Mahalaya Paksham 2026 — Dates, Tithis & Peddala Amavasya
Mahalaya Paksham 2026
The fortnight, day by day
The rite is performed on the tithi on which the person died — not on the calendar date. This table maps each tithi to its date in 2026.
In Telugu reckoning these are the days of Bhadrapada Bahula, from Padyami to Amavasya. You will also see them written as Ashwina Krishna in North Indian calendars; the month name differs, the days are the same.
| Tithi | 2026 date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Purnima Shraddha | Sat 26 September | Bhadrapada Purnima. A preliminary day, before the paksha proper begins. |
| Padyami (Pratipada) | Sun 27 September | The first day of the paksha itself. |
| Dwitiya (Vidiya) | Mon 28 September | |
| Tritiya (Tadiya) | Tue 29 September | |
| Maha Bharani | Tue 29 September | Falls on the same day, when Bharani nakshatram prevails. Observed by families who keep it. |
| Chaturthi (Chaviti) | Wed 30 September | |
| Panchami | Wed 30 September | Chaturthi and Panchami fall on the same day this year. See the note below. |
| Shashthi | Thu 1 October | |
| Saptami | Fri 2 October | |
| Ashtami | Sat 3 October | Commonly called Madhya Ashtami. |
| Navami | Sun 4 October | Commonly called Matru Navami, kept for the mother and the women of the line. |
| Dashami | Mon 5 October | |
| Ekadashi | Tue 6 October | |
| Dwadashi | Wed 7 October | |
| Magha Shraddha | Wed 7 October | Same day, when Magha nakshatram prevails. |
| Trayodashi | Thu 8 October | |
| Chaturdashi | Fri 9 October | |
| Amavasya | Sat 10 October | Mahalaya Amavasya, or Peddala Amavasya. The final and most widely observed day. |
Chaturthi and Panchami both fall on Wednesday 30 September this year. This is not an error in the calendar. Tithis are lunar and do not align neatly with solar days, so occasionally one begins and ends inside a single day. If your tithi is either of those two, Wednesday the 30th is your day.
Peddala Amavasya timings
The Amavasya tithi begins at 9:35 PM on Friday 9 October and ends at 9:19 PM on Saturday 10 October. Because it covers the whole of Saturday daytime, 2026 is a straightforward year — there is no 9th-versus-10th ambiguity of the kind that catches families in some years.
The rites are performed in the aparahna period. Times below are for Hyderabad and shift by a few minutes elsewhere in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Kutup Muhurtham
11:39 AM – 12:27 PM
Rohina Muhurtham
12:27 PM – 1:14 PM
Aparahna Kaalam
1:14 PM – 3:36 PM
Which day is yours
Observe the tithi on which the person died. If your father died on a Bahula Saptami, you keep Saptami — Friday 2 October this year — regardless of what the English date was.
If the tithi is not known, and it often is not, families ordinarily observe on Mahalaya Amavasya, the final day, which is kept for all the ancestors together. A purohit can also work the tithi back from the date of death against the panchangam of that year.
What the fortnight is for
Mahalaya Paksham is the fortnight given to the ancestors collectively, once a year, in Bhadrapada masam. It is distinct from the annual taddinam or abdikam, which is for one named person on their own tithi. Most families keep both.
Tarpanam — the offering of water with black sesame — is the observance most households keep, and many perform a full shraddham on their tithi within the fortnight. Both are appropriate; what a family does depends on its own practice.
It is customarily not a time for beginning new things: a house entry, a marriage, a major purchase. That is a matter of what the fortnight is set aside for, rather than the period being inauspicious in itself.
Some calendars give the start of the fortnight as 26 September, others as 27 September. Both are right about the same fortnight. The 26th is Bhadrapada Purnima, kept by many families as Purnima Shraddha; the 27th is Padyami, the first day of the Krishna paksha proper. Every source agrees the fortnight ends on 10 October.
Where you see a source giving Purnima Shraddha in mid-September, that is an error — Bhadrapada Purnima in 2026 is the 26th.
Tell us the name and gotra, the tithi if you know it, and the city. If you do not know the tithi, give us the date of death and we will have it worked out before anything is arranged. There is no obligation.
See ancestral rite optionsQuestions families ask
When is Mahalaya Paksham in 2026?
The paksha runs from Sunday 27 September to Saturday 10 October 2026. The day before it, Saturday 26 September, is Bhadrapada Purnima and is kept by many families as Purnima Shraddha. You will see some calendars give the start as the 26th and others as the 27th — both are describing the same fortnight, counted from a different first day.
When is Peddala Amavasya 2026?
Saturday 10 October 2026. The Amavasya tithi begins at 9:35 PM on Friday 9 October and ends at 9:19 PM on Saturday 10 October. Because the tithi covers the whole of Saturday daytime, including the aparahna period when the rites are performed, 2026 is an unambiguous year — there is no split between the 9th and the 10th to worry about.
Which day of the paksha is ours?
The rite is performed on the tithi on which the person died, not on the calendar date. If your father died on a Bahula Saptami, you observe Saptami — Friday 2 October this year. The table above maps every tithi to its 2026 date. If you do not know the tithi, see the next question.
What if we do not know the tithi?
Two ordinary answers. Many families who do not know an exact tithi observe on Mahalaya Amavasya, the final day, which is kept as the day for all ancestors together. Alternatively, a purohit can work the tithi back from the date of death against the panchangam of that year. Tell us the date and we will have it looked at.
Why do Chaturthi and Panchami fall on the same day this year?
Because one tithi is lost. Tithis are lunar and do not align neatly with solar days, so in some years a tithi begins and ends within a single day — a tithi kshaya. In 2026 that puts both Chaturthi and Panchami on Wednesday 30 September. If your tithi is either of those, that is your day. Sixteen tithis, fifteen days.
What is the difference between Mahalaya Paksham and the annual taddinam?
The annual rite — taddinam or abdikam — is for one named person, on their tithi, every year. Mahalaya Paksham is a fortnight given to the ancestors collectively, once a year, in Bhadrapada masam. Families commonly keep both.
Can it be performed at home?
Yes. These rites are ordinarily performed at home, and that is the most common arrangement. A riverbank or a designated place is also used by families who prefer it.
Is Mahalaya Paksham an inauspicious time?
It is not a time for beginning new things — a house entry, a marriage, a purchase — and Telugu families set it aside for that reason. It is not inauspicious in itself. It is a fortnight given over to remembrance, which is a different thing from a bad omen.
Read further
Dates on this page are for 2026 and are updated each year. Timings shown are for Hyderabad.