Kṛṣṇa Bhīṣma Dwādaśī 2026
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Madurai
After Ekādaśī
Significance of the day
Māgha's Dvādaśī name is Bhīṣma. The bright twelfth, Bhīṣma Dvādaśī, is tied to Bhīṣma's last days on the bed of arrows, and the waning twelfth repeats the name as Kṛṣṇa Bhīṣma. This waning day has company of its own. Rāma Til Dvādaśī, when sesame is offered, falls on the same sunrise, and the day usually closes the Vijayā Ekādaśī fast that Rāma kept on the shore before crossing to Laṅkā.
Pañcāṅga rule and reckoning
- How the day is fixed: The day is the one on which the Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Dvādaśī of amānta Māgha stands at local sunrise. Pūrṇimānta calendars show the same day in Phālguna. Rāma Til Dvādaśī is reckoned from the same sunrise, so the two share a date in an ordinary year.
- Keep in mind: When Māgha repeats as an adhika month, the extra month's waning twelfth is named Adhika Kṛṣṇa Bhīṣma Dvādaśī, and Rāma Til Dvādaśī is not marked then. The sesame offering waits for the waning twelfth of the regular Māgha.
- 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
- Pāraṇa after Vijayā Ekādaśī: Those who kept Vijayā Ekādaśī break the fast this morning within the pāraṇa time of the pañcāṅga. The monthly Dvādaśī name has no vrata of its own, so the fast is only the Ekādaśī's.
- Rāma Til Dvādaśī on the same day: Rāma Til Dvādaśī is kept in every region on this sunrise. Sesame is offered to Viṣṇu and given away, and the observance has its own customs apart from the monthly name.
- Worth remembering: Bhīṣmāṣṭamī and the bright Bhīṣma Dvādaśī both fall in the bright half of Māgha and are separate days. Kṛṣṇa Bhīṣma Dvādaśī is the monthly name of this waning twelfth, and Rāma Til Dvādaśī is the sesame vrata kept on it.
Family custom and ācāra
With Mahāśivarātri only a couple of days away, many homes move quickly from this pāraṇa to preparing for the night of Śiva. How much of the sesame offering a family keeps, and whether the Śivarātri fast shapes the meal today, is best learned from the elders of your own house.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the exact date of Krishna Bhishma Dwadashi 2026 in Madurai?
Krishna Bhishma Dwadashi 2026 date for Madurai is computed from local sunrise.
- Is Kṛṣṇa Bhīṣma Dvādaśī the same as Rāma Til Dvādaśī?
They fall on the same sunrise but are not the same thing. Kṛṣṇa Bhīṣma is the monthly name of the tithi, and Rāma Til Dvādaśī is the sesame observance kept that day. In an adhika Māgha only the monthly name appears.
- Does Kṛṣṇa in the name mean Lord Kṛṣṇa?
No. It marks kṛṣṇa pakṣa, the dark fortnight. The name Bhīṣma is carried over from the bright twelfth of the month.
- Is there a fast on this day?
The fast is Vijayā Ekādaśī the day before, and this morning is usually its pāraṇa. The monthly name carries no separate vrata. The sesame offering belongs to Rāma Til Dvādaśī and follows family practice.
- When is Krishna Bhishma Dwadashi in 2026?
The Panchang fixes the day by this rule: Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Dvādaśī of amānta Māgha (pūrṇimānta Phālguna), kept on the day the Dvādaśī stands 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 Krishna Bhishma Dwadashi date differ by city?
How the day is fixed: The day is the one on which the Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Dvādaśī of amānta Māgha stands at local sunrise. Pūrṇimānta calendars show the same day in Phālguna. Rāma Til Dvādaśī is reckoned from the same sunrise, so the two share a date in an ordinary year.
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.