Shradh Date Finder 2026

Enter a date of death and this finds the day in the 2026 Pitru Paksha calendar on which that person's shraddha falls. It matches the tithi rather than counting days, applies the Purnima and Chaturdashi rules that send some deaths to Sarva Pitru Amavasya, and tells you when the time of death is what decides it.

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Date of death *(DD / Month / YYYY)
Time of death(optional, Indian clock time - sharpens the answer near a tithi boundary)

Leave blank if it is not known - the tool then shows every day the tithi could point to. Enter the time as the Indian clock read it on that date, which is what a record or a memory of the death carries. Do not convert it to today's IST yourself: the tool applies the offset India actually kept, which was UT+5:30 except during the two war-time stretches - 1 October 1941 to 14 May 1942, and 1 September 1942 to 14 October 1945 - when it was UT+6:30, following the IANA time zone database. For a death outside India, convert to the Indian clock time in force on that date. Before 1955, Bombay and Calcutta also kept their own local times, so a time recorded in one of those can be up to an hour out.

The full 2026 shraddha calendar

Sixteen tithi observances across fifteen dates. Chaturthi and Panchami share 30 September, which is why counting days forward from the start gives the wrong date from Panchami onward. Read the tithi, not the day number.

Pitru Paksha 2026 shraddha dates by tithi
ShraddhaDateDayTithi
Purnima Shraddha26 SeptemberSaturdayBhadrapada, Shukla Purnima
Pratipada Shraddha27 SeptemberSundayAshwina, Krishna Pratipada
Dwitiya Shraddha28 SeptemberMondayAshwina, Krishna Dwitiya
Tritiya Shraddha29 SeptemberTuesdayAshwina, Krishna Tritiya
Chaturthi Shraddha30 SeptemberWednesdayAshwina, Krishna Chaturthi
Panchami Shraddha30 SeptemberWednesdayAshwina, Krishna Panchami
Shashthi Shraddha1 OctoberThursdayAshwina, Krishna Shashthi
Saptami Shraddha2 OctoberFridayAshwina, Krishna Saptami
Ashtami Shraddha3 OctoberSaturdayAshwina, Krishna Ashtami
Navami Shraddha4 OctoberSundayAshwina, Krishna Navami
Dashami Shraddha5 OctoberMondayAshwina, Krishna Dashami
Ekadashi Shraddha6 OctoberTuesdayAshwina, Krishna Ekadashi
Dwadashi Shraddha7 OctoberWednesdayAshwina, Krishna Dwadashi
Trayodashi Shraddha8 OctoberThursdayAshwina, Krishna Trayodashi
Chaturdashi Shraddha9 OctoberFridayAshwina, Krishna Chaturdashi
Sarva Pitru Amavasya10 OctoberSaturdayAshwina, Krishna Amavasya

Related Tools

Quick facts

Key facts about Pitru Paksha 2026 and this tool
What this answersWhich day in the 2026 Pitru Paksha calendar a given person's shraddha falls on
2026 shraddha calendar26 September to 10 October
Pitru Paksha properFifteen Krishna Paksha tithis, 27 September to 10 October
EntriesSixteen tithi observances across fifteen dates
Only shared date30 September - Chaturthi and Panchami both touch aparahna
Matching ruleBy tithi number, from either Shukla or Krishna Paksha
Purnima deathSarva Pitru Amavasya, 10 October - not 26 September
Chaturdashi death9 October if by accident, violence or suicide; otherwise 10 October
Tithi not knownSarva Pitru Amavasya, 10 October
Nakshatra observancesMaha Bharani 29 September, Magha Shraddha 7 October
Authority for datesDrik Panchang; our ephemeris verifies the assignment, not the minutes
Time zoneThe Indian clock in force on the date: UT+5:30, and UT+6:30 in the two 1941-45 war-time stretches (IANA Asia/Kolkata)

How the day is worked out

A tithi is the Moon's elongation from the Sun in twelve-degree steps, so it is a difference between two longitudes in the same frame. That means the ayanamsa cancels entirely and no sidereal conversion is involved: the tithi of a death is the same number whichever ayanamsa a calculator uses. This tool computes the Moon and Sun positions for the moment of death, reads the tithi, and looks that tithi up in the 2026 calendar.

The calendar itself is not ours. The dates and the published minutes are Drik Panchang's. Our own ephemeris independently reproduced its 2026 assignments - the sixteen tithi rows by recomputing the tithi boundaries, and the two nakshatra rows by a separate check - and flagged 30 September as the ONLY date in the fortnight where two shraddhas share a day. Where Drik publishes exact minutes we could compare against, which is the Chaturthi and Panchami boundary on 30 September, our computed values sit about a minute away. That difference changes no date: the nearest boundary to a decision point is about fifty minutes distant.

The three rules that move a death to Amavasya

  • A Purnima death. Drik Panchang states that shraddha for those who died on Purnima tithi is performed on Amavasya during Pitru Paksha, and not on Bhadrapada Purnima. So it does not fall on Purnima Shraddha on 26 September, which is the trap in counting by name.
  • A Chaturdashi death from ordinary causes. Chaturdashi Shraddha is recorded as suitable for those who died by a weapon, in an accident, by suicide or by murder. For other causes it is performed on Amavasya instead. This is the one tithi where the manner of death changes the day, which is why the tool asks only then.
  • An unknown tithi. Where the date of death is not known, the shraddha can be performed on Sarva Pitru Amavasya, the collective day.

Two days selected by nakshatra, not by tithi

Two observances in the fortnight are chosen by the Moon's nakshatra rather than by tithi, so the finder above never returns them. They are listed here for completeness. Our ephemeris confirmed the named nakshatra is present on each date, and further that the Moon advances one nakshatra per aparahna cleanly across the whole fortnight, from Uttara Bhadrapada on 26 September to Hasta on 10 October, so no date in the window is ambiguous between two nakshatras. The rule for SELECTING these two observances is Drik Panchang's and is not something we reimplement.

  • Maha Bharani - Tuesday, 29 September 2026, on Bharani nakshatra.
  • Magha Shraddha - Wednesday, 7 October 2026, on Magha nakshatra.

Pitru Paksha is not Pitra Dosha

The names look alike and mean different things. Pitru Paksha is a fortnight in the calendar during which shraddha is performed for ancestors - a date question, which is what this page answers. Pitra Dosha is a placement pattern some traditions read in a birth chart, which is a chart question; our Pitra Dosha calculator covers that separately, with its own base rate stated. Neither page sells or recommends any observance. For the fortnight itself - what Pitru Paksha is, the full tithi calendar in prose, and the regional terminology - see our guide to Shradh 2026 dates.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know which day my father's or mother's shradh falls on?

It follows the tithi, the lunar day, on which the person died - not the English calendar date. Enter the date of death and the tool works out that tithi and matches it to the corresponding day in the 2026 Pitru Paksha calendar. Drik Panchang records that the tithi counts from either fortnight, so a death on Shukla Paksha Saptami and a death on Krishna Paksha Saptami both fall on Saptami Shraddha.

What if the person died on Purnima?

Then the shraddha is observed on Sarva Pitru Amavasya, 10 October 2026, and not on Purnima Shraddha on 26 September. Drik Panchang states this explicitly. It is the single rule most often got wrong by counting, because 26 September is the day that carries the Purnima name.

Why do Chaturthi and Panchami Shraddha share 30 September 2026?

Shraddha is performed on the tithi prevailing at aparahna, the fourth of five equal parts of daylight. On 30 September, Chaturthi holds aparahna from its 13:22 start until 14:55 and Panchami holds the rest of it, so both touch aparahna the same day. On 1 October, Panchami has already ended at 12:35 before aparahna opens, so it has no aparahna presence at all. The practical consequence is that counting days forward from the start of Pitru Paksha gives the wrong date from Panchami onward.

What if I do not know the time of death?

The tool shows every day the tithi could point to rather than guessing. A tithi runs roughly 20 to 27 hours, so a calendar day often carries two of them; if the day of death was one of those, the answer genuinely depends on the time and the tool says so instead of picking one.

What if the date of death is not known at all?

Drik Panchang records that the shraddha can then be performed on Sarva Pitru Amavasya, 10 October 2026, which is the collective day for all ancestors.

Is Pitru Paksha the same as Pitra Dosha?

No, and the similar names cause real confusion. Pitru Paksha is a fortnight in the calendar when shraddha is performed. Pitra Dosha is a placement pattern some traditions read in a birth chart. They are unrelated: one is a date question, the other is a chart question.

Which dates does Pitru Paksha 2026 cover?

The shraddha calendar runs 26 September to 10 October 2026. Pitru Paksha proper is the fifteen Krishna Paksha tithis from Pratipada on 27 September to Amavasya on 10 October; Purnima Shraddha on 26 September is conventionally listed alongside it, and Drik Panchang notes that it is not part of Pitru Paksha.

Sources

  • Drik Panchang, 2026 Pitru Paksha Shraddha Dates (retrieved 26 July 2026) - the calendar, the published tithi minutes and the aparahna window. Retrieved for Ajmer, Chennai and New Delhi; all eighteen rows identical in name and date across the three.
  • Drik Panchang, Shraddha - Basic Information (retrieved 26 July 2026) - the scope rule and the Purnima redirect; and its per-tithi pages for Chaturdashi and Navami (26 July 2026) and Saptami (12 September 2026) - the Chaturdashi condition and the rule that the tithi counts from either fortnight.
  • Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd edition (1998) - the lunar and solar series the engine implements, via the astronomia library (MIT).
  • DesiUtils ephemeris - an independent recomputation of the tithi boundaries across the 2026 calendar, reproducing the sixteen tithi rows, with the two nakshatra rows checked separately. Meeus-based, using the astronomia library: the Moon from Meeus' lunar series and the Sun through VSOP87. A tithi is the Moon's elongation from the Sun, so the Moon is the term that dominates it.
Cultural / informational purposes only
This page answers a calendar question: which day a tithi falls on in 2026. Observance customs differ by family, region and tradition, and where they differ your family practice is the authority, not this tool. We do not recommend, arrange or sell any ritual or service. For a very recent death the first observances follow their own customs and timings, which this calendar question does not speak to. Last updated: September 2026.