Bhai Dooj Tilak Vidhi · भाई दूज तिलक विधि

How sisters do the Bhai Dooj tilak for their brothers: the thali to prepare, the time, and the steps the published guides agree on.

How the puja is done

When

Bhai Dooj falls on Kartik Shukla Dwitiya, two days after Diwali, and closes the five days of the festival. The tilak is done in the afternoon (aparahna) while Dwitiya lasts; the exact window depends on the city. See the Bhai Dooj page for the date.

The thali

Roli or kumkum, chandan and akshat (rice)
Flowers, fruits and sweets
Supari (betel nut) and a lamp for the aarti

The tilak

Bathe and put on clean clothes.
Many sisters draw a square (chowk) with rice flour and seat the brother on it, or on a low stool.
At the muhurat, apply the tilak on the brother's forehead and put akshat on it.
Do his aarti with the lamp, and pray for his long life and wellbeing.
Feed him sweets, and a meal cooked by the sister.
The brother gives his sister a gift and his blessing.

Other customs

Some sisters keep a fast until the tilak is done.
In some homes a four-wicked lamp is lit in Yama's name in the evening and placed outside the house.
The Kayastha community worships Chitragupta on this day.

These steps are written in our own words; each appears in at least two of the published sources linked below, and steps found in only one source are left out. Puja customs differ by family, region and tradition; your family priest or family custom comes first.

About this text

Bhai Dooj, also called Yam Dwitiya, Bhai Tika and Bhau Beej, celebrates the bond of brother and sister. In the story told with it, Yama, the god of death, visited his sister Yamuna on this day; she welcomed him with a tilak and a meal, and he blessed brothers who receive a tilak from their sisters on this day. This page gives the tilak as the published guides listed below describe it. Customs differ by region and community: follow your family's way where it differs.