By Khabar Rojana 
The next lunar eclipse will happen in 2026 with two events—one in March and another in August. Here’s the date, time, Sutak, and visibility in India.
In 2025, people worldwide witnessed two lunar eclipses. Now, there will be two lunar eclipses in 2026. March will see the first, and August will see the second. There will be a partial lunar eclipse and a full lunar eclipse. Both will have distinct qualities, and visibility conditions in India will also be different.
According to scientific theory, a lunar eclipse happens when the Earth, Sun, and Moon line up in a straight line and the Moon is shadowed by the Earth. At the same time, religious beliefs hold that a lunar eclipse is associated with both good and bad things and that the Sutak period must be observed.
First lunar eclipse 2026: date, time and visibility in India
The first lunar eclipse of 2026 will occur on Tuesday, March 3, just before Holi. This will be a partial lunar eclipse. According to the Drik Panchang, it will be Falgun Purnima on that day.
- Time: Starting from 6:26 PM to 6:46 PM, with a total duration of approximately 20 minutes and 28 seconds.
- Visibility: This eclipse will be visible in Asia, Australia, and North and South America.
- Visibility in India: It will be visible in India; hence, its Sutak period will be valid here.
- Sutak time: From 9:39 am to 6:46 pm.
Second Chandra Grahan 2026: date, time and global visibility
The second lunar eclipse of the year will occur on Friday, August 28, 2026. It will be a total lunar eclipse.
- Visibility: Mainly in North and South America, Europe and parts of Africa.
- Visibility in India: It will not be visible in India; hence, its Sutak period will not be valid here.
In this way, in the year 2026, there will be one partial and one total lunar eclipse, out of which only the March one will be visible in India.
Significance of Chandra Grahan and Sutak period in Hinduism
A lunar eclipse is considered to have unique spiritual and religious significance in Hinduism. Eclipses of the moon are thought to boost the negative energy in the atmosphere and produce different outcomes from activities done at regular times. Because of this, worship, food, and auspicious activities are forbidden during the Sutak period, which starts before the eclipse. Sutak is typically observed in religious families and temples. Its goal is to uphold spiritual practice and cleanliness.