Satyanarayan puja dates and shubh muhurat for 2026
Purnima, Ekadashi and Thursdays are the traditional favourites for Satyanarayan Puja, but none of them are compulsory. Here's how families in India usually pick the day, and the 2026 Purnima dates to start from.
Please confirm locally before fixing a date. Tithi start and end times shift with your city, and a Purnima that falls late in the evening in one place can spill into the next day elsewhere. Treat the dates below as a starting point, then check a local Panchang or ask your family priest for the exact time in your city closer to the date.
Why Purnima, Ekadashi and Thursday?
Satyanarayan Puja honours Lord Vishnu, so days already associated with Vishnu worship are considered the most fitting: Purnima, the full moon day; Ekadashi, the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight; and Thursday, the weekday linked to Vishnu in the Hindu week. None of this means the puja is invalid on any other day. Many families perform it on a birthday, a Griha Pravesh, or simply the Sunday everyone can be free, and that is entirely acceptable.
Purnima dates in 2026
2026 has thirteen Purnima days because of Adhik Maas, an extra lunar month that is added roughly once every three years to keep the lunar calendar aligned with the solar year.
| Date | Also known as |
|---|---|
| 3 January | Pausha Purnima |
| 1 February | Magha Purnima |
| 3 March | Phalguna Purnima (Holi) |
| 2 April | Chaitra Purnima |
| 1 May | Vaishakha Purnima (Buddha Purnima) |
| 31 May | Adhik Purnima (extra month) |
| 29 June | Jyeshtha Purnima |
| 29 July | Ashadha Purnima (Guru Purnima) |
| 28 August | Shravana Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) |
| 26 September | Bhadrapada Purnima |
| 26 October | Ashwin Purnima (Sharad Purnima) |
| 24 November | Kartik Purnima |
| 23 December | Margashirsha Purnima |
What about Ekadashi and Thursdays?
Ekadashi comes around twice a month, once in the waxing fortnight and once in the waning fortnight, so there are roughly twenty-four in a year. Because the exact date shifts with the lunar calendar and can vary by a day depending on your city, we haven't listed all of them here to avoid publishing a date that turns out to be wrong for your location. A quick search for "Ekadashi date this month" on a trusted Panchang site, or a question to your local priest, will give you an accurate answer in seconds. Thursdays need no calculation at all; any Thursday works, and many families use the nearest one to an occasion they're already celebrating.
Best time of day
Pradosh Kaal, the period spanning roughly ninety minutes before and after sunset, is generally considered the strongest time for Satyanarayan Puja, especially on a Purnima evening. That said, most home pujas happen in the late morning or early evening simply because that's when everyone can gather, and that is completely fine. The puja's value comes from the sankalp, the panchamrit, the katha and the prasad, not from hitting an exact minute.