If you are taking tika in the US this Dashain, the auspicious hours start on Tuesday night

Vijaya Dashami, the tika day of Dashain, falls on Wednesday 21 October 2026 in Nepal — which means the auspicious window opens on Tuesday evening in the United States. Nepal’s panchanga puts the tika hours from sunrise at 6:07am until the Dashami tithi ends at 2:26pm, Kathmandu time. Nepal runs 9 hours and 45 minutes ahead of the US East Coast in October, so that window is 8:22pm Tuesday to 4:41am Wednesday in New York, and 5:22pm Tuesday to 1:41am Wednesday in California. Most Nepali families in America take tika at an hour that suits the family and the working week, and that is entirely normal.

The tika window in your time zone

Here is Nepal’s window converted, hour for hour. The United States is still on daylight time in October — the clocks do not go back until 1 November — so these are daylight-time hours.

Does the Nepal clock actually matter in America?

For most families, no, and nobody back home expects it to. The panchanga fixes the hours for Nepal, where the whole country stops for the day. In the United States, 21 October is a Wednesday workday, and families take tika when the family can gather: the evening before, that Wednesday morning before school and work, or the weekend after. Elders in the household give the tika and jamara, the order runs oldest to youngest, and that is the part that matters.

Two groups do watch the clock. Households that keep to the tithi strictly can take tika inside the converted window above, which on the East Coast conveniently lands in the Tuesday evening. And anyone joining relatives in Nepal by video call will find the family gathered there through the Nepali morning, which is Tuesday night in America.

The whole Dashain calendar, in US terms

Dashain is fifteen days, and only a few of them are marked outside Nepal. Ghatasthapana, when the jamara is sown, falls on Sunday 11 October, which is convenient for US families this year. The busiest days for gatherings are the weekend of Phulpati and Maha Ashtami, then tika day itself.

For the full timing and what closes in Nepal, our Dashain and Tihar 2026 dates page has the panchanga detail, and the Dashain guide explains each of the fifteen days.

If you are flying home for Dashain

Nepal all but closes for the public holidays, 17 to 23 October. Government offices, permit counters and many businesses shut, domestic flights and long-distance buses fill with people travelling to their family homes, and Kathmandu empties. If you are going back for the festival and thinking of adding a trek, the trails are open and the autumn weather is usually at its best, but book the internal flights and lodges early: the same week is peak season for trekking and peak season for Nepalis travelling.

What time is tika in the USA for Dashain 2026?

Nepal’s tika window on Wednesday 21 October runs from 6:07am to 2:26pm Kathmandu time. In the United States that is Tuesday 20 October from 8:22pm to 4:41am Wednesday on the East Coast, and from 5:22pm to 1:41am on the West Coast.

Is it wrong to take tika at a different time in America?

No. The auspicious hours are set for Nepal, and families abroad have always taken tika when the household can gather. The order, elders to youngest, and the blessing itself are what count.

How many Nepalis live in the United States?

The 2020 Census counted 219,503 people of Nepalese descent, including those who reported Nepalese in combination with another group, and 205,297 who reported Nepalese alone. That is a 269% increase on the 59,490 counted in 2010.

Sources: Nepal’s 2083 panchanga as published by the Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Bikas Samiti and reported in the Nepali press; US Census Bureau 2020 detailed race and ethnicity data; time conversions our own, based on Nepal Standard Time (UTC+5:45) and US daylight time, which ends on 1 November 2026.

Cover photo: kabita Darlami via Pexels (Pexels License). Section photos: Cats Coming via Pexels (Pexels licence); Askar Abayev via Pexels (Pexels licence); Soumalya Halder via Pexels (Pexels licence); Max Chen via Pexels (Pexels licence).