nakshatra · कृत्तिका
Krittika Nakshatra: Every Day It Held Sunrise, 2026 and 2027
11 days in 2026 · 12 in 2027 · sunrise at New Delhi
Krittika is the 3rd of the 27 nakshatras. A panchang names a day by the nakshatra running at sunrise, and between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027 Krittika was the nakshatra at sunrise in New Delhi on 23 days: 11 in 2026 and 12 in 2027. Three times it began after one sunrise and ended before the next, so it named no day at all (between the sunrises of 19 April 2026 and 20 April 2026; 30 September 2026 and 1 October 2026; 28 July 2027 and 29 July 2027), and it never held two sunrises in a row.
The muhurta texts put Krittika in the Mishra (mixed) group, which is the class the muhurat filter reads it by. Its own page, Krittika nakshatra, covers it as a birth star.
The 23 Days, Month by Month
| Month | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| January | 28 | 18 |
| February | 24 | 14 |
| March | 23 | 14 |
| April | — | 10 |
| May | 17 | 7 |
| June | 13 | 4 |
| July | 11 | 1 |
| August | 7 | 25 |
| September | 3 | 21 |
| October | 28 | 18 |
| November | 24 | 15 |
| December | 22 | 12 |
By weekday, Krittika held sunrise most often on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays (4 times) and least on Thursdays (2): Sunday 4, Monday 4, Tuesday 4, Wednesday 3, Thursday 2, Friday 3, Saturday 3. Over two years that spread is chance, not a pattern; the weekday and the nakshatra run on unrelated cycles.
Festivals that fell on a Krittika day: Kartik Purnima (24 November 2026) and Shani Jayanti (4 June 2027).
In the cycle Krittika comes after Bharani and before Rohini; all 27 are on the nakshatra index. For what the five limbs are and how a day’s panchang is read, see reading the panchang and the guide to choosing a day. This page in Hindi: कृत्तिका नक्षत्र.