Next Amavasya: Amavasya — Friday, 11 September 2026
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🙏 Pitru Devas & Lord Shiva
Amavasya
🗓️ Krishna Amavasya Tithi (monthly)
The story behind Amavasya
Amavasya, the new-moon tithi that ends the dark fortnight, is the day set aside for the ancestors. Tarpan, pind daan and feeding the needy on this day are believed to reach the departed directly and to lift pitru dosha from the family. Somvati Amavasya (on a Monday) and Shani Amavasya (on a Saturday) are held to be especially powerful, and Mahalaya, Diwali and Mauni Amavasya are this same tithi in its most celebrated forms.
Amavasya Puja Vidhi
1
Holy Bath & Sankalpa
Bathe early, ideally in a river or with Ganga jal, and resolve to spend the day in remembrance of the ancestors.
2
Tarpan
Facing south, offer water mixed with black sesame and kusha grass to the ancestors, naming three generations on each side of the family.
3
Pitru Daan
Feed Brahmins, cows, crows and the needy; give food, cloth or sesame in the ancestors' name.
4
Peepal & Shiva Puja
Light a lamp under a peepal tree in the evening and offer water to Lord Shiva; keep the day satvik and free of new beginnings.
Amavasya Mantra
ॐ पितृभ्यः स्वधायिभ्यः स्वधा नमः॥
Meaning
Salutations to the ancestors who receive svadha, the offering.
How to chant
Chant while offering tarpan, once for each ancestor remembered.
Amavasya falls on Friday, 11 September 2026, based on Kaala's Drik Panchang calculation for the corresponding Tithi.
Amavasya is dated according to the lunar Tithi, not the fixed Gregorian calendar, so its Gregorian date shifts from year to year while its position in the lunar calendar stays consistent.
The astronomical event Amavasya marks happens at the same instant everywhere in the world, but which calendar day that instant falls on locally depends on each city's own timing — so cities in different countries can observe Amavasya a day apart.
