Kartik Snan
A month of bathing before dawn.
When it falls
16 October 2027 to 14 November 2027
By the sunrise at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar
- The rule
- The whole of Kartika masa, Ashwin Purnima to Kartika Purnima in the Purnimanta reckoning
- Which day
- Sunrise (udaya-vyapini)
- Each day of the season is taken at sunrise. Ghats following the Amanta reckoning name the dark fortnight under a different month; the days themselves are the same.
- Weight
- A recurring parva
- Returns
- A season of days
What it is
Kartik Snan is a month rather than a day. The whole of Kartika is kept as a season of daily bathing before dawn, lamps in the evening and a lighter diet. In the Purnimanta reckoning used at the northern ghats it runs from the full moon of Ashwin to the full moon of Kartika. Those who keep it fully rise every morning for thirty days. Many keep the first day, the last, and as many in between as they can.
Where it is kept
Four waters keep the month. Sit any one morning of it, or all thirty.
Ganga
Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar
Purnimanta reckoning
Har Ki Pauri keeps the month as a daily discipline, and the ghat is at its quietest in the hour it asks for.
Triveni Sangam
Sangam, Prayagraj
Purnimanta reckoning
Kartika bathing at the Sangam runs the full month.
Yamuna
Vishram Ghat, Mathura
Purnimanta reckoning
Kartika is Mathura's own month. Vishram Ghat keeps it with lamps on the water each evening.
Shipra
Ram Ghat, Ujjain
Purnimanta reckoning
Ram Ghat keeps the bathing month. Vaikuntha Chaturdashi near its close is Ujjain's own night.
The windows
Brahma Muhurat
about 48 minutes
From sunrise
- Definition
- Two muhurtas of the night before sunrise, until one muhurta before it. A night muhurta is a fifteenth of the night, about 48 minutes at the equinox and longer in winter.
Brahma Muhurat falls before sunrise, so it belongs to the panchang day that opened at the previous sunrise, and the Gregorian date beside it is the next day. The calendar keeps the two apart.
Pratah Snan
about 96 minutes
From sunrise
- Definition
- Sunrise, until two muhurtas of the day after it. A day muhurta is a fifteenth of the daylight, about 48 minutes at the equinox and longer in summer.
This window sits after sunrise, so its panchang day and its Gregorian date agree.
Every time is given at the ghat first, and in your own zone beside it. How the clock is read
Where the timing comes from
- Source
- Computed here, checked against Drik Panchang
- Ayanamsa
- Lahiri (Chitrapaksha)
- Ghat coordinates
- Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar: 29.9457, 78.1642
Textual basis
The Kartika snan-vrat is described in the Kartika Mahatmya literature. A citable edition and passage is still to be added.
Every date here is computed: the tithi at the ghat's sunrise, the month named by the sankranti it holds, and the sun's entry into each sign under the Lahiri ayanamsa. Tithi, nakshatra, sunrise and windows were checked against Drik Panchang for Haridwar on eight days between September 2026 and March 2027, to the minute. The dates roll forward each morning.