When Is Amavasya? Next Amavasya Date, Tithi Timings and Amavasya List

When is Amavasya? Families ask this every month, because the new moon is a day for the holy bath, charity and tarpan for the ancestors. The box below shows the next Amavasya — its date and Amavasya tithi timings — worked out from sunrise in your city, followed by the full Amavasya list for this year and next, with special Amavasyas such as Somvati, Shani and Mauni marked.

How is the Amavasya date decided?

Amavasya is the last (thirtieth) tithi of Krishna paksha, when the moon is with the sun and cannot be seen. A tithi depends on the distance between the Moon and the Sun, so Amavasya tithi can begin at any hour. For the bath, charity and tarpan, the day taken is the one on which Amavasya tithi prevails at sunrise — the udaya tithi. The list above follows this rule.

Some rituals have their own timing: Diwali Lakshmi Puja is done on the Amavasya in Pradosh Kaal, and shraddh in Aparahna. So a festival sometimes falls a day before the date in the Amavasya list — in 2026, for example, Diwali is on 8 November while the snan-daan Kartik Amavasya is on 9 November.

Purnimanta and Amanta — why do month names differ?

North India follows the Purnimanta calendar, in which a month ends on Purnima. Gujarat, Maharashtra and South India follow the Amanta calendar, in which a month ends on Amavasya. So the same Amavasya has different names — the Diwali Amavasya is Kartik Amavasya in North India and Ashwin Amavasya in the Amanta calendar. Our list shows the North Indian names; the date is the same in both.

Special Amavasyas and their significance

Amavasya	Significance
Somvati Amavasya	An Amavasya on a Monday — married women circle the peepal 108 times; the bath and charity bring special merit
Shani (Shanishchari) Amavasya	An Amavasya on a Saturday — worship of Shani Dev, charity of mustard oil and black sesame
Bhaumvati Amavasya	An Amavasya on a Tuesday — worship of Hanuman ji and remedies for freedom from debt
Mauni Amavasya (Magh)	A holy bath in silence — the biggest bathing day at the Prayagraj Sangam
Shani Jayanti (Jyeshtha)	Birth anniversary of Shani Dev; in North India also the Vat Savitri fast
Hariyali Amavasya (Shravan)	A day for planting trees and worshipping Shiva and Parvati
Sarva Pitru Amavasya (Ashwin)	The last day of Pitru Paksha — shraddh for all ancestors and their farewell
Diwali (Kartik)	Lakshmi Puja on the Amavasya in Pradosh Kaal

In 2026 Somvati Amavasya falls on 15 June and 9 November, and Shani Amavasya on 16 May and 10 October (with Sarva Pitru Amavasya).

Pitru tarpan vidhi on Amavasya

1. Bathe in the morning in a holy river or at home with Gangajal and black sesame in the water.
2. Sit facing south. Take water, black sesame, kusha grass and white flowers in a vessel.
3. Saying your ancestors’ names and gotra, offer water from your joined palms three times each and chant “Om Pitribhyah Namah”.
4. Set aside a portion of food in the ancestors’ name for a cow, a dog, crows and ants.
5. Give food, clothes and dakshina to a Brahmin or someone in need.
6. In the evening light a mustard-oil lamp under a peepal tree and in the south of your home.

Remedies for pitru dosh and Shani on Amavasya

• Peepal puja: in the morning offer water, raw milk and black sesame to a peepal tree, and in the evening light a mustard-oil lamp and walk around it seven times.
• Shiva puja: offer water, bel leaves and black sesame to the Shivling and chant “Om Namah Shivaya” 108 times.
• Shani Amavasya: offer mustard oil to Shani Dev, give black sesame, urad and blankets in charity, and read the Hanuman Chalisa.
• Pitru dosh: in the ancestors’ name give green fodder to a cow, food to crows and grain to someone in need. Reading the seventh chapter of the Gita is also considered auspicious.
• Somvati Amavasya: married women walk around a peepal tree 108 times and give suhag items in charity.

Amavasya vrat

Many people also fast on Amavasya, especially on Somvati and Mauni Amavasya. Bathe in the morning and take the sankalp, keep a fruit fast through the day, do tarpan for the ancestors and worship Lord Shiva or Vishnu, and in the evening, after lighting lamps, break the fast with a sattvic meal. On Mauni Amavasya the tradition is to keep silence until the bath or for the whole day.

What to do and avoid on Amavasya

Do	Avoid
Holy bath, pitru tarpan and charity	Meat, alcohol and tamasic food
Worship of Lord Shiva and Shani Dev	Starting new work, griha pravesh or big purchases
A mustard-oil lamp under the peepal	Cutting hair and nails
Feeding cows, dogs, crows and ants	Quarrels, anger and insulting anyone
Meditation, mantra japa and silence	Going alone to lonely places late at night (folk belief)

Significance of Amavasya

The scriptures call Amavasya the tithi of the ancestors. It is believed that on this day the ancestors look to their descendants for tarpan, and that tarpan and charity calm pitru dosh. Amavasya is also auspicious for worshipping Lord Shiva and Shani Dev. With no moon in the sky the mind can feel heavy, so there is a tradition of meditation, japa and silence — Mauni Amavasya is its greatest form.

Shukla paksha begins the day after Amavasya, and Purnima comes about fifteen days later. See When is Purnima for the next full moon and When is Ekadashi for Ekadashi. After Shiva puja sing Om Jai Shiv Omkara, and see today’s tithi on Today’s Panchang. Read more on Wikipedia.

Frequently asked questions