Dev Deepawali in Varanasi: the night the ghats light up

Once a year, on the full-moon night of Kartik, the ghats of Varanasi are lined with oil lamps from one end of the river front to the other. In 2026 most sources put it on Tuesday 24 November. It is called Dev Deepawali, the Diwali of the gods, and it is among India’s best-known lamp festivals.

What it is

Dev Deepawali falls on Kartik Purnima, about two weeks after Diwali. The story behind it is Shiva’s victory over the demon Tripurasura, which is why the night is also known as Tripurotsav or Tripurari Purnima. In the telling, the gods come down to Kashi to celebrate (The Organiser retells the legend).

For the people who observe it, the day has two parts. Through Kartik they bathe in the Ganga at dawn, and on the full-moon evening they offer lamps to the river. Wikipedia names these as kartik snan and deepdan.

An old night, a newer spectacle

The legend is old. The mass lamp-lighting along the ghats is much younger, and accounts of its beginning disagree. Wikipedia says the practice began at Dashashwamedh Ghat in 1991 and credits Pandit Kishori Raman Dubey, known as Babu Maharaj. Other accounts name Panchganga Ghat and 1985. We cannot settle it from published sources, and both put the start within living memory.

What is clear is the scale it has reached. The state government now runs the night as a public programme. In 2023, ANI reported the chief minister lighting the first lamp and, in a separate report, ambassadors from 70 nations in attendance. In 2024 All India Radio reported the Vice President inaugurating Namo Ghat, then 11 lakh lamps on the 84 ghats, a laser show and green fireworks.

How many lamps

Officials and the press have reported 17 lakh to 25 lakh lamps for the last three years: 21 lakh in 2023, more than 17 lakh in 2024 and about 25 lakh in 2025. Those counts cover different areas, and they are announced rather than audited. We take them apart in the numbers behind Varanasi’s crowds.

How the night runs

The order below is how recent editions have gone, not a published 2026 programme.

Afternoon. Roads near the ghats fill up. Boats are booked out. Security teams take their positions: in recent years the city has had NDRF teams on the ghats, and in 2024 police declared a no-fly zone across the Varanasi commissionerate from 12 to 16 November, banning drones, kites, balloons and paragliders.

Twilight. Lamps are lit along the ghats as the light fades. Hindutone gives sunset at about 5:07 pm on 24 November.

Evening. The Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat is the fixed point, and the night’s programme is built around it. On recent festival nights there has also been a laser show and a short green-fireworks display.

Later. The crowd thins slowly. The lamps burn down along the water.

The date

Most sources give Tuesday 24 November 2026. One travel site gives 25 November and does not explain why. Hindutone, citing Drik Panchang, puts the Purnima tithi at about 11:42 pm on 23 November to 8:23 pm on 24 November, which fits the 24th. The date also moves a good deal from year to year; the chart is on the planning page.

Before you decide

Go if you want to see a river front lit by lakhs of lamps, you are comfortable in a large, slow-moving crowd and you can book a boat or a viewing spot early.

Skip it if crowds make you anxious, you need quiet to enjoy a place, or you cannot book ahead. Varanasi on an ordinary November evening, with the aarti and a dawn boat ride, is a calmer way to see the ghats.

Plan your night

• How to plan a Dev Deepawali trip: stays, boats, costs and a countdown checklist.
• Where to watch Dev Deepawali: boat, ghat steps or a terrace: what each view gives you, and what to confirm.
• Dev Deepawali etiquette on the ghats: photographs, the cremation ghats, lamps and touts.
• Varanasi tourist numbers and the Dev Deepawali data: visitor counts and lamp counts, and what they cannot tell you.
• Varanasi destination guide: the ghats, getting there and the rest of the year.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the official 2026 programme, road and boat rules for the night, or what boat rides and rooms will cost. We could not settle the festival’s origin. We did not find an official count of how many people attend: only estimates, covered in the data story.

Questions readers ask

When is Dev Deepawali in 2026?

Most sources put it on Tuesday 24 November 2026, the night of Kartik Purnima. One travel site gives 25 November. Hindutone, citing Drik Panchang, says the Purnima tithi runs from about 11:42 pm on 23 November to 8:23 pm on 24 November, and Varanasi's sunset that day is about 5:07 pm. Confirm against a Varanasi panchang before you book.

Is Dev Deepawali the same as Diwali?

No. Diwali falls about two weeks earlier, on the new-moon night. Dev Deepawali is on the full-moon night of Kartik. In Varanasi, Hindutone puts Diwali's Lakshmi Puja on Sunday 8 November 2026.

Why is Dev Deepawali celebrated?

It marks Shiva's victory over the demon Tripurasura. In the telling, the gods come down to Kashi to celebrate, which is why the day is also called Tripurotsav or Tripurari Purnima. On the day, people bathe in the Ganga and offer lamps to the river.

How many lamps are lit?

Officials and the press have reported 21 lakh in 2023, more than 17 lakh in 2024 and about 25 lakh in 2025. The counts cover different areas and are not independently audited, so read them as scale, not as a trend.

Do I need a ticket?

Not for the ghats. Boat rides are sold by operators, and some seats near the Dashashwamedh aarti are paid. Check what any seller is offering before you pay.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Dev Deepavali (Varanasi)
• The Organiser, Dev Deepawali: when the gods descend to Kashi (1 November 2025)
• Hindutone, Dev Deepawali 2026: date, Purnima time, story and significance
• All India Radio, Dev Deepawali celebrated at Varanasi ghats on Kartik Purnima (15 November 2024)
• ANI, Kashi glows in splendour on Dev Diwali with display of 21 lakh diyas (27 November 2023)
• ANI, Varanasi's Dev Deepavali draws ambassadors from 70 nations (27 November 2023)
• ETV Bharat (PTI), 25 lakh diyas lit across Varanasi ghats (5 November 2025)
• Amar Ujala, no-fly zone declared in Varanasi, 12 to 16 November 2024 (in Hindi)

Corrections

No corrections so far. If something is wrong, tell us below and we will fix it here with a dated note.