Tihar 2083: Complete 5-Day Guide & Bhai Tika Time

Tihar 2083 Schedule at a Glance

Want to check these with the live calendar?Open Merokalam's Nepali Calendar.

Every October or November, Nepal does something no other country does quite the same way. For five days, it worships crows. Then dogs. Then cows. It spends one entire night turning every windowsill, rooftop, and doorstep into a constellation of oil lamp light. And it ends with sisters placing seven-color tika on their brothers' foreheads and asking the universe to keep them alive for another year.

That is Tihar. The Festival of Lights. Nepal's second-biggest festival and, for many Nepalis, the most emotionally layered week of the year. In 2083 BS (2026 AD), Tihar carries something extra: a rare astronomical overlap that compresses two festival days into one. Here is everything you need to know, in the order the festival actually unfolds.

Day 1: Kag Tihar, the Day of the Crow

Kartik 22, 2083 · Saturday, November 7, 2026

Most festivals begin with flowers or prayers. Tihar begins with food on the roof. Before anyone in the household eats breakfast, rice, bread, and sweets go out for the crows, not as a throwaway gesture but as a genuine offering. In the Nepali worldview, crows are not just birds; they are the messengers of Yama, the god of death, carrying word between the living and the dead.

Honoring the crow on the first morning of Tihar is essentially a preemptive act of goodwill. In Kathmandu, the crow population seems to know the schedule: by Kag Tihar morning, they are already waiting on rooftops across the city.

Day 2: Kukur Tihar, Nepal's Best Day If You Are a Dog

Kartik 22, 2083 · Saturday to Sunday, November 7 to 8, 2026 (overlap year)

If you have never seen Kukur Tihar, the photos look like a joke: a massive Saint Bernard wearing a marigold garland and a red tika between its eyes, or a street dog receiving a bowl of rice and a flower crown. It is not a joke. It is one of the most genuinely joyful days on the Nepali calendar.

Theologically, dogs guard the threshold between the living world and the realm of Yama. On Kukur Tihar, Nepal honors that service: every dog, owned or stray, healthy or old, receives a garland, a tika, a proper meal, and the kind of attention that would embarrass most dogs in any other country. Animal welfare organizations set up feeding stations near Pashupatinath and across Kathmandu neighborhoods.

In 2083, Kukur Tihar falls on Kartik 22, the same solar day as Laxmi Puja in the evening: dog worship in the morning, Laxmi Puja when the sun goes down.

Day 3: Laxmi Puja, the Night Nepal Glows Orange

Kartik 22–23, 2083 · November 7–9, 2026

By afternoon, the cleaning that started days ago reaches its final phase. Laxmi does not visit dirty homes, and this is not a metaphor: the cleaning of Laxmi Puja is the kind that moves furniture, scrubs corners, and brings new curtains out of storage. By evening, the floor designs appear, and then the lamps.

Deusi-Bhailo deserves its own mention. Groups of boys (Deusi) and girls (Bhailo) go from house to house, singing traditional songs, performing small dances at the gate, and receiving sel roti, money, and blessings in return. Some of the lyrics have been passed down unchanged for generations, making it one of the most purely intact folk traditions in Nepal's festival calendar.

Day 4: Gai Tihar, Goru Tihar, and Mha Puja

Kartik 23–24, 2083 · Monday to Tuesday, November 9 to 10, 2026

The fourth day honors Nepal's national animal. Cows receive garlands and tika in the morning; grain, grass, and sweets are offered. In city apartments where no cow exists within walking distance, people seek out a neighbor's cow or visit a communal puja at a local mandir.

For the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley, the fourth day carries something entirely different in addition: Mha Puja.

Day 5: Bhai Tika, the Bond That Holds

Kartik 25, 2083 · Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Tihar ends on the day that, for many Nepali families, is the whole point. Sisters apply a seven-color tika on their brothers' foreheads. Seven colors, seven protections. Before the tika, a mandala is drawn around the brother's feet, puja is performed, and a prayer goes out that this person will stay safe for another year.

Brothers give gifts in return: money, clothing, jewelry, or whatever the household can offer. But the tika is the center of it. The mythological origin is Yamuna going to find her brother Yama, the death god, because he had not visited. She welcomed him, applied tika, and prayed for his protection; Yama declared anyone who received this tika from a sister would be guarded from untimely death.

Diaspora: What Time Is 11:39 AM NST in Your City?

For the roughly 3 to 4 million Nepalis living outside Nepal, Bhai Tika on video call is the reality: sisters in Kathmandu, brothers in London, Doha, or Sydney, the phone propped against the wall, the mandala on the floor, fingers pressed against the camera lens. Know your time zone conversion so you do not miss the muhurat.

Diaspora community events are typically held on the nearest Saturday, which is November 14, 2026 for Tihar 2083.

Why Tihar Falls on Different Dates Every Year

Tihar follows the lunar calendar, not the solar Bikram Sambat calendar. Specifically, the five days track the tithis around Kartik Amavasya, the new moon night of Kartik month. A lunar cycle is roughly 29.5 days, while a solar month is about 30 to 31 days; they do not align, so the same moon phase falls on different solar calendar dates each year. Tihar has landed anywhere from late October to mid-November in recent years, and that range will continue.

The rare overlap in 2083, where two tithis fall within one solar day, is a direct result of this lunar-solar mismatch. It requires the Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti to interpret the panchanga and issue a ruling, which is the authoritative guide.

Tihar vs Diwali: Related But Not the Same

People outside Nepal often call Tihar "Nepal's Diwali." The connection is real, but the description is incomplete. Both happen around Kartik Amavasya. Both involve Laxmi Puja, oil lamps, and rangoli. But Tihar has structure that Diwali does not.

The Deusi-Bhailo singing tradition has no equivalent in Indian Diwali celebrations. The animal worship days are entirely Nepali. Bhai Tika is performed on a different tithi with a distinct seven-color ritual form. Tihar did not borrow from Diwali; both drew from the same astronomical and cultural well, and went different directions.

Bhai Tika Dates: Next 5 Years

For diaspora planning, annual leave booking, or simply curiosity about how the lunar cycle moves, here are approximate Bhai Tika dates. These are estimates from lunar cycle patterns; verify with the official panchanga for each year before booking travel or leave.

Bhai Tika swings from late October to mid-November. Years with an Adhika Maas (intercalary month) push the date later than typical. Always verify with the official Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti publication before planning travel or annual leave.

Nepal Has More New Years Than Any Country Should

Here is a fact worth knowing: Bhai Tika night is also the Nepal Sambat New Year for the Newar community. Nepal Sambat 1147 begins at the end of Tihar 2083. So in the space of five days, Nepal observes Tihar's five-day ritual sequence, and the Kathmandu Valley's Newar community also welcomes a new calendar year with Mha Puja: two separate festival systems, layered on the same week.

Nepal also celebrates Dashain just two weeks before Tihar every year, Gregorian New Year on January 1, Bikram Sambat New Year on Baisakh 1 in April, and Losar for Tamang, Gurung and Sherpa communities. The country runs on several different calendar systems simultaneously, and treats all of them seriously. See our Dashain 2083 guide for the festival that precedes Tihar every year, and our Losar 2084 guide for the New Year traditions of the Gurung, Tamang and Sherpa communities.

How to Say Happy Tihar

Frequently Asked Questions