Bhishma Panchak 2026 begins on Friday, 20 November and ends on Tuesday, 24 November. These are the last five days of the holy month of Kartik, running from Dev Uthani (Prabodhini) Ekadashi to Kartik Purnima.
The timings below are for New Delhi, taken from Drik Panchang as cited by HinduTone. Check a local panchang if you live elsewhere.
Bhishma Panchak 2026: dates and tithi timings
- Begins: Friday, 20 November 2026 (Dev Uthani Ekadashi)
- Ekadashi tithi: 7:15 AM on 20 November to about 6:31 AM on 21 November
- Ends: Tuesday, 24 November 2026 (Kartik Purnima)
- Purnima tithi ends: 8:23 PM on 24 November
Haindavam’s festival calendar also lists the start on 20 November. In Australia, HinduTone notes that many families begin on Saturday, 21 November, because of the time difference.
The story behind the name
Bhishma, son of King Shantanu and the river goddess Ganga, took a lifelong vow never to marry or claim the throne. He was granted the boon of choosing the time of his own death.
After falling in the Kurukshetra war, he lay on a bed of arrows and waited for Uttarayana, the Sun’s northward journey, before leaving his body. During this time, he taught Yudhishthira about dharma, kingship and liberation. As the story is commonly told, Krishna then declared that the last five days of Kartik would carry Bhishma’s name.
How the vrat is kept
Practices differ by family and region. Common ones include:
- Bathing before sunrise and worshipping Vishnu or Krishna with tulsi, flowers, a ghee lamp and incense
- Offering tarpan (water) in Bhishma’s memory, using the verse your family priest or vrat book gives
- Reading or listening to the Vishnu Sahasranama, the Bhagavad Gita or stories from the Mahabharata
- Lighting a diya every evening and giving charity
Those who keep the vrat usually stay vegetarian during these days, and many also avoid onion and garlic. Some eat one meal a day or live on fruit and milk. If you are pregnant, elderly, diabetic, unwell or on regular medicines, please consult your doctor before fasting.
Panchuka in Odisha
In Odisha, these five days are known as Panchuka. Many families who normally eat fish and meat give them up and follow a simple habisha diet. Temple visits, especially to Jagannath temples, are common.
Panchuka ends on Kartik Purnima, which in Odisha is also the day of Boita Bandana and the start of the Bali Jatra fair in Cuttack.
Information based on HinduTone (citing Drik Panchang) and Haindavam.
Featured image: Billjones94, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
