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I am from Durban, South Africa and I am a bit confused on which day (31 Oct 2024 or 1 Nov 2024) is the main day of Diwali observed (when Lakshmi Puja is conducted). Here is the breakdown of the days according to the Drikpanchang website for my location:

On 31st October: Chaturdashi will prevail up until 12:22 p.m. and thereafter Amavasya prevails until 14:46 p.m on the 1st of November. Besides that, the Swati Nakshatra will be present from 21:15 p.m on the 31st October to 00.02 a.m on 2nd November.

So we are dealing with "mixed" Amavasyas here, which the one on 31st October is referred to as Purva-Amavasya or Sinivali and the one on the 1st of November is called Kuhu or Uttara-Amavasya. The general rule is that the tithi at sunrise is the tithi for the day, hence that will result in Amavasya falling on the 1st of November. According to the Vaishnava Calendar https://www.vaisnavacalendar.info/calendars/2024/Durban%20[South%20Africa].txt, this is indeed the case. However, the major Hindu body in the country stated that Diwali is observed on 31st October 2024.

I can see the point of view of celebrating Diwali on 31st October as Amavasya is present at the night on that day during Pradosh Kaal (18:17 to 20:26). However, Swati Nakshatra is not present during this time.

My question is how is the date for Diwali (falling on Kartik Amavasya) determined according to scripture?

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    “The general rule is that the tithi at sunrise is the tithi for the day” - this is very basic rule and would be overridden on festivals… for example you would give importance to Tithi in Pradosh kal for diwali instead of sunrise, tithi in midnight for krishna janmasthami or tithi in afternoon for Dusshera instead of sunrise..
    – YDS
    Commented Oct 9 at 7:47
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    @YDS I have managed to find on the Drikpanchang site that: "Dharma Sindhu, Nirnaya Sindhu and Vratraj suggest Lakshmi Puja on Diwali during Pradosh time after sunset while Amavasya Tithi prevails. If Amavasya Tithi is getting over before sunset then Lakshmi Puja is done on Chaturdashi Tithi when Amavasya prevails after sunset"
    – R Maharaj
    Commented Oct 11 at 8:00

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“The general rule is that the tithi at sunrise is the tithi for the day” - As I mentioned in comments, this is very basic rule and would be overridden on festivals. For example, you would give importance to Tithi in Pradosh kal for Diwali instead of sunrise, tithi in midnight for Krishna Janmasthami or tithi in afternoon for Dusshera instead of sunrise.

From, Drikpanchang

Most of the religious books Dharma Sindhu, Nirnaya Sindhu and Vratraj suggest Lakshmi Puja on Diwali during Pradosh time after sunset while Amavasya Tithi prevails. If Amavasya Tithi is getting over before sunset then Lakshmi Puja is done on Chaturdashi Tithi when Amavasya prevails after sunset...

Although there are various opinions on the best Muhurat for Lakshmi-Ganesha Puja on Diwali, the most astrologers agree that Lakshmi Puja should be done during fixed Lagna.

Here are Diwali muhurat rules in Sanskrit-Hindi from Nirnaya Sindhu.

This year (2024),

  • Amavasya Tithi Begins - 03:52 PM IST on Oct 31, 2024
  • Amavasya Tithi Ends - 06:16 PM IST on Nov 01, 2024
  • Vrishabha Lagna (one of the fixed Lagnas) Muhurat - 06:54 PM to 08:54 PM IST on October 31, 2024

So, in India, it is advised to celebrate on 31st Oct. As per this article, Varanasi (Kashi's) Akhil Bhartiya Vidvat Parishad also has advised to celebrate Diwali-2024 on Oct 31 in India.

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