Durga Puja 2026
Durga Puja 2026: dates, Sandhi Puja and Durga Visarjan
The five days of Durga Puja, as celebrated in Bengal and eastern India, with the 2026 dates, tithi timings and the Sandhi Puja muhurat.
What is Durga Puja?
Durga Puja is the five-day worship of Maa Durga that marks the end of Navratri in Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Tripura and Bihar, and among Bengali communities everywhere. The Goddess is believed to visit her parents' home on earth with her children Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartikeya, and is worshipped in beautifully made clay idols in pandals and homes.
While Navratri in most of India honours a different form of Durga each day, Durga Puja focuses on Durga as Mahishasura Mardini, the slayer of the buffalo demon. Both are part of the same autumn festival, so this site keeps the nine Devi and Durga Puja on separate pages.
Durga Puja 2026 dates (Bengal)
Bengali panjikas follow their own rules for fixing each day, so in 2026 Bengal's Navami and Dashami fall one day later than in most North Indian calendars.
| Day | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Mahalaya | Sat, 10 Oct | Devi Paksha begins; Mahishasura Mardini is broadcast at dawn |
| Maha Shashthi | Fri 16 / Sat 17 Oct | Bodhon, Amantran and Adhivas. Panjikas differ on the day; Shashthi tithi is 3:25 AM (16 Oct) to 5:54 AM (17 Oct) |
| Maha Saptami | Sun, 18 Oct | Navapatrika (Kola Bou) snan and pran pratishtha |
| Maha Ashtami | Mon, 19 Oct | Pushpanjali, Kumari Puja and Sandhi Puja 10:28 AM – 11:16 AM |
| Maha Navami | Tue, 20 Oct | Navami puja, bhog and havan (Bengal reckoning) |
| Bijoya Dashami | Wed, 21 Oct | Sindoor Khela and Durga Visarjan |
Durga Puja muhurat and tithi timings
The main puja of each day is done while that day's tithi is running. Tithi changes happen at the same moment across India:
In Bengal (Kolkata): Bilva Nimantran is done in the evening (sayankal) of Shashthi, on Friday, 16 October. Kalparambha, Akal Bodhon, Amantran and Adhivas follow on Saturday, 17 October. Exact clock times for these rituals differ between panjikas and pandals, so follow the time announced by your pandal or priest.
In the New Delhi calculation the days fall a little differently. Navpatrika Puja (Maha Saptami) is on Saturday, 17 October, because Saptami begins at 5:54 AM, before sunrise in Delhi (6:23 AM) but after sunrise in Kolkata. Mahashtami is on Monday, 19 October, with Ashtami tithi ending at 10:52 AM, and Maha Navami tithi runs from 10:52 AM on 19 October to 12:50 PM on 20 October.
Sandhi Puja
Sandhi Puja is held in the 48 minutes where Ashtami ends and Navami begins. It remembers the moment Maa Durga took the form of Chamunda and killed the demons Chanda and Munda. Priests offer 108 lotuses and light 108 diyas, and many pandals mark it with dhak drums. In 2026 it is on Monday, 19 October from 10:28 AM – 11:16 AM.
Durga Visarjan
On Dashami, after the final puja and the Darpan Visarjan (when the Goddess is seen in a mirror kept in water), the idols are carried in procession and immersed in a river, lake or tank. Married women first play Sindoor Khela, smearing sindoor on the Goddess and on each other, and families greet each other with "Shubho Bijoya".
In Bengal, Bijoya Dashami and Durga Visarjan fall on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. Dashami tithi lasts until 2:12 PM that day, and immersion is usually started in the morning hours of Dashami, though processions often continue into the evening. In North India, where Dashami is kept on 20 October, visarjan of the household kalash and idols is done on 20 October. Follow the timings announced by your pandal or local panchang.
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