Datta Jayanti 2026 UK Date City by City: Wednesday 23 December in London, Leicester, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow

Quick answer: Datta Jayanti 2026 UK date is Wednesday 23 December 2026 in London, Leicester, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow, the same day as in India. It is Margashirsha Purnima, the full moon on which Lord Dattatreya's birth is celebrated, and also Annapurna Jayanti.

Datta Jayanti is especially dear to Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu and Kannada families. In Britain it falls on a working Wednesday, two days before Christmas, so most households will keep it at home in the evening, which happens to be exactly when the birth is traditionally celebrated.

About these dates: the UK dates are computed with HinduTone's sunrise-tithi calculator, which follows the Drik Panchang method and has been validated against Drik Panchang to within 1–2 minutes. Please confirm on Drik Panchang for your city, and follow your mandir's calendar.

Datta Jayanti 2026 UK date: city-by-city table

Datta Jayanti is kept on the day Margashirsha Purnima prevails at local evening, the traditional hour of Dattatreya's birth. We calculated it for each city separately.

All six cities agree. Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and other UK towns share the same time zone and will usually match, but please confirm on Drik Panchang. Do not convert the Purnima start time published for India into UK time; the tithi is worked out for local evening, and the result here is already the UK date.

Where Datta Jayanti sits in the UK festival calendar

Datta Jayanti comes three days after Gita Jayanti 2026 in the UK and falls inside Dhanurmasam 2026 in the UK. The fourth Margashirsha Thursday (Christmas Eve, Thu 24 Dec) follows the very next day.

Who is Lord Dattatreya?

As commonly told, Dattatreya was born to the sage Atri and his wife Anasuya, whose devotion and chastity were so great that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva came to test her and were themselves won over. The three gods were born as her son, which is why Dattatreya is worshipped as the Trimurti in one form, usually shown with three heads and six arms.

He is pictured with a cow behind him and four dogs at his feet; the cow is often read as Mother Earth or dharma, and the dogs as the four Vedas. Dattatreya is above all the Adi Guru, the original teacher. In the Bhagavata tradition he is said to have learned from 24 gurus found in nature, from the earth and the bee to the child and the python, which makes his story a gentle one to share with children.

Later saints are revered as his incarnations in the Datta tradition, among them Sripada Srivallabha and Sri Narasimha Saraswati, whose lives are told in the Guru Charitra, and Swami Samarth of Akkalkot. For the India date, the major Datta kshetras and a fuller story, see Datta Jayanti 2026: Lord Dattatreya and Guru Charitra parayana.

How families in Britain keep Datta Jayanti at home

Marathi families

Many Marathi households complete a Guru Charitra parayana, often across the seven days ending on Datta Jayanti, and sing the Datta aarti and the chant "Digambara Digambara Shripad Vallabh Digambara" at dusk. A cradle (palna) song for the newborn Datta is sung in many homes and mandirs at the time of the birth.

Gujarati families

The Datta Bavani, a 52-line hymn widely recited in Gujarat, is a natural focus for the evening, along with Datta bhajans and a simple aarti. Some families recite it several times through the day.

Telugu families

Telugu households often chant Datta stotras, sing bhajans to Sripada Srivallabha and keep a Margasira Pournami puja the same evening, with a lamp, flowers and payasam. See Margasira Pournami 2026 for the full-moon observances.

Kannada families

For Kannada families the Datta tradition is closely tied to Ganagapur, associated with Sri Narasimha Saraswati. Guru Charitra reading, Datta bhajans and an evening puja are common at home.

A simple evening puja for a working Wednesday

1. Clean the puja space and set up a picture of Dattatreya, or of Sripada Srivallabha, Narasimha Saraswati or Swami Samarth as your family prefers.
2. Light a ghee lamp and incense around dusk, which in late December comes around 4 PM in much of Britain, so most people will do the main puja after work.
3. Offer flowers, tulsi or bilva if you have them, fruit, and a sweet such as sheera or payasam.
4. Read a chapter of the Guru Charitra, recite the Datta Bavani, or chant "Om Dram Dattatreyaya Namah" or "Digambara Digambara Shripad Vallabh Digambara".
5. Sing a palna or Datta aarti, and share the prasad with the family.

Annapurna Jayanti the same day

Margashirsha Purnima is also observed as Annapurna Jayanti, honouring Goddess Annapurna, the giver of food, as commonly told in the story of Shiva receiving alms from her in Kashi. A lovely way to mark it in Britain, just before Christmas, is to cook a little extra and give to a local food bank or community kitchen, alongside a simple prayer before the family meal.

Practicalities for British Hindus in the week before Christmas

• A busy weekday: Wednesday 23 December is a normal working day for many, and the last before Christmas for some. Plan the puja for the evening and prepare prasad the night before.
• Early, cold darkness: sunset in late December is in the late afternoon and sunrise around 8 AM. Keep lamps on a metal plate away from curtains and smoke alarms.
• School Christmas holidays: most schools have broken up by this date, so children can help set up the puja and hear the Dattatreya story.
• Christmas and Boxing Day: Friday 25 and Saturday 26 December. If you are hosting, Datta Jayanti on Wednesday is a calm spiritual pause before the festivities.
• Travel: if you are flying to India for the holidays, the date does not change; it is Wednesday 23 December there too.
• Mandirs: the UK has many Hindu mandirs in Leicester, Wembley, Birmingham and elsewhere, and some mark Datta Jayanti. Check your mandir's own website for its plans; we do not list programmes or timings.

For every other date this month, see December 2026 Hindu festivals in the UK, and for Vaikuntha Ekadashi three days earlier, Vaikuntha Ekadashi 2026 in the UK and Ireland.

Frequently asked questions

When is Datta Jayanti 2026 in London?

Wednesday 23 December 2026. Our sunrise-tithi calculator gives the same date for London, Leicester, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow, and it is the same day as India. Please confirm on Drik Panchang and follow your mandir's calendar.

Why is Datta Jayanti decided by the evening, not sunrise?

Lord Dattatreya's birth is traditionally celebrated at dusk on Margashirsha Purnima, so the festival is kept on the day when Purnima prevails at local evening. In 2026 that is Wednesday 23 December in every UK city in our table.

Is Annapurna Jayanti on the same day as Datta Jayanti in 2026?

Yes. Annapurna Jayanti is also observed on Margashirsha Purnima, so in the UK and India it falls on Wednesday 23 December 2026.

When is Datta Jayanti 2026 in Leicester?

Wednesday 23 December 2026, the same as London, Birmingham and the rest of our UK table.

What should I read on Datta Jayanti?

Marathi and Kannada families traditionally read the Guru Charitra, often as a seven-day parayana ending on Datta Jayanti. Gujarati families commonly recite the Datta Bavani. Telugu families often chant Datta stotras and Sripada Srivallabha bhajans. Any sincere prayer to Dattatreya is welcome.

Is Datta Jayanti a fasting day?

Many devotees keep a light fast until the evening puja and then take prasad. It is a personal choice; anyone with a medical condition should speak to their GP first.

Editor's note

Editor's note (6 October 2026): This guide has been restored at its original address after the earlier version was lost. The UK dates are computed with our sunrise-tithi calculator, which uses the Drik Panchang method and has been validated against Drik Panchang to 1–2 minutes. Please confirm the date on Drik Panchang for your city and follow your mandir's calendar. We do not list temple events, darshan or programme timings.

Related guides

• December 2026 Hindu festivals in the UK
• Datta Jayanti 2026: date and Guru Charitra parayana
• Margasira Pournami 2026
• Margashirsha Masam 2026 in the UK: Thursdays city by city
• Gita Jayanti 2026 in the UK, city by city
• Vaikuntha Ekadashi 2026 in UK and Ireland