Festival · The midnight birth of Krishna
Janmashtami 2027: date, tithi and muhurat
Janmashtami 2027 falls on Tuesday, 24 August, on Krishna Ashtami of Shravana. The times here are for Chandigarh; choose your city to see yours.
What Janmashtami is
Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Krishna at midnight on the eighth tithi of the dark fortnight in the month that North Indian calendars call Bhadrapada and South Indian ones Shravana. Families fast through the day, decorate a cradle or a tableau of the infant Krishna, sing bhajans and break the fast after the midnight puja. The next day brings Dahi Handi, the human pyramid that breaks a pot of curd hung high, in Mumbai and across Maharashtra. Mathura and Vrindavan celebrate for days.
How the date is fixed
The festival is on Krishna Ashtami (Shravana by the amanta count, Bhadrapada by the purnimanta). The Smarta night is the one on which Ashtami holds Nishita, the midnight, and the one with Rohini nakshatra if both do; the Vaishnava day is the one on which Ashtami is present at sunrise.
Dates for 2026 to 2028
Janmashtami is on Friday, 4 September in 2026, Tuesday, 24 August in 2027 and Sunday, 13 August in 2028. These dates are calculated from the sky for Chandigarh, not copied from a printed calendar. It falls on Krishna Ashtami of Shravana by the amanta count, which the purnimanta calendars of the north name Bhadrapada; the sky is the same.
| Year | Date | Tithi and month |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, 4 September | Krishna Ashtami · Shravana (amanta) / Bhadrapada (purnimanta) |
| 2027 | Tuesday, 24 August · Vaishnava day: Wednesday, 25 August | Krishna Ashtami · Shravana (amanta) / Bhadrapada (purnimanta) |
| 2028 | Sunday, 13 August | Krishna Ashtami · Shravana (amanta) / Bhadrapada (purnimanta) |
Muhurat for Janmashtami
For Chandigarh in 2027, the main time is the Nishita puja (midnight): 12:03 am (25 Aug) – 12:47 am (25 Aug) on Tuesday, 24 August. Sunrise, sunset and the parts of the day move with the city, so the window, and sometimes the day itself, can change elsewhere. Choose your city below and the tables follow.
| Muhurat | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nishita puja (midnight) | 11:59 pm – 12:45 am (5 Sep) | 12:03 am (25 Aug) – 12:47 am (25 Aug) | 12:06 am (14 Aug) – 12:49 am (14 Aug) |
The central moment is midnight, when the cradle is rocked, the idol bathed and the aarti performed, and prasad such as makhan-mishri, butter with sugar, is shared. Temples stay open late.
The Smarta and Vaishnava days often differ by one day, and ISKCON and many Vaishnava temples follow the sunrise rule; where the two differ this page shows both.
A share card for the Janmashtami muhurat is coming. Today the app has one for Diwali only.
Questions people ask
Why do Smarta and Vaishnava Janmashtami sometimes differ?
Smarta calendars choose the night on which Ashtami holds the midnight, when Krishna is said to have been born. Vaishnava calendars choose the day on which Ashtami is present at sunrise. When the Ashtami straddles two days, the two rules can pick different ones.
Is Janmashtami in Shravana or Bhadrapada?
Both names refer to the same day. Calendars that end the month at the new moon (amanta) call it Shravana Krishna Ashtami; those that end it at the full moon (purnimanta) call it Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami.
What is the role of Rohini nakshatra?
Krishna is said to have been born under Rohini nakshatra. When Ashtami and Rohini coincide at midnight the tradition counts the day as especially fitting, but the festival is kept on Ashtami even when they do not.
When is Janmashtami in 2026, 2027 and 2028?
Janmashtami is on Friday, 4 September 2026; Tuesday, 24 August 2027; Sunday, 13 August 2028, calculated for Chandigarh. In another city the day can differ by one when the tithi starts or ends close to the time of day the rule uses.
How does JYOTISH.info calculate Janmashtami?
From the sky, with the astronomy-engine library on the Lahiri sidereal zodiac: the lunar month from the Sun’s sign at the new moon, the tithi from the Moon–Sun angle, and the day part that the festival’s own rule asks for, at the city’s sunrise and sunset. Nothing is copied from a table. The rule is stated above and the full method is on the method page.
Every position on this page is calculated sidereal with the Lahiri ayanamsa from the astronomy-engine library (MIT licence). The classical texts describe tendencies; this page is for guidance and reflection, not a verdict, and no outcome is promised. How we calculate. This is the English page and the legal reference. The same page is available in Hindi. Checked October 2026.