New moon of Kartika; holy bath, lamps and tarpan for ancestors in the Diwali period

Kartik Amavasya is the new moon of the month of Kartika, the most sacred month of the Hindu year, and the tithi on which Diwali and Lakshmi Puja are celebrated. In 2026 Amavasya begins in the afternoon of Nov 8, so Diwali and Lakshmi Puja are on the evening of Nov 8, and Nov 9 is the Amavasya at sunrise, on which the holy bath, charity and ancestral rites are done. Bathing in the Ganga or another sacred river at dawn on Kartik Amavasya is said to give the merit of a thousand Ashvamedha sacrifices. It is an important day for tarpan and pinda daan: the ancestors, who came to earth during Pitru Paksha, return to their world on this night guided by the lamps of Diwali, and offerings made now are believed to satisfy them. Lighting a lamp under a peepal tree, feeding cows, crows and dogs, and giving food and warm clothes to the poor are recommended. Since Kartik is Vishnu's month, the Tulsi and Vishnu are also worshipped, and those observing the Kartik snan continue their dawn bathing.

Some keep a fast for the ancestors and eat once after tarpan.