local clock. Countries behind India see the tithi begin earlier in their day, and end before their Wednesday afternoon.

Here is the same tithi on local clocks. These are converted from the IST times above and are approximate:

Read the US row and it is clear: the whole of Tuesday afternoon in New York sits inside Dwitiya, and the tithi has ended before Wednesday's sunrise. A panchang computed for New York has only one sensible answer, the 10th. Sydney is the mirror image: Dwitiya starts on Tuesday evening and covers the whole of Wednesday, so Australia stays on the 11th.

The Gulf is the closest call. In Dubai the tithi covers Tuesday afternoon and part of Wednesday afternoon, and calendars computed for the UAE generally list the 10th. If your family follows the India date instead, the tithi is still running on Wednesday until about 2:23 pm, so you lose nothing.

Your local mandir publishes its own calendar, and that is the one to follow if you go by a temple. Most families don't overthink it. If your parents in India celebrate on Wednesday and you're in London, doing the tilak on Wednesday over a video call is perfectly normal.

The tilak muhurat for Bhai Dooj 2026

In India the Aparahna muhurat on Wednesday, 11 November is roughly 1:31 pm to 3:45 pm. Expect a few minutes of difference between Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, because the afternoon window depends on local sunrise and sunset.

A few practical points:

• The muhurat is a preference. Plenty of families do the tilak in the morning, before the brother leaves for work, or before lunch so the meal can follow.
• Rahu Kaal is avoided by some families. If yours does, check a panchang for your city.
• For a video-call tilak across time zones, choose a time that is daytime for both people. Indian evening is morning in the US. Indian afternoon is morning in the UK.

What happens on Bhai Dooj

The core is the same almost everywhere. The sister prepares a thali with roli or kumkum, rice, a diya, sweets and a coconut or dry fruit. She applies the tilak to her brother's forehead, does the aarti, prays for his long life and feeds him. The brother gives her a gift and a promise to stand by her. Many families now exchange gifts both ways, and sisters celebrate with sisters and brothers with brothers.

The best-known story is of Yama, the god of death, visiting his sister Yamuna on this day. She welcomed him with a tilak and a meal, and he declared that any brother who visits his sister on Dwitiya would be protected. Some families also remember Krishna visiting his sister Subhadra after defeating Narakasura, when she welcomed him with a tilak and flowers.

One festival, five names

In Nepal, Tihar follows the Nepali calendar, so check the Nepal government's holiday list for the official Bhai Tika date and time.

If your brother or sister lives abroad

This is the part a panchang can't help with. A rakhi or gift sent from India to the US or UK in Diwali week often arrives late, because couriers are busy and customs is slow. Some families have made peace with that and treat the parcel as a keepsake that turns up whenever it turns up.

What does arrive on the day:

1. A video-call tilak at an agreed time. Both of you keep a thali ready. The sister does the gestures on her side, the brother applies the tilak himself on his. It feels closer than you'd expect.
2. A message in your own words. Our Bhai Dooj messages for brother and sister has seventy lines in Hindi, Hinglish and English to start from.
3. A gift that opens on the day in their time zone. A Time Capsule stays locked until the date you choose, so you can make it during Diwali week and have it open on Bhai Dooj where they are. Open when letters and a scrapbook of the two of you also work well between siblings. Each one is a private link that opens on any phone with no app.

If you're planning for the whole family, our Diwali gifts page covers presents for parents and relatives abroad, and the sibling festival in August has its own guide at Raksha Bandhan gifts.

Key facts

• Bhai Dooj 2026 in India: Wednesday, 11 November
• US, Canada, UK, UAE: calendars usually list Tuesday, 10 November
• Singapore, Australia, Nepal: Wednesday, 11 November
• Dwitiya tithi: about 2:00 pm IST on 10 November to 3:53 pm IST on 11 November
• Tilak muhurat in India: roughly 1:31 pm to 3:45 pm on the 11th, city-dependent
• Also called: Bhau Beej, Bhai Phonta, Bhai Tika, Yama Dwitiya

Whichever day your calendar says, the tilak means the same thing. Happy Bhai Dooj.