84 Ghats Lit with a Million Diyas — Dev Diwali 2026

Why All 84 Ghats, and Why It Matters

Dev Deepawali — the "Diwali of the Gods" — falls on Kartik Purnima, fifteen days after the main Diwali festival. Legend holds that this is the night the gods themselves descend to Varanasi to bathe in the Ganga and celebrate Lord Shiva's victory over the demon Tripurasura. In response, every ghat along the river is lined with thousands of oil lamps.

From street level, you can only ever see the one or two ghats near you — the crowd and the curve of the riverbank block the rest. From a boat in the middle of the Ganga, the view opens up: ghat after ghat glowing gold, stretching further than you can see from any single point on land.