Bhīṣma Dwādaśī 2026
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Bhubaneswar
After Ekādaśī
Significance of the day
Unlike the other bright twelfths of the year, Māgha's does not take a Viṣṇu name. It is called after Bhīṣma, who waited on his bed of arrows for the sun's northward turn and left his body in Māgha. Bhīṣmāṣṭamī, four days earlier, is kept as the day of his passing. Bhīṣma Dvādaśī follows Jayā Ekādaśī and is remembered as part of the same stretch of days.
Pañcāṅga rule and reckoning
- How the day is fixed: The day is the one on which Māgha Śukla Dvādaśī stands at local sunrise, normally the morning after Jayā Ekādaśī.
- Keep in mind: Bhīṣmāṣṭamī on the bright eighth and Bhīṣma Dvādaśī on the bright twelfth are two different days of the same fortnight. Because the tithi is read at local sunrise, check your own town's 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.
Worship and observances
- Breaking the Ekādaśī fast: Those who kept Jayā Ekādaśī break the fast after sunrise, within Dvādaśī and outside Hari Vāsara.
- Remembering Bhīṣma: Many recite the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, which Bhīṣma taught Yudhiṣṭhira from the bed of arrows, and some families offer water in his memory.
- Worth remembering: Bhīṣmāṣṭamī, the day of Bhīṣma's passing, falls on Māgha Śukla Aṣṭamī and has its own tarpaṇa. Bhīṣma Dvādaśī is the separate twelfth that closes the same fortnight's remembrance.
Family custom and ācāra
Customs around Bhīṣma's fortnight vary a great deal, from a full Sahasranāma recitation to a simple pāraṇa. Follow what the elders of your own house have kept.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the exact date of Bhishma Dwadashi 2026 in Bhubaneswar?
Bhishma Dwadashi 2026 date for Bhubaneswar is computed from local sunrise.
- When is Bhīṣma Dvādaśī?
It is Māgha Śukla Dvādaśī at local sunrise, usually the day after Jayā Ekādaśī.
- Is it the same as Bhīṣmāṣṭamī?
No. Bhīṣmāṣṭamī falls on Māgha Śukla Aṣṭamī, four days earlier. Bhīṣma Dvādaśī is the bright twelfth.
- Why does this twelfth carry Bhīṣma's name instead of a Viṣṇu name?
Bhīṣma left his body in Māgha after the sun turned north, so Māgha's bright fortnight is remembered for him. The twelfth after Jayā Ekādaśī took his name.
- When is Bhishma Dwadashi in 2026?
The Panchang fixes the day by this rule: Māgha Śukla Dvādaśī at local sunrise. 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.
- Why can the Bhishma Dwadashi date differ by city?
How the day is fixed: The day is the one on which Māgha Śukla Dvādaśī stands at local sunrise, normally the morning after Jayā Ekādaśī.
Viṣṇu stotram
Tithi śloka
Dvādaśī is normally the pāraṇa day after an Ekādaśī fast. Vaiṣṇava law moves the fast itself to Dvādaśī only under specified defects such as Daśamī touching Ekādaśī at Aruṇodaya.
Source
Nārada Purāṇa, Pūrva-bhāga 4.121.98.
IAST
Yadāruṇodaye viddhā daśamyaikādaśī tithiḥ | Tadā tāṃ saṃparityajya dvādaśīṃ samupoṣayet ||
When Ekādaśī is pierced by Daśamī at Aruṇodaya, that Ekādaśī is rejected and the fast is kept on Dvādaśī.
Source
Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.4.39–40.
IAST
Brāhmaṇātikrame doṣo dvādaśyāṃ yad apāraṇe | Yat kṛtvā sādhu me bhūyād adharmo vā na māṃ spṛśet || Ambhasā kevalenātha kariṣye vratapāraṇam | Āhur abbhakṣaṇaṃ viprā hy aśitaṃ nāśitaṃ ca tat ||
Ambarīṣa fears both slighting his brāhmaṇa guest and failing to complete pāraṇa within Dvādaśī. He seeks the course that will do him good and let no adharma touch him. He therefore completes the pāraṇa of his vrata with water alone, which the learned regard as both eaten and not eaten.
Note: Dates depend on your place, timezone and vrata settings. Temple custom may differ.