Bhai Dooj 2026 falls on Wednesday, 11 November 2026 in New Delhi, closing the five-day Diwali cycle after Lakshmi Puja on 8 November. DrikPanchang’s New Delhi table lists the festival on 11 November with Aparahna tilak (Tika) time from 1:10 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. (about two hours ten minutes). Kartika Shukla Dwitiya begins 2:00 p.m. on 10 November and ends 3:53 p.m. on 11 November (Delhi local). This Monday PILLAR (also ADVANCE) seeds the Festival guides India cluster for the post-Diwali brother–sister day—without twinning the already-live Diwali, Karva Chauth, Chhath, Gurpurab, Navratri, Dussehra, or Durga Puja hubs.
Why 11 November in Delhi—and what Aparahna means
Hindu calendars mark Bhai Dooj (also Bhau Beej, Bhai Tika, Bhai Phota, Yama Dwitiya) on Kartika Shukla Dwitiya. For New Delhi in 2026, DrikPanchang locks the public observance day on Wednesday 11 November because the tithi is present through the day’s main ritual window. The preferred tilak muhurat is Aparahna—the afternoon period—not sunrise. Families outside Delhi should open their city Panchang: the Gregorian day can shift by one date for diaspora cities when sunrise and tithi diverge.
Independent Indian festival calendars (AstroSage / PanchangBodh style tables) place Delhi’s aparahna tilak window in the same early-afternoon band (roughly 1:09–3:19 p.m.). Treat those as corroboration, not a second invented clock—use Drik’s 1:10–3:20 p.m. Delhi figures as this desk’s primary numbers.
How Bhai Dooj is kept (and regional names)
Typical practice: the sister prepares a puja thali, applies roli and rice (akshat) as tilak, performs aarti, and feeds her brother; he returns a gift and a promise of care. Scripts and family custom vary. Bhau Beej is the common name in Maharashtra and Gujarat (often with a chalked square for the brother to sit in); Bhai Phota in Bengal uses sandal paste and a longer fast until the ritual finishes; Bhai Tika is the Nepali framing with a multi-colour tilak. Where there is no brother or sister, cousins or a moon-facing substitute are traditional in many homes—this page does not invent a single mandatory vidhi.
The older katha links the day to Yama and Yamuna: Yamuna welcomes her brother, feeds him, and asks that anyone honoured by a sister on this Dwitiya be spared fear of Yama. A second popular strand ties Krishna’s return to Subhadra after Narakasura to the same brother–sister welcome. Both are cultural context, not competing “official” histories.
People also ask: is Bhai Dooj the same as Raksha Bandhan?
No. Raksha Bandhan (Shravan) centres on the rakhi thread and the brother’s protection vow. Bhai Dooj 2026 is the Kartika Dwitiya visit—tilak, meal, and gift—closing Diwali week. Searchers often jump from Diwali date queries into “when is Bhai Dooj”; keep the keywords and URLs distinct so the Festival guides India cluster does not cannibalise itself.
Where this sits in the five Diwali days
Lakshmi Puja / main Diwali for 2026 is already covered on this desk for Sunday, 8 November. Govardhan Puja / Annakut typically falls the next day; Bhai Dooj closes the sequence on 11 November. For the later November sun-arghya vrat, see our Chhath guide; for the Kartik Purnima Sikh observance, see Gurpurab. This page owns Bhai Dooj 2026 / Yama Dwitiya / Bhau Beej only.
Related Sunday Profile festival guides
Deepen the Festival guides India hub with our live Diwali 2026 date guide (https://www.thesundayprofile.com/diwali-2026-date-guide) (Lakshmi Puja 8 Nov) and Chhath Puja 2026 dates guide (https://www.thesundayprofile.com/chhath-puja-2026-dates-guide) (Sandhya Arghya mid-November)—autumn neighbours without twinning this Bhai Dooj primary keyword.
Sources and caveats
Primary Delhi date, Aparahna Tika window (1:10–3:20 p.m.), and Dwitiya bounds: DrikPanchang Bhai Dooj 2026 (New Delhi). India-wide 11 November framing, Yama–Yamuna / Subhadra context, and Bhau Beej–Bhai Phota naming: Bhaktiangan Bhai Dooj 2026 explainer. Afternoon muhurat band corroboration: AstroSage / PanchangBodh-style Delhi festival tables. No invented city muhurats beyond Delhi, gift prices, or crowd figures. Confirm your city Panchang and family pandit before locking travel or leave.