Diwali 2026: Lakshmi Puja Muhurat for 12 US Cities
October 7, 2026 · 4 min read
It happens every year in the family WhatsApp group. Someone forwards the muhurat from India, someone converts it from IST, and the puja ends up planned for 7:24 in the morning. The Lakshmi Puja window isn't a clock time you can carry from one country to another. It's built from your own sunset, so it has to be worked out for the place you live.
How the window is worked out
The traditional Lakshmi Puja muhurat is the stretch of evening where three things overlap:
- Amavasya: the new-moon tithi that makes it Diwali night. In 2026 it runs from 12:59 AM Eastern on November 8 to 2:02 AM Eastern on November 9 (9:59 PM to 11:02 PM Pacific), so it covers the evening of the 8th everywhere in the continental US.
- Pradosh Kaal: the first part of the night, starting at your local sunset.
- Vrishabha (Taurus) lagna: a fixed sign on the eastern horizon, chosen so that the Lakshmi you welcome stays. In November it rises soon after sunset and lasts just under two hours.
Sunset and the rising of Vrishabha both depend on exactly where you are on the map. That's why Boston and Atlanta, which are both on Eastern time, get windows that start more than an hour apart.
Lakshmi Puja muhurat, Sunday, November 8, 2026
| City | Sunset | Lakshmi Puja muhurat | Pradosh Kaal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area (San Jose) | 5:02 PM | 5:21 – 7:12 PM | 5:02 – 7:46 PM |
| Los Angeles | 4:53 PM | 5:14 – 7:06 PM | 4:53 – 7:35 PM |
| Seattle | 4:41 PM | 4:56 – 6:38 PM | 4:41 – 7:34 PM |
| Phoenix | 5:30 PM | 5:50 – 7:43 PM | 5:30 – 8:11 PM |
| Dallas | 5:30 PM | 5:51 – 7:44 PM | 5:30 – 8:10 PM |
| Houston | 5:29 PM | 5:51 – 7:46 PM | 5:29 – 8:07 PM |
| Austin | 5:38 PM | 5:59 – 7:54 PM | 5:38 – 8:16 PM |
| Chicago | 4:36 PM | 4:54 – 6:41 PM | 4:36 – 7:23 PM |
| Atlanta | 5:39 PM | 5:59 – 7:52 PM | 5:39 – 8:20 PM |
| Washington, DC | 5:00 PM | 5:19 – 7:08 PM | 5:00 – 7:45 PM |
| New York / New Jersey | 4:46 PM | 5:04 – 6:53 PM | 4:46 – 7:32 PM |
| Boston | 4:29 PM | 4:46 – 6:33 PM | 4:29 – 7:16 PM |
If your city isn't on the list
Use the closest city on the list and leave ten minutes of slack at each end. Within one metro area the times shift by a minute or two. Across a state they can shift by ten minutes or more.
Three mistakes to avoid
- Converting India's muhurat. 5:54 PM in New Delhi is 7:24 AM in New York, which is nowhere near your sunset, and sunset is what the window is built around.
- Copying India's clock time. Delhi's window is 5:54–7:50 PM. If you used those same hours in Boston, about two-thirds of your puja would fall after Boston's window closes at 6:33.
- Worrying about the exact minute. The tradition treats all of Pradosh Kaal as the right part of the evening for Lakshmi Puja, and the Vrishabha window is the best part of it. If your family can't sit down until 7:00 PM in New Jersey, you are still inside Pradosh Kaal.
The rest of the week
Dhanteras is Friday, November 6. In 2026, two of the five Diwali days fall on a different date in America than in India. The whole week, with a Dhanteras table by city, is in our companion piece, The Five Days of Diwali 2026, on American Time.