Festival guide · Ashvina Shukla 2026

Durga Puja 2026: dates, Sandhi Puja time and Dussehra muhurat

Durga Puja 2026 runs from Shashthi on Friday 16 October to Vijaya Dashami on Wednesday 21 October. Maha Ashtami is Monday 19 October, with Sandhi Puja from 10:28 AM to 11:16 AM IST. North India celebrates Dussehra on Tuesday 20 October (Vijay Muhurat 1:59 PM to 2:45 PM in New Delhi); Bengal immerses the Goddess on Wednesday 21 October.

All times are IST. Tithi and nakshatra changes happen at the same instant everywhere, so Sandhi Puja is the same clock time across India. Sunrise, Aparahna and Vijay Muhurat depend on your city: Kolkata is about 40–50 minutes earlier than New Delhi, and other cities fall in between or later. Bengali panjikas (Bisuddha Siddhanta, Gupta Press) can differ by a few minutes or more; follow your pandal or family priest.

Why Durga Puja matters

Durga Puja celebrates the Goddess as Mahishasura Mardini, the slayer of the buffalo demon Mahishasura. In the Devi Mahatmya (Markandeya Purana), the gods pool their powers into one radiant form, Durga, who fights Mahishasura for nine days and kills him on the tenth. The story is read as the victory of clear, disciplined strength over arrogance and confusion. The autumn worship is called Akal Bodhon, the “untimely awakening”, because in the Krittivasi Ramayana Rama wakes the Goddess out of season to seek her blessing before fighting Ravana. That is why Durga Puja and Dussehra share the same Dashami.

In Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Tripura and Bihar, the last five days (Shashthi to Dashami) are the heart of the festival, with clay images in pandals, the Navapatrika (nine plants as the Goddess) and Sindoor Khela on Dashami. In North and West India the same days close Navaratri with kanya puja on Ashtami or Navami and Ravana Dahan on Dussehra. Gujarat keeps nine nights of garba, Mysuru holds the Dasara procession, and in the South the season ends with Ayudha Puja and Vidyarambham.

Best times for puja

Sandhi Puja is the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami, around the junction at 10:52 AM IST. It honours Chamunda, the form that slew Chanda and Munda, with 108 lamps and 108 lotuses. The Vijay Muhurat is the eleventh of the fifteen muhurtas of daylight; Aparahna is the fourth fifth of the day. Exact Kalparambha and Navapatrika clock times are set by each panjika, so check yours.

Day by day: tithi and nakshatra

1. Sat 10 Oct

   Mahalaya (Sarva Pitru Amavasya)

   Amavasya 9:36 PM 9 Oct → 9:20 PM 10 Oct IST

   Nakshatra: Hasta until 9:42 PM, then Chitra (Hasta · Chitra)

   The last day of Pitru Paksha. Tarpan for ancestors in the morning; in Bengal, the dawn radio recital of Mahishasura Mardini. Devi Paksha begins the next day, when Navaratri Ghatasthapana was done (Sun 11 Oct).

2. Fri 16 Oct

   Shashthi: Bilva Nimantran, Kalparambha, Bodhon

   Shashthi 3:25 AM 16 Oct → 5:54 AM 17 Oct IST

   Nakshatra: Jyeshtha until 6:47 AM, then Mula (Jyeshtha · Mula)

   New Delhi calendar: Kalparambha in the morning, Akal Bodhon, Amantran and Adhivas in the evening (all on 16 Oct). Kolkata calendar: Bilva Nimantran on 16 Oct; Kalparambha and Bodhon move to Sat 17 Oct (see the Kolkata note).

3. Sat 17 Oct

   Maha Saptami: Navapatrika (Kolabou) Puja

   Saptami 5:54 AM 17 Oct → 8:28 AM 18 Oct IST

   Nakshatra: Mula until 9:46 AM, then Purva Ashadha (Mula · Purva Ashadha)

   New Delhi: Navapatrika bath and installation in the morning of 17 Oct. Kolkata: Saptami begins only at 5:54 AM, after sunrise (5:33 AM), so Bengali panjikas keep Shashthi rites today and Saptami / Kolabou Puja on Sun 18 Oct.

4. Sun 18 Oct

   Saptami continues (Kolkata Maha Saptami)

   Saptami until 8:28 AM, then Ashtami begins

   Nakshatra: Purva Ashadha until 12:48 PM, then Uttara Ashadha (Purva Ashadha · Uttara Ashadha)

   Ashtami starts this morning, but it is mixed with Saptami (Saptami-viddha). Tradition avoids that, so Maha Ashtami is kept on Monday, when Ashtami is running at sunrise.

5. Mon 19 Oct

   Maha Ashtami, Kumari Puja, Sandhi Puja

   Ashtami 8:28 AM 18 Oct → 10:52 AM 19 Oct; then Navami

   Nakshatra: Uttara Ashadha until 3:38 PM, then Shravana (Uttara Ashadha · Shravana)

   Ashtami puja and pushpanjali before 10:28 AM. Sandhi Puja 10:28 AM – 11:16 AM IST (the same clock time everywhere in India, because a tithi junction is one instant).

6. Tue 20 Oct

   Maha Navami; Dussehra / Vijayadashami (North India)

   Navami until 12:50 PM, then Dashami (ends 2:12 PM 21 Oct)

   Nakshatra: Shravana until 6:01 PM, then Dhanishta (Shravana · Dhanishta)

   Navami puja, homa and kanya puja in the morning while Navami lasts. Dussehra: Vijay Muhurat 1:59 PM – 2:45 PM, Aparahna 1:13 PM – 3:30 PM (New Delhi). Dashami and Shravana both cover the afternoon, which is why North Indian panchangs pick today.

7. Wed 21 Oct

   Bengal Vijaya Dashami: Sindoor Khela, visarjan

   Dashami until 2:12 PM, then Ekadashi

   Nakshatra: Dhanishta until 7:47 PM, then Shatabhisha (Dhanishta · Shatabhisha)

   Bengali panjikas keep Dashami puja and Darpan Visarjan on the morning when Dashami is running at sunrise. Aparahna 1:14 PM – 3:30 PM (New Delhi), 12:30 PM – 2:49 PM (Kolkata).

Kolkata note

Kolkata’s sunrise on 17 October is 5:33 AM, about 50 minutes before New Delhi’s, and Shashthi is still running then (it ends at 5:54 AM). So Drik Panchang’s Kolkata calendar, like the Bengali panjikas, places Kalparambha and Akal Bodhon on Saturday 17 October and Kolabou (Navapatrika) Puja on Sunday 18 October, one day later than its New Delhi calendar. Maha Ashtami and Sandhi Puja (Monday 19 October), Maha Navami (Tuesday 20 October) and Vijaya Dashami with Sindoor Khela (Wednesday 21 October) are the same in both. A Bisuddha Siddhanta listing gives Sandhi Puja as 10:29 to 11:17 AM; the Surya Siddhanta panjika (Gupta Press) is earlier, around 7:25 to 8:13 AM. Your pandal will follow one of them.

Simple Durga Puja at home

1. Clean the puja place. Set a picture or small image of Durga on a red cloth with a kalash of water, mango leaves and a coconut. If you did Ghatasthapana on 11 October, keep that kalash.
2. Each morning light a ghee diya, offer red flowers (hibiscus is traditional), kumkum, rice, fruit and a sweet, and read what your family knows: the Durga Saptashati (Chandi Path), the Argala and Kilak stotras, or simply “Om Dum Durgayai Namah” 108 times.
3. On Ashtami, finish the main puja and pushpanjali before Sandhi Puja begins at 10:28 AM. During Sandhi Puja light 108 small lamps if you can, or at least one, and sit quietly with the Goddess’s name.
4. Kanya puja on Ashtami or Navami: wash the feet of young girls, offer them food (puri, chana, halwa) and a small gift, and take their blessing.
5. On Dashami, offer a final aarti, do a symbolic visarjan (move the kalash slightly or immerse flowers), share sweets, and greet elders. Many begin new learning or worship their tools that day.

Where the sources differ

• Kalparambha and Navapatrika: 16 and 17 October in Drik Panchang’s New Delhi calendar, 17 and 18 October in its Kolkata calendar and in Bengali panjikas (explained above).
• Prokerala’s short Durga Puja calendar lists Maha Ashtami on 18 October, Maha Navami on 19 October and Vijaya Dashami on 20 October, while the same page says the festival ends on 21 October. Drik Panchang and the Bengali panjikas keep Maha Ashtami on 19 October, because Ashtami on 18 October starts after sunrise and is mixed with Saptami. We follow Drik Panchang and the panjikas.
• Dussehra: 20 October in North Indian calendars (Dashami and Shravana in the afternoon); Bengal’s Vijaya Dashami and immersion are on 21 October.

How these times were checked

We computed every tithi and nakshatra change, sunrise, sunset, Aparahna and Vijay Muhurat with a JPL ephemeris and Lahiri ayanamsa for New Delhi and Kolkata, then compared them with Drik Panchang (New Delhi and Kolkata), Prokerala and a Bisuddha Siddhanta listing. Our times are within one to two minutes of Drik Panchang: Drik gives Ashtami 8:27 AM to 10:51 AM, Sandhi Puja 10:27 to 11:15 AM, Dashami 12:50 PM on 20 October to 2:11 PM on 21 October, and Vijay Muhurat 1:59 to 2:45 PM. Prokerala gives Saptami 5:54 AM on 17 October to 8:28 AM on 18 October, the same as ours.

For each day’s guidance by Moon sign, see the Navaratri daily rashifal. Planning a housewarming after the festivals? See Griha Pravesh muhurat dates, and for Lakshmi Puja on 8 November see Diwali 2026.

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