Vivah Panchami 2026: Date, Ram Sita Vivah and Puja
Vivah Panchami is on Monday, 14 December 2026 in India and Nepal. In the USA and Canada it's Sunday, 13 December, a day earlier. The UK, the Gulf and Australia keep Monday, like India.
It's the day Ram and Sita were married in Janakpur, and it falls on Shukla Panchami, the fifth day of the bright half of Margashirsha (Agahan in North India).
Panchami tithi times in 2026
In India, Panchami begins at 4:48 PM IST on Sunday, 13 December and ends at 7:16 PM IST on Monday, 14 December. A festival tithi is taken on the day it is running at sunrise, so in India that's Monday.
The tithi changes at the same instant all over the world, and only the local clock differs. In New York, Panchami starts at 6:18 AM on Sunday, just before sunrise, and covers that whole day. By Monday it has only an hour and a half left after sunrise. On the West Coast and in Vancouver it's already gone before Monday's sunrise. Either way, Sunday is the day.
| City | Panchami begins | Panchami ends | Vivah Panchami |
|---|---|---|---|
| All of India | Sun 13 Dec, 4:48 PM | Mon 14 Dec, 7:16 PM | Mon 14 Dec |
| Janakpur (Nepal) | Sun 13 Dec, 5:03 PM | Mon 14 Dec, 7:31 PM | Mon 14 Dec |
| London, Birmingham | Sun 13 Dec, 11:18 AM | Mon 14 Dec, 1:46 PM | Mon 14 Dec |
| Dubai | Sun 13 Dec, 3:18 PM | Mon 14 Dec, 5:46 PM | Mon 14 Dec |
| Sydney, Melbourne | Sun 13 Dec, 10:18 PM | Tue 15 Dec, 12:46 AM | Mon 14 Dec |
| Auckland | Mon 14 Dec, 12:18 AM | Tue 15 Dec, 2:46 AM | Mon 14 Dec |
| New York, Toronto | Sun 13 Dec, 6:18 AM | Mon 14 Dec, 8:46 AM | Sun 13 Dec |
| Chicago, Houston | Sun 13 Dec, 5:18 AM | Mon 14 Dec, 7:46 AM | Sun 13 Dec |
| Calgary | Sun 13 Dec, 5:18 AM | Mon 14 Dec, 7:46 AM | Sun 13 Dec |
| Vancouver | Sun 13 Dec, 4:18 AM | Mon 14 Dec, 6:46 AM | Sun 13 Dec |
| San Francisco, Los Angeles | Sun 13 Dec, 3:18 AM | Mon 14 Dec, 5:46 AM | Sun 13 Dec |
All times are local. Vancouver and Calgary are on their new year-round clocks, an hour later than the old winter time.
The story behind the day
King Janak of Mithila found Sita as a baby in a furrow while ploughing a field, and raised her as his daughter. When she grew up he set a test for anyone who wanted to marry her: lift and string Shiva's great bow, which no one in his court could even move.
Kings came from everywhere and failed. Ram, who had come to Mithila with his brother Lakshman and their teacher Vishwamitra, lifted the bow, and it snapped in two as he strung it. Sita placed the varmala around his neck, and King Dasharath was sent for from Ayodhya with the wedding party.
The wedding became a family affair: in the same ceremony Lakshman married Urmila, Bharat married Mandavi and Shatrughna married Shrutakirti. Tulsidas tells the whole episode in the Bal Kand of the Ramcharitmanas, and in many homes that's what gets read on Vivah Panchami.
How it's celebrated
Janakpur, in Nepal, is where the wedding took place, and the Janaki Mandir there holds the biggest celebration. The town is full of pilgrims for days, the wedding is re-enacted with all its rituals, and a baraat arrives to bring the groom's side, Ayodhya, to the bride's.
Ayodhya celebrates from the groom's side, with Ram Vivah utsavs in its temples, processions and wedding songs. Across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Mithila, temples hold a symbolic Ram–Sita wedding with tilak, haldi and the pheras, and the songs are the same ones sung at real weddings.
At home, a simple puja is enough:
- Clean the puja space and set up a picture or murti of Ram and Sita together.
- Offer flowers, a garland for each, akshat, roli, a diya and something sweet.
- Read the wedding episode (Sita swayamvar and Ram vivah) from the Bal Kand, or listen to it being read.
- Finish with an aarti and share the prasad.
Married couples pray for a happy marriage on this day, and many unmarried girls pray for a good match.
Why some families avoid weddings on Vivah Panchami
You'd think the day of Ram and Sita's wedding would be the most popular wedding date of the year. In Mithila it's often the opposite. Sita's married life brought exile, abduction and, in the end, separation, and many families there avoid marrying a daughter on this day for that reason.
In 2026 the question doesn't come up: the last wedding date of the year is Saturday, 12 December. Kharmas begins with Dhanu Sankranti on 16 December, and weddings don't resume until mid-January. The full list is in our December 2026 muhurat guide.
Check the tithi for your city
See when Panchami starts and ends where you live, with sunrise and the full panchang.
Quick answers
When is Vivah Panchami in 2026?
Monday, 14 December 2026 in India, Nepal, the UK, the UAE and Australia. Sunday, 13 December 2026 in the USA and Canada.
What time does Panchami tithi start and end?
From 4:48 PM IST on Sunday, 13 December to 7:16 PM IST on Monday, 14 December 2026.
Why is it a day earlier in America?
In North America, Panchami covers the whole of Sunday and is over by (or just after) Monday's sunrise. Sunday is the day it holds at sunrise and all through the day.
Is Vivah Panchami a good day to get married?
Many families, especially in Mithila, avoid it because of the hardships of Sita's married life. In 2026 there's no wedding muhurat that day anyway: the last one before Kharmas is 12 December.
Where is the biggest celebration?
At the Janaki Mandir in Janakpur, Nepal, the bride's home in the Ramayana, and in Ayodhya's temples on the groom's side.