Deepavali in Kerala is a modest festival beside Onam and Vishu. It falls at the new moon of the lunar month of Ashvina, in the Malayalam month of Thulam, and is kept as the day Krishna killed Narakasura. The household rises early for an oil bath, new clothes are worn, lamps are lit at dusk and sweets are shared. It is celebrated most fully in the south of the state and among Tamil, Gujarati and Konkani communities.
The story
Krishna and Satyabhama killed Narakasura before dawn, and the oil bath recalls the one Krishna took afterwards. Mahabali, who gives much of India its Deepavali story, has already had his day in Kerala, at Onam.
The lamp itself needs no festival here: every Kerala temple is ringed with tiers of oil lamps, lit in thousands at dusk, and a tall brass nilavilakku is lit in every home each evening.
How it is kept
- Oil bathBefore sunrise, with sesame oil.
- New clothes and sweetsExchanged with neighbours.
- LampsRows of small lamps at the doorstep after dark.
- CrackersLit in the morning and evening, most of all in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad.
Why this date
This calendar gives Deepavali on the day the new-moon tithi of Ashvina covers the hours after sunset. Many in Kerala take their oil bath on the morning before, Naraka Chaturdasi.
Deepavali in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Monday | |
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Friday | |
| 2028 | Tuesday | |
| 2029 | Monday | |
| 2030 | Saturday |
More Kerala festivals
21 OctoberVijayadashami and Vidyarambhamവിജയദശമി · വിദ്യാരംഭം
20 DecemberSwargavathil Ekadasiസ്വർഗ്ഗവാതിൽ ഏകാദശി
20 OctoberMahanavamiമഹാനവമി
15 January 2027Makaravilakkuമകരവിളക്ക്
19 OctoberDurgashtamiദുർഗ്ഗാഷ്ടമി
13 February 2027Ratha Saptamiരഥസപ്തമി
Where to see Deepavali
In Kerala
- Padmanabhaswamy Temple, ThiruvananthapuramKeralaThe Alpashi festival in the month of Thulam ends with the royal procession to the sea at Shankumugham.
- Mattancherry, KochiKeralaThe Gujarati and Konkani quarters of the old port light up for Diwali.
- Kalpathy, PalakkadKeralaThe Tamil Brahmin village on the river; its chariot festival follows in the next month.
Across India
- SivakasiTamil NaduThe town that makes India's fireworks.
- AyodhyaUttar PradeshLamps along the Sarayu for Rama's return.
- AmritsarPunjabThe Golden Temple, lit for Bandi Chhor Divas.