Diwali 2026 in Bengaluru: Dates, Markets, Events and Cracker Rules

Deepavali 2026 in Bengaluru (Bangalore) runs from Sunday 8 November, when Naraka Chaturdashi and Lakshmi Puja both fall, to Tuesday 10 November, Balipadyami, which is the Karnataka government holiday. Dhanteras is on Friday 6 November. The fortnight before is the time for shopping, melas and parties. On firecrackers, the state allows only green crackers, and last year bursting was limited to 8 pm to 10 pm; the 2026 order had not been published when we wrote this.

Deepavali 2026 dates in Bengaluru

These dates are from Drik Panchang’s calendar calculated for Bengaluru, checked against Karnataka’s 2026 holiday list.

Day	Date	Notes
Kannada Rajyotsava	Sun, 1 Nov	State formation day; flags and cultural programmes all month
Dhanteras	Fri, 6 Nov	Gold, silver and utensil shopping peaks
Naraka Chaturdashi	Sun, 8 Nov	The pre-dawn oil bath; the main day in many Kannada homes
Lakshmi Puja	Sun, 8 Nov (evening)	Shops and offices hold their puja
Amavasya	Mon, 9 Nov	New-moon day; a working day in the state list
Balipadyami	Tue, 10 Nov	Karnataka general holiday
Yama Dwitiya (Bhai Dooj)	Wed, 11 Nov
Karthika month	10 Nov – 8 Dec	Lamp festivals at temples; Kadalekai Parishe on 7 Dec

Because the holiday is on Tuesday, many people will take Monday 9 November off and make it a four-day weekend. Expect heavy traffic out of the city on the evening of Friday 6 November and back in on Tuesday night.

How Bengaluru celebrates

Deepavali here is a three-day festival, and it isn’t quite the north Indian Diwali. On Naraka Chaturdashi families wake before dawn for an oil bath, wear new clothes and light the first lamps. Lakshmi Puja on the new-moon evening matters most to traders and business families. Balipadyami, the third day, marks the annual return of King Bali: homes are lit with rows of lamps, and in older neighbourhoods cattle are decorated and worshipped. Sweets are home-style, with holige, kajjaya and Mysore pak, rather than boxes of kaju katli.

Things to do before and during Deepavali

Go to a Diwali flea market

The biggest is Sunday Soul Sante’s Diwali edition on Sunday 25 October at The Bay, Ecoworld, in Bellandur. It runs from 11 am to 10 pm, with homegrown brands, food stalls, live performances and creative workshops for children. Entry is ₹399 for one, or ₹1,399 for a family pack of four, plus a small booking fee. Pets are welcome, and the organisers provide free water refills.

Smaller bazaars at clubs, apartment communities, schools and craft spaces fill the two weekends before the festival. We add them to our Deepavali events page as they are announced, and the regular weekend markets are on our flea markets list.

Shop the old markets

Market	Best for	Nearest metro
Chickpet and Avenue Road	Silk, saris, gifts, wholesale prices	Chickpete (Green)
KR Market	Flowers, banana stems, puja items	Krishna Rajendra Market (Green)
Gandhi Bazaar	Lamps, flowers, fruit, sweets	National College (Green)
Malleshwaram 8th Cross	Lamps, rangoli colours, clothes	Mantri Square Sampige Road (Green)
Jayanagar 4th Block	Clothes, décor, household shopping	Jayanagar (Green)
Commercial Street	Festive wear, jewellery, footwear	MG Road (Purple), about 1 km

Go on a weekday morning. On the last weekend before the festival, the lanes of Chickpet and Malleshwaram are shoulder to shoulder by late afternoon, and parking near any of them is close to impossible. The Green Line reaches five of the six.

Buy lamps from the potters

For clay lamps straight from the makers, go to Pottery Town, off Pottery Road near Frazer Town, where potter families have long made and sold clay lamps in the weeks before the festival. Prices are generally lower than in the malls, and you can buy plain lamps to paint at home.

Light a lamp at a temple

Deepavali opens the month of Karthika, which temples mark with lamp festivals. The ISKCON temple on Hare Krishna Hill in Rajajinagar observes Deepotsava through the month, when visitors offer lamps in the evening. Entry is free, and on weekends the temple is open from 7:15 am to 8:20 pm. Karthika Mondays, on 16, 23 and 30 November and 7 December, are busy at Shiva temples, and the last of them is the day of the Kadalekai Parishe at the Bull Temple.

Go out

Bars, clubs and hotels run Diwali-themed nights on the weekends of 31 October and 7 November, and card parties are a fixture at homes and clubs. The live calendar is full as well: Dhvani Bhanushali is listed at Phoenix Mall of Asia on 7 November, and Papon plays Terraform Arena on 14 November. Our nightlife listings and concerts page have the rest.

With children

Look for diya-painting, rangoli and lantern-making workshops in the two weeks before the festival; they’re listed on our kids and family events page. Malls put up large installations that make an easy evening outing. One thing to know: the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, open on every other day of the year bar Ganesha Chaturthi, is closed for Deepavali.

Firecrackers: the rules in Bengaluru

Here is where things stood on 12 October 2026.

• Green crackers only. Karnataka has restricted fireworks to green crackers since 2018, following Supreme Court orders. Conventional crackers are banned from sale and use.
• A two-hour window. In 2025 the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board permitted bursting only between 8 pm and 10 pm on the festival days, and a similar restriction applied in 2024. Officials were told to act against anyone storing or selling non-green fireworks.
• Noise and location. In earlier years the board asked people to avoid crackers louder than 125 decibels, and guidelines have barred bursting near hospitals, schools and other silence zones.
• Licensed stalls. Crackers are sold from temporary licensed stalls on designated grounds. Don’t buy from unlicensed roadside sellers.
• The 2026 order. It had not been published at the time of writing. Expect an announcement from the pollution control board and the police in the week before the festival, and assume last year’s window until then.

The board’s chairperson said last year that Bengaluru’s air pollution is not comparable to Delhi’s. Even so, air quality drops sharply on the festival nights, and smoke lingers in low-lying neighbourhoods until morning.

Safety

• Eyes and burns. Most Deepavali injuries are to eyes and hands. Children should use sparklers only with an adult beside them, wearing cotton and closed shoes. Keep a bucket of water close.
• If someone is hurt, cool a burn under running water for at least ten minutes and don’t apply ice, toothpaste or butter. For an eye injury, don’t rub or rinse with force; go straight to a hospital. Minto Eye Hospital in Chamarajpet has kept round-the-clock emergency care running on Deepavali nights in past years. Call 112 in an emergency.
• Pets are badly stressed by the noise. Keep them indoors, in a quiet room with the windows shut, from 7 pm.
• Asthma and allergies. Stay indoors with windows closed between 8 pm and midnight on 8 and 10 November.
• Driving. Police run drink-driving checks through the festive week.

A Deepavali-week plan

• Sunday 25 October: Sunday Soul Sante in Bellandur, or the first big shopping trip to Chickpet.
• Weekday evenings, 26–30 October: lamps in Gandhi Bazaar or Malleshwaram, and a workshop for the children.
• Sunday 1 November: Kannada Rajyotsava. Expect processions and flag-hoisting around the city.
• Friday 6 November: Dhanteras. Go to jewellers and utensil shops early in the day.
• Saturday 7 November: the last shopping day, and the main party night.
• Sunday 8 November: oil bath at dawn, family lunch and Lakshmi Puja in the evening.
• Tuesday 10 November: Balipadyami. Light lamps at home or visit a temple.

Getting around

Use the metro for market trips, and check Namma Metro’s announcements for any change in timings on 8 and 10 November. State buses out of the city fill up early for the long weekend, and the road transport corporation usually adds special services, so book in advance. Inside the city, cab prices surge between 7 pm and 10 pm on the festival days.

For everything else happening around the festival, see this week’s events.

Frequently asked questions

When is Diwali 2026 in Bengaluru?

Naraka Chaturdashi and Lakshmi Puja fall on Sunday 8 November 2026, and Balipadyami on Tuesday 10 November, according to Drik Panchang's Bengaluru calendar. Dhanteras is on Friday 6 November.

Which day is the Deepavali holiday in Karnataka in 2026?

Tuesday 10 November 2026 (Balipadyami, Deepavali) is the state's general holiday. Naraka Chaturdashi falls on Sunday 8 November, so it does not add a separate holiday.

Are firecrackers allowed in Bengaluru for Deepavali 2026?

Karnataka allows only green crackers. In 2025 the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board permitted bursting only between 8 pm and 10 pm on the festival days. The 2026 order had not been published when this guide was written.

Where should I shop for Deepavali in Bengaluru?

Chickpet and Avenue Road for clothes and gifts, Malleshwaram 8th Cross, Gandhi Bazaar and Jayanagar 4th Block for lamps, flowers and sweets, and Commercial Street for festive wear. All except Commercial Street are next to Green Line stations.

Is there a Diwali flea market in Bengaluru?

Yes. Sunday Soul Sante's Diwali edition is on Sunday 25 October 2026 at The Bay, Ecoworld, in Bellandur, from 11 am to 10 pm, with entry at ₹399.

Is the Visvesvaraya museum open on Deepavali?

No. The museum is open every day of the year except Deepavali and Ganesha Chaturthi.

Sources checked

• www.drikpanchang.com/diwali/diwali-puja-calendar.html?year=2026&geoname-id=12773
• www.sakshipost.com/news/national/karnataka-2026-holiday-calendar-released-chec
• www.officeholidays.com/countries/india/karnataka/2026
• hindutone.com/festivals/karthika-masam-2026-calendar-day-by-day/
• www.thenewsminute.com/karnataka/karnataka-limits-crackers-bursting-to-8-10pm-bans
• www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/burst-crackers-only-from-8-pm-10-
• www.outlookbusiness.com/planet/industry/only-green-crackers-allowed-in-karnataka-fo
• www.sundaysoulsante.com/event-details
• www.iskconbangalore.org/iskcon-temple-bangalore-timings/
• www.vismuseum.gov.in/ticket.php
• allevents.in/bangalore/dhvani-bhanushali-live-in-bengaluru/3900030555036
• www.terraformarena.com/
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadalekai_Parishe

Researched and written by the bengaluru2go editors. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.