Pitru Paksha 2026, day by day
The fortnight kept for the ancestors runs from Sunday 27 September to Saturday 10 October 2026. Each day is a tithi, and the tithi is what the priest works from. Here are the fourteen days and the fifteen tithis that fall in them, with the hour each tithi ends.
Rashtriya Panchang, Saka 1948
The government's panchang. Every tithi and hour below is its
27 September – 10 October 2026
Fourteen days and fifteen tithis, Pratipada to Amavasya
Saturday 10 October 2026
Sarva Pitru Amavasya, kept for all the ancestors together
When is Pitru Paksha 2026?
From Sunday 27 September to Saturday 10 October 2026. The fortnight begins on the first day of the dark half of the month and closes on अमावस्या amavasya, the new moon, which is सर्वपितृ अमावस्या Sarva Pitru Amavasya, the amavasya kept for all the ancestors together, also called महालय अमावस्या Mahalaya Amavasya.
Tithi and date
Why does the tithi matter more than the date?
Because the tithi is what the day is, and the date is only how a family finds it. पितृ पक्ष pitru paksha is the fortnight of the year kept for the ancestors, the dark half of the lunar month of भाद्रपद Bhadrapada, in which a श्राद्ध shraddh, the rite for the dead, is performed. Each of its days is a तिथि tithi, a day of the lunar calendar, counted from the new moon and from the full moon rather than from midnight. A tithi can begin and end at any hour of the clock day, and the same tithi falls on a different date from one year to the next. By custom a family keeps its shraddh on the tithi of the death, in this fortnight, and the tithi is what the priest works from. What is Pitru Paksha has the fortnight itself, and what is shraddh has the rite.
What is the tithi of each day of Pitru Paksha 2026?
Fourteen days, from Bhadrapada Krishna Pratipada to the amavasya. Two tithis fall on 3 October, so the fortnight has fifteen tithis in fourteen days.
| Date & day | Tithi | The tithi ends | What the day is | In the fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2026Sunday | Bhadrapada Krishna Pratipada | 20:59 | Pitru Paksha beginsThe first day | Begins |
| 28 September 2026Monday | Bhadrapada Krishna Dvitiya | 19:14 | The second day | Shraddh day |
| 29 September 2026Tuesday | Bhadrapada Krishna Tritiya | 17:11 | The third day | Shraddh day |
| 30 September 2026Wednesday | Bhadrapada Krishna Chaturthi | 14:56 | The fourth day | Shraddh day |
| 1 October 2026Thursday | Bhadrapada Krishna Panchami | 12:36 | The fifth day | Shraddh day |
| 2 October 2026Friday | Bhadrapada Krishna Shashthi | 10:16 | The sixth day | Shraddh day |
| 3 October 2026Saturday | Bhadrapada Krishna Saptamithen Ashtami | 08:00Ashtami ends 05:52 on 4 October | The seventh and eighth daysTwo tithis in one day | Shraddh day |
| 4 October 2026Sunday | Bhadrapada Krishna Navami | 03:54 on 5 October | The ninth day | Shraddh day |
| 5 October 2026Monday | Bhadrapada Krishna Dashami | 02:08 on 6 October | The tenth day | Shraddh day |
| 6 October 2026Tuesday | Bhadrapada Krishna Ekadashi | 00:35 on 7 October | The eleventh day | Shraddh day |
| 7 October 2026Wednesday | Bhadrapada Krishna Dvadashi | 23:17 | The twelfth day | Shraddh day |
| 8 October 2026Thursday | Bhadrapada Krishna Trayodashi | 22:17 | The thirteenth day | Shraddh day |
| 9 October 2026Friday | Bhadrapada Krishna Chaturdashi | 21:36 | The fourteenth day | Shraddh day |
| 10 October 2026Saturday | Bhadrapada Krishna Amavasya | 21:20 | Sarva Pitru AmavasyaAlso Mahalaya Amavasya. For all the ancestors together | Closes |
How to read this table
Every date, tithi and hour here is from the Rashtriya Panchang for Saka 1948, in Indian Standard Time. The panchang counts a day from sunrise to sunrise, so a tithi that ends after midnight is given as an hour of the next morning, with the date. Where two tithis end within one day both are given. Which day within the fortnight a family keeps is custom, and the priest sets it from the tithi.
Which day of the fortnight does a family keep?
By custom, the day whose tithi matches the tithi of the death, and the closing amavasya for all the ancestors together.
The rite is performed in aparahna kaal, the part of the day kept for the ancestral rites, roughly midday to mid-afternoon. Its clock hours are not fixed, and the priest finds them from the panchang for the day and the place.
Aparahna kaal27 September – 10 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
When does Pitru Paksha 2026 start and end?
Which day of the fortnight is my family's shraddh on?
Why does the tithi end at a different hour each day?
What time of day is the shraddh performed?
Explore related dates
What is Pitru Paksha?
The fortnight kept for the ancestors, what is done on each of its days, which day a family keeps, and what else it is called.
What is shraddh?
The rite performed on the days of the fortnight, who it is for, what is offered, and its order.
Aparahna kaal
The part of the day the rite is kept for, how the priest finds it, and which place's window governs.
Sarva Pitru Amavasya 2026
The closing day of the fortnight, Saturday 10 October 2026, who it is kept for, and its other name.
Where do these dates come from?
Every date on this page is from the sources below.