Kartika Hunnime is the full moon of Kartika, the month of lamps. Every temple in Karnataka holds a Deepotsava in it: the walls, steps and tanks are lined with oil lamps, and at the largest, a hundred thousand are lit. Tulasi Habba, the wedding of the tulasi plant, comes four days before the full moon, and the Kartika Mondays are kept for Shiva.
The story
On this full moon Shiva destroyed the three cities of the demons, and the gods lit lamps. In Kartika Vishnu wakes from his four-month sleep, and the wedding season begins.
Bengaluru has a Kartika custom of its own: the Kadalekai Parishe, a fair held round the Bull Temple of Basavanagudi since the city's founding, where farmers bring the first groundnuts of the season and offer them to the stone Nandi.
How it is kept
- DeepotsavaLamps lit in temples, at the tulasi and along the river.
- Tulasi HabbaOn Utthana Dwadashi the tulasi is married to a branch of amla.
- Kartika SomavaraMondays of fasting and visits to Shiva.
- TeppotsavaDeities are floated on the temple tank.
Why this date
Kartika Hunnime is the full-moon tithi of Kartika, on the day it is present at sunrise; the lamps are lit that evening.
Kartika Hunnime in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Sunday | |
| 2028 | Thursday | |
| 2029 | Wednesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Friday |
More Kannada festivals
29 OctoberDeepavaliದೀಪಾವಳಿ
4 DecemberSubrahmanya Shashthiಸುಬ್ರಹ್ಮಣ್ಯ ಷಷ್ಠಿ
28 OctoberNaraka Chaturdashiನರಕ ಚತುರ್ದಶಿ
9 OctoberVijayadashamiವಿಜಯದಶಮಿ
8 OctoberMahanavami and Ayudha Pujaಮಹಾನವಮಿ · ಆಯುಧ ಪೂಜೆ
7 OctoberDurgashtamiದುರ್ಗಾಷ್ಟಮಿ
Where to see Kartika Hunnime
In Karnataka
- DharmasthalaKarnatakaThe Laksha Deepotsava, five days at the end of the month, with a conference of all faiths.
- Bull Temple, Basavanagudi, BengaluruKarnatakaThe Kadalekai Parishe, on the last Monday of Kartika.
- Sri Krishna Matha, UdupiKarnatakaLaksha Deepotsava round the Madhva Sarovara, with the chariots drawn each night.
- GokarnaKarnatakaThe Tripurakhya Deepotsava at the Mahabaleshwar temple.
Across India
- TiruvannamalaiTamil NaduThe Karthigai Deepam on the hill.
- VaranasiUttar PradeshDev Deepawali, with every ghat of the Ganga lit.
- SrisailamAndhra PradeshThe arch of fire at the Jyotirlinga.