2025
Thursday, 23 October 2025
In 2025 the tithi runs from 8:17 pm on 22 Oct to 10:47 pm on 23 Oct; it is running at aparahna, the afternoon on Thursday, 23 October 2025, so that is the day of Bhai Dooj.
2026
Tuesday, 10 November 2026
In 2026 the tithi runs from 2:00 pm on 10 Nov to 3:53 pm on 11 Nov, so it is running at aparahna, the afternoon on two days, Tuesday, 10 November 2026 and Wednesday, 11 November 2026. As in most almanacs, the first is taken.
How the date is fixed
Bhai Dooj falls on the second day of the bright half of the lunar month Kartika (Shukla Dwitiya). The date is the day on which that tithi is running at aparahna, the afternoon.
About
Bhai Dooj falls on the second tithi of the bright half of Kartika, two days after Diwali, in October or November. It is Yama Dwitiya, the day Yama is said to have visited his sister Yamuna, and the aparahna (afternoon) is the governing period, so the day whose afternoon carries Dwitiya is chosen. Sisters mark their brothers' foreheads and feed them; in Bengal it is Bhai Phonta, in Nepal Bhai Tika, and in Maharashtra Bhau Beej. The Kayastha community keeps Chitragupta Puja on the same day.
How it is observed
Sisters apply tilak to their brothers in the afternoon and share a meal; a bath in the Yamuna is traditional at Mathura.