Inauspicious Time for Marriage, Every No-Wedding Period in 2026 and 2027

The inauspicious times for marriage in the coming year are the two Kharmas months and Chaturmas. Kharmas runs from 16 December 2026 to 14 January 2027, and again from 15 March to 14 April 2027. Chaturmas runs from 14 July to 10 November 2027, and Venus is also set from 21 July to 9 September. Drik Panchang lists no wedding date for New Delhi in any of these weeks.

Put together, these closed stretches add up to about seven months between November 2026 and December 2027. The longest gap runs from 13 July to 9 November 2027.

Why Do Hindu Weddings Pause?

Most North Indian panchangs check four things before they allow a marriage date: the solar month, the lunar period, whether Venus (Shukra) and Jupiter (Guru) are visible, and the day's own nakshatra, yoga and karana. Drik Panchang's note on choosing marriage dates sets out these rules, citing Muhurta Chintamani and Dharmasindhu.

The first four close whole weeks or months. The last one removes single days here and there inside an open month. This page is about the big blocks.

Tula (Libra) is the odd one out. Drik Panchang's note puts the Tula month on its avoid list, yet its own 2027 calendar for New Delhi gives 10, 11, 15 and 16 November, while the Sun is still in Tula. Vrishchika Sankranti comes only at 2:02 am on 17 November. The 2028 list does the same, with dates from 30 October.

Drik Panchang's Chennai list has the same four days in Aippasi, and many Tamil panchangams list Aippasi muhurthams too. So on the published lists the Tula month is open. A priest who follows the old rule strictly may still avoid it.

Timeline of No-Wedding Periods, November 2026 to December 2027

Dates are for New Delhi, from Drik Panchang's marriage calendar, sankranti list, Ekadashi list and the Venus and Jupiter combustion pages. The open months between these blocks still have single days missing. For example, March 2027 is open until 14 March, but 5 to 8 March have no good nakshatra.

Kharmas (Dhanu and Meena)

Kharmas is the month when the Sun is in Dhanu or Meena, the two signs of Jupiter. Twice a year. Drik Panchang gives Dhanu Sankranti on 16 December 2026 at 10:29 am and Makara Sankranti on 15 January 2027, which closes the winter gap. Meena Sankranti falls on 15 March 2027 at 7:04 am, and Mesha Sankranti on 14 April 2027 at 3:33 pm.

The first wedding date after the winter Kharmas is 15 January 2027, and the first one after the spring Kharmas is 18 April 2027, three days later than you might expect. Our Kharmas post has the last and first dates around each one.

Chaturmas

Chaturmas is the four lunar months from Devshayani Ekadashi to Dev Uthani (Prabodhini) Ekadashi, when Vishnu is said to rest. In 2027 Devshayani Ekadashi is on 14 July and Dev Uthani Ekadashi on 10 November. Drik Panchang marks 13 July as partly inside Chaturmas, and the season reopens on 10 November.

Chaturmas also covers the Simha and Kanya solar months, which are closed for marriage on their own. Our post on marriage in Chaturmas explains the period and the exceptions.

Holashtak

Holashtak is the eight days from the Ashtami of Phalguna Shukla Paksha to the Purnima, ending with Holika Dahan. In 2027 Holika Dahan is on Sunday, 21 March, so Holashtak falls in the middle of March, and many families in North India do not hold weddings in it.

In 2027 this hardly matters. Meena Kharmas has already begun on 15 March. Drik Panchang says its marriage list does not consider Holashtak. The last March date, 14 March, shows Saptami tithi, so it sits just before Holashtak. Our March 2027 list has the details.

Shukra Asta and Guru Asta

When Venus or Jupiter comes too close to the Sun, it cannot be seen, and the planet is called asta or set. Drik Panchang writes that most auspicious work, and marriage above all, is not done while Venus or Jupiter is set.

All of these fall in Chaturmas. So they remove no extra dates this season. Drik Panchang's marriage list also keeps a few buffer days around Venus setting and rising, which it marks as old and young Venus (vriddhatva and shishutva). That is why its 2027 list shows Venus-related closures from 14 July to 22 September.

Pitru Paksha, Adhik Maas and Regional Months

Pitru Paksha, the fortnight of ancestor rites, runs from 16 to 29 September 2027 (Sarva Pitru Amavasya), with the Purnima shraddha on 15 September. It falls inside Chaturmas, and families do not hold weddings in it anyway.

Adhik Maas, the extra lunar month, came in 2026, in May and June. None in 2027.

Regional calendars add their own months. Many Tamil families avoid Aadi (from mid-July) and Margazhi (from mid-December). Many Telugu and Kannada families avoid Ashada masam, which falls in July. These line up closely with Chaturmas and Kharmas, but each regional panchangam has its own list, so check with your family priest or jothidar.

What You Can Still Do in These Months

A no-wedding month is not a wasted month. It is the right time for everything that has to happen before the wedding, and most families have plenty of that.

1. Make and send the biodata. Families exchange profiles all year, and a gap month gives time to collect replies. You can make a marriage biodata with rasi, nakshatra and lagna filled in, and share it as a PDF or a JPG.
2. Match horoscopes. Our guide to kundli milan explains the process.
3. Hold the first meetings and settle the details, so that the date can be fixed as soon as the season opens.
4. Shortlist halls for the first dates after the gap, such as 15 January, 18 April or 10 November 2027.
5. Register the marriage in court if that is your plan. The muhurat rules are family customs, not law, and a registrar's office does not follow them. Our court marriage guide explains the steps.

Whether an engagement can be held in these weeks is a matter of family custom. Our engagement muhurat guide explains the usual choices.