Nepal observed Kukur Tihar in the morning and is experiencing Laxmi Puja in the evening today, Sunday, 22 Kartik 2083. The two observances share one calendar date, but they are not combined into a single ritual.
The reason lies in the lunar calendar.
Kukur Tihar is associated with Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi, the fourteenth day of the waning fortnight, while Laxmi Puja is held on Kartik Aunsi, or Amavasya, the new-moon day.
This year Chaturdashi is present in the morning of November 8, and Amavasya begins later in the day, making it the relevant lunar date by evening. The schedule of the Nepal Calendar Determination Development Committee places the morning dog worship and the evening Laxmi Puja together.
What a tithi is
A tithi is a lunar day, calculated from the changing angular distance between the Sun and the Moon. A lunar month has 30 tithis, and each marks a 12-degree change in that distance. Unlike a Gregorian date, a tithi does not run from midnight to midnight. It can begin in the morning, afternoon or evening and end on the next calendar date, so two tithis can share one date.
Which tithi governs a festival depends on the religious rule for that ritual. Some observances follow the tithi at sunrise, others an evening or night window. That is why Tihar’s dates shift each year and why rituals can overlap or separate.
The Hindu calendar is lunisolar, combining lunar months with solar adjustments, and an extra month is added periodically to keep it aligned with the seasons.
Where the cow fits
In the traditional sequence, Gai Tihar and Laxmi Puja share a day, with the cow worshipped in the morning and Goddess Laxmi in the evening, as the Nepal Tourism Board describes.
The cow is regarded as sacred and associated with nourishment, motherhood and abundance, and in Nepali Hindu tradition it is seen as a symbolic representation of Laxmi.
The two do not have to share a Gregorian date, however. This year, according to Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s calendar and Hamro Patro, the schedule runs:
- November 7 (21 Kartik): Kaag Tihar
- November 8 (22 Kartik): Kukur Tihar in the morning, Laxmi Puja in the evening
- November 9 (23 Kartik): Gai Puja
- November 10 (24 Kartik): Goru Puja, Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja
- November 11 (25 Kartik): Bhai Tika
So dogs are honoured in the morning, Laxmi in the evening and the cow the next day.
The pattern is not new. In 2023, Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja also fell on the same day, with Gai Puja the next day. In 2024, Laxmi Puja was observed on October 31 and Gai Puja on November 2, and the committee said the tithi arrangement stretched Tihar to six days.
Honouring dogs
Kukur Tihar is dedicated to dogs for their loyalty and protection.
In Hindu mythology, two dogs, Shyama and Sabala, guard the gates of Yamalok, the realm of Yama, the god of death, and dogs are also linked to Bhairava, a fierce form of Shiva.
People garland dogs with marigold, place a red tika on their foreheads and offer meat, milk, eggs and rice, and many also feed street dogs. A Mahabharata story tells of a dog that accompanied Yudhishthira towards heaven. He refused to enter without it, and the dog was revealed to be Dharma.
Welcoming Laxmi
On Laxmi Puja evening, families clean their homes, place diyos around windows, doors and courtyards, and make rangoli.
They draw small footprints from the entrance to the puja room to symbolise the goddess entering, and worship with flowers, fruits, sweets, incense, rice and lamps. Business households include cash, coins and account books.
Groups of Deusi-Bhailo singers visit homes, and households give them money, food or gifts.
A busier day, the same meaning
The overlap does not change the meaning of the rituals. Dogs are still honoured for loyalty, Laxmi Puja is still held on the Amavasya evening and the cow is still worshipped, only on a different day.
