Dev Diwali falls on Tuesday, November 24, 2026, coinciding with Kartik Purnima.

Dev Diwali commemorates Lord Shiva’s victory over Tripurasura, three powerful demons named Vidyunmali, Tarakaksha and Viryavana, who together had conquered and terrorised the three worlds after building three formidable cities. Shiva destroyed the three cities and slew the demons, restoring cosmic balance. In celebration of this victory, the gods are believed to descend to Earth and bathe in the holy waters of the Ganga at Varanasi, giving the festival its other name, Tripurotsav, and its central belief: that on this one night each year, the divine themselves come to earth to celebrate alongside devotees.

• Illuminated ghats: Varanasi’s ghats, from Ravidas Ghat to Raj Ghat, are lined with lakhs of diyas, their light reflected in the Ganga
• Ganga Snan: devotees take a holy dip in the Ganga on the morning of Kartik Purnima, believed to cleanse sins and bring one closer to the divine
• Grand Ganga Aarti: synchronised aarti ceremonies are performed along the ghats as dusk falls, accompanied by conch shells, drums and Vedic chanting
• Temple visits: temples across Varanasi, including Kashi Vishwanath, observe special rituals through the day
• Cultural programmes: classical music, dance performances, and boat processions along the river accompany the evening’s religious observances

Dev Diwali is a celebration of light overcoming darkness in the most literal sense, a night when an entire riverfront transforms into an unbroken field of flame, and belief holds that the gods themselves are present to witness it. For devotees, the day carries the same themes as Diwali itself, the triumph of good over evil, but observed with a distinctly Varanasi character: fewer fireworks and festivities of the household kind, and instead a vast, shared act of devotion along the sacred Ganga.