2005
Tuesday, 15 November 2005
In 2005 the tithi runs from 7:26 am on 15 Nov to 6:27 am on 16 Nov, and it never reaches sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi), so the day on which it begins is taken: Tuesday, 15 November 2005.
2006
Sunday, 5 November 2006
In 2006 the tithi runs from 9:44 pm on 4 Nov to 6:28 pm on 5 Nov; it is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi) on Sunday, 5 November 2006, so that is the day of Kartika Purnima.
How the date is fixed
Kartika Purnima falls on the full-moon day (Purnima) of the lunar month Kartika. The date is the day on which that tithi is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi).
About
Kartika Purnima is the full moon that ends the month of Kartika, in November. The tithi at sunrise fixes the day for the Kartika snan (bath), and the evening of the same day is Dev Deepawali at Varanasi, when the ghats are lined with lamps. It is also Tripuri Purnima, recalling Shiva's defeat of Tripura, and the Sikh community keeps Guru Nanak's birthday on this full moon. The month of Kartika bathing, begun on Sharad Purnima, ends here, and the Pushkar fair in Rajasthan culminates on this day.
How it is observed
A river bath at dawn, lamps floated or lit on the ghats at dusk, and the Satyanarayana vrat in many homes.