Agni Nakṣatram is not a tithi festival but a solar season, the weeks when the Sun crosses the fiery stretch of the nakṣatra belt. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam almanacs mark its opening day so that households can prepare for the hardest heat of the year. Kṛttikā, at the heart of the window, has Agni as its deity, and Murugan, raised by the Kṛttikā mothers, is remembered alongside him. The day is a call to care for the body, to share water with others and to put off heavy undertakings until the heat passes. How the day is fixed: The opening day is the first civil day on which the Sun's sidereal longitude has reached 20°, the start of Bharaṇī pāda 3. On the day before, the Sun is still outside the window. The stretch it opens: The window covers Bharaṇī pādas 3 and 4, the whole of Kṛttikā and Rohiṇī pāda 1, roughly 20° to 43°20′ of sidereal longitude. The Sun takes about three weeks to cross it. Keep in mind: Because the Sun's position is taken at the start of each civil day, the date can differ by one from almanacs that reckon the ingress moment differently. It is wise to confirm against the local pañcāṅga. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Keeping cool: Households cut back on outdoor work at midday and drink buttermilk, pānaka and tender coconut water. Many set up water stalls for travellers, which is counted as a good deed in this season. Worship: There is no single liturgy for the opening day. Some temples hold special worship for Murugan or Agni, and some Śiva temples are said to hang a dripping vessel over the liṅga through these weeks. Worth remembering: Many families put off gṛhapraveśa, new construction and well-digging until the window closes. The end of Agni Nakṣatram, when the Sun leaves Rohiṇī pāda 1, is marked as a separate day. Agni Nakṣatram is kept most closely in Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring south, and elsewhere it is simply the hottest part of Vaiśākha. What a family avoids in these weeks, whether it offers a pūjā and how strictly it waits for the window to close are matters of household and temple custom. The surest guide is to follow the elders of one's own house.
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