Wednesday, 23 December 2026
Margashirsha, Shukla Paksha · Vikram Samvat 2083 · Shaka 1948
Chaturdashi · Margashirsha Purnima (Dattatreya Jayanti)
23 December 2026 is Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Chaturdashi, a Budhvaar (बुधवार). It is Margashirsha Purnima (Dattatreya Jayanti), also called Dattatreya Jayanti, Datta Jayanti, Agrahayana Purnima, Korala Purnima and Batisi Purnima. The tithi runs from 2:24 PM on 22 December 2026 until 10:47 AM. Sunrise at New Delhi is 7:10 AM and sunset is 5:29 PM. Rahu Kaal falls between 12:19 PM and 1:36 PM, and the Abhijit Muhurat is 11:58 AM to 12:40 PM, though Abhijit is not observed on a Wednesday.
Tithi, Paksha and Vaar (तिथि)
Chaturdashi begins 2:24 PM, 22 Dec and ends 10:47 AM. One tithi today is kshaya: it begins after one sunrise and ends before the next, so it prevails at no sunrise at all. These are the days on which published almanacs most often differ about a vrat date.
Margashirsha Purnima (Dattatreya Jayanti)
Margashirsha Purnima (Dattatreya Jayanti)मार्गशीर्ष पूर्णिमा
Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Purnima
Also known as Dattatreya Jayanti, Datta Jayanti, Agrahayana Purnima, Korala Purnima and Batisi Purnima.
The appearance of Dattatreya, in whom Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are held to be present at once, and the guru of gurus. Kept above all in Maharashtra and Karnataka, where the seven-day Datta Jayanti observance closes today.
What devotees do
- Fast and keep vigil.
- Read the Guru Charitra.
- Satyanarayan katha, as on any Purnima.
Purnima is KSHAYA this year -- it runs 23 Dec 10:48 AM to 24 Dec 6:58 AM and so prevails at no sunrise. Chaturdashi holds sunrise on the 23rd and Pratipada on the 24th. Because the tithi covers the whole of the 23rd evening, the observance is placed on 23 December; some almanacs will print 24 December instead.
Shubh Muhurat (शुभ मुहूर्त)
Abhijit is the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas between sunrise and sunset, so it is 41 minutes long today rather than a fixed 48 — it stretches and shrinks with the length of the day.
Ashubh Kaal (अशुभ काल)
We do not publish Varjyam, Dur Muhurat or Godhuli Muhurat. The rules behind them are known, but the underlying tables differ between sources by enough to move a window by the better part of an hour — and these are windows whose whole purpose is telling you not to begin something. We would rather leave them out than print a number we cannot stand behind.
Choghadiya (चौघड़िया)
The day and the night are each divided into eight parts. Amrit, Shubh and Labh are auspicious; Char is neutral; Udveg, Kaal and Rog are best avoided. It is the quickest check there is for whether the next hour and a half is a good time to begin something.
Day — sunrise 7:10 AM to sunset 5:29 PM
Night — sunset 5:29 PM to sunrise 7:10 AM
The night choghadiya belongs to Budhvaar, not to the next day: in the panchang the weekday changes at sunrise, not at midnight.
Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana (नक्षत्र)
The Moon is in Rohini at sunrise, in its 4th pada. A karana is half a tithi, which is why there are more of them in a day than anything else here.
Sun and Moon (सूर्य और चंद्र)
Day length is 10 hours 19 minutes, night 13 hours 41 minutes.
Hora (होरा)
Twenty-four planetary hours from sunrise, in the Chaldean order. The first is always ruled by the lord of the weekday — Mercury (Budh) today, which is what makes it Budhvaar. Day horas and night horas are not sixty minutes each; they are a twelfth of the actual day and a twelfth of the actual night.
Rashi, Masa and Samvat (मास)
The two masa reckonings differ through every waning fortnight, which is why a calendar from Delhi and one from Chennai can name the same day differently. Today it is Margashirsha in the north and Margashirsha in the south — the same, as they always are in a waxing fortnight.
Questions about 23 December 2026
What tithi is 23 December 2026?
23 December 2026 is Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Chaturdashi. The tithi runs from 2:24 PM on 22 December 2026 until 10:47 AM, calculated for New Delhi.
Is 23 December 2026 Margashirsha Purnima (Dattatreya Jayanti)?
Yes. 23 December 2026 is Margashirsha Purnima (Dattatreya Jayanti), also known as Dattatreya Jayanti, Datta Jayanti, Agrahayana Purnima, Korala Purnima and Batisi Purnima. The appearance of Dattatreya, in whom Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are held to be present at once, and the guru of gurus. Kept above all in Maharashtra and Karnataka, where the seven-day Datta Jayanti observance closes today.
Why do some calendars show a different date for Margashirsha Purnima (Dattatreya Jayanti)?
Purnima is KSHAYA this year -- it runs 23 Dec 10:48 AM to 24 Dec 6:58 AM and so prevails at no sunrise. Chaturdashi holds sunrise on the 23rd and Pratipada on the 24th. Because the tithi covers the whole of the 23rd evening, the observance is placed on 23 December; some almanacs will print 24 December instead.
What is the Rahu Kaal on 23 December 2026?
Rahu Kaal on 23 December 2026 is from 12:19 PM to 1:36 PM at New Delhi. Yamaganda is 8:27 AM to 9:44 AM and Gulika Kaal is 11:02 AM to 12:19 PM. These are the periods in which new work is traditionally not begun.
What is the shubh muhurat on 23 December 2026?
Abhijit Muhurat falls between 11:58 AM and 12:40 PM, but it is not observed on a Wednesday by the common convention. Brahma Muhurat is 5:20 AM to 6:15 AM before dawn, and Vijaya Muhurat is 2:02 PM to 2:43 PM.
What time is sunrise and sunset on 23 December 2026?
At New Delhi, sunrise on 23 December 2026 is 7:10 AM and sunset is 5:29 PM. Moonrise is 4:36 PM and moonset is 6:18 AM.
What is a kshaya tithi, and why does 23 December 2026 have one?
A kshaya tithi begins after one sunrise and ends before the next, so it prevails at no sunrise at all and appears to be "missing" from the calendar. On 23 December 2026 that happens to Purnima. These are the days on which published almanacs most often differ about a vrat date.
All timings are calculated for New Delhi, India (28.61°N, 77.21°E) in Indian Standard Time, using the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsha. Sunrise and every muhurat derived from it shift by up to an hour across India, so times will differ for your city.