Durga Puja: the pandals and the dhak, from Shashthi to Vijaya Dashami.
Computed for New Delhi
The date in New Delhi
Wednesday, 6 October 2027
Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 7 of Ashwin in the amanta reckoning, and the Gregorian day it lands on moves by up to a month between years because twelve lunations fall about eleven days short of a solar year.
Tithi
Saptami, Shukla paksha
Lunar month
Ashwin (amanta)
Tithi begins
6 Oct, 2:33 AM
Tithi ends
7 Oct, 4:13 AM
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in New Delhi
6 Oct, 6:16 AM
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 6:16 AM on that day, and that is the instant the tithi has to be running at for the day to carry the observance. It is computed for this city rather than assumed, because it is what decides the date.
The two instants above are the astronomy and are not in dispute. The day is an interpretation of them: this observance is decided at sunrise, so it belongs to the day whose sunrise the tithi carries — not simply to the day the tithi begins.
All Durga Puja 2027 muhurat · New Delhi
Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) muhurat
Durga Puja is Bengal's great autumn festival of the Goddess, from her awakening (Bodhon) on Shashthi to her farewell on Bijoya Dashami; its three great days are Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami. Durga Puja's Maha Saptami 2027 is on Wednesday, 6 October 2027 in New Delhi, the morning the Nabapatrika is bathed and life is invoked in the image. The Sandhi Puja falls at 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM, and the immersion window on Dashami is 10 Oct, 6:18 AM to 8:38 AM.
All Durga Puja 2027 muhurat in New Delhi
Muhurat
Time in New Delhi
What it is for
Sandhi Puja
8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AMThe last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 of Navami — one ghati either side of the moment Ashtami ends.
The 48 minutes where Maha Ashtami ends and Maha Navami begins — the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 of Navami. The Goddess is worshipped as Chamunda with 108 lotuses and 108 lamps while the dhak plays; it is the most intense moment of the Puja, and it can fall at any hour, even in the middle of the night.
Durga Visarjan
10 Oct, 6:18 AM to 8:38 AMPratahkal, the first fifth of the day, on Dashami.
The window on Bijoya Dashami for the farewell rites: the Dashami puja, the darpan visarjan, in which the Goddess's reflection in a mirror is bid goodbye, and the start of the immersion (bhasan). Families and committees follow the morning or the afternoon window, and the procession itself often runs into the evening under local rules.
Sunrise on Maha Saptami
6:16 AMThe upper edge of the Sun on the horizon, with refraction.
The Nabapatrika (Kola Bou) is bathed in a river or pond at dawn, before the Saptami puja begins; pandals often take it out in procession before sunrise.
Sunset
6:02 PMThe upper edge of the Sun leaving the horizon.
The evening aarti with dhunuchi and dhak begins after sunset on each of the Puja days.
Auspicious windows that day
Auspicious windows that day
Window
Time in New Delhi
What it is
Amrit Kaal
9:29 PM to 11:14 PM
Most Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat
4:38 AM to 5:27 AM
Auspicious
Windows usually worked around
These are the spans classical muhurta sets aside for beginnings. They are descriptions of a convention, not warnings: the observance is kept on its day regardless, and nothing here needs to be bought, corrected or remedied.
Windows usually worked around
Window
Time in New Delhi
Rahu Kaal
12:09 PM to 1:37 PM
Yamaganda Kaal
7:44 AM to 9:12 AM
Durmuhurta First
11:45 AM to 12:32 PM
Varjyam
2:43 AM to 4:28 AM
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Wednesday, 6 October 2027, from the sunrise, sunset and the positions of the Sun and Moon for this city. The Vedic day runs sunrise to sunrise, so a window whose clock time falls after midnight still belongs to the evening before; a time on another date carries that date.
Puja vidhi · step by step at home
Durga Puja vidhi
Mahalaya: the season begins
On the new moon before the Puja, offer tarpan to the ancestors at dawn and listen to the Mahishasuramardini recital, as Bengal has for generations. The fortnight of the Goddess, Devi Paksha, begins; the artisans paint the eyes of the images.
Shashthi: Bodhon, Amantran and Adhivas
In the evening the Goddess is awakened (Bodhon) under a bel tree or a bel branch, invited (Amantran) and consecrated with auspicious things (Adhivas). At home, clean the puja room, set up a ghat (pot) of water with mango leaves and a green coconut before a picture of Durga with her children, and light a lamp. Many Bengali mothers keep a Shashthi fast for their children.
Saptami: Nabapatrika and Pran Pratishtha
At dawn the Nabapatrika — a banana plant bound with eight others, with a white red-bordered sari — is bathed and placed beside Ganesha as Kola Bou; then life is invoked in the image and the Saptami puja is offered. At home, offer flowers, bel leaves, sandal paste and sweets at the ghat and light the evening lamp.
Ashtami morning: Pushpanjali
Bathe, wear new clothes and, as many do, stay without food until anjali. At the pandal, hold flowers and bel leaves in folded hands, repeat the anjali mantras after the priest and offer the flowers at the Goddess's feet — usually in three rounds.
Ashtami: Kumari Puja
At many pujas, famously at Belur Math, a young girl is dressed as the Goddess and worshipped as Kumari. Watching it, or honouring a young girl of the family with a new dress and sweets, is part of the day.
Sandhi Puja
At the junction of Ashtami and Navami, light 108 lamps and offer 108 lotuses — at the pandal, or at home a smaller number of lamps and flowers — while the Goddess is worshipped as Chamunda.
Navami: homa and bhog
The Navami puja ends with a homa (fire offering). Take the bhog — khichuri, labra, beguni, chutney and payesh — and in the evening join the aarti with dhunuchi and dhak; Navami night is the last great night of the Puja.
Dashami: puja and darpan visarjan
In the morning the Dashami puja is offered and the Goddess's reflection is seen in a mirror placed in a dish of water — the darpan visarjan, which marks her departure in the immersion window.
Debi Baran and Sindoor Khela
Married women bid the Goddess farewell (baran): they touch sweets to her lips, offer paan and sindoor at her forehead and feet, then smear sindoor on each other's foreheads and cheeks, wishing each other long married life. Join only as your community's custom allows, and ask before applying sindoor.
Bhasan and Bijoya
The image is carried to the river with the dhak, to cries of 'asche bochor abar hobe' — it will happen again next year. Back home, shanti jal (peace water) is sprinkled, and Bijoya begins: touch elders' feet, embrace friends (kolakuli) and share sweets, visiting relatives for days afterwards.
Samagri · what to keep ready
Durga Puja samagri list
Picture of Durga with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and KartikeyaThe family image of Bengal's Puja; a single picture of Durga is fine.
Ghat (earthen or brass pot) with waterSet on a little earth or rice, with mango leaves at its mouth.
Green coconut with its stalkPlaced on the ghat.
Mango leavesFive or seven, for the ghat's mouth.
Bel (bilva) leavesFor Bodhon and for the anjali with the flowers.
Flowers: shiuli, hibiscus, lotus, marigoldShiuli (night jasmine) is the flower of the Puja season; red hibiscus is dear to Durga.
108 lotusesFor the Sandhi Puja at the pandal; at home, a few lotuses or any flowers.
108 small lamps (diyas), ghee and wicksFor the Sandhi Puja; fewer at home.
Sindoor and altaFor Debi Baran and Sindoor Khela.
Shankha-pola and lohaThe conch-shell, red coral and iron bangles of a married Bengali woman, worn for Sindoor Khela.
White sari with a red borderThe traditional dress for Sindoor Khela and Ashtami anjali.
Conch (shankha)Blown at the aarti and the farewell.
Dhunuchi (clay censer), coconut husk and dhuno resinFor the evening aarti dance; light it outdoors or in a ventilated hall.
Incense, camphor and a ghee lamp (prodeep)For the daily puja and aarti.
Sandal paste, rice and durva grassFor tilak and offerings.
Sweets (sandesh, narkel naru) and fruitsFor naivedya, Debi Baran and Bijoya.
Paan and supariOffered at the Debi Baran.
A mirror and a dish of waterFor the darpan visarjan on Dashami.
GangajalFor purifying the puja place and for shanti jal.
New clothesBought for the family, especially children, and first worn during the Puja.
Om Jayanti Mangala Kali Bhadrakali Kapalini, Durga Shiva Kshama Dhatri Svaha Svadha Namostu Te
Meaning: Victorious, auspicious, Kali, Bhadrakali, bearer of the skull-bowl, Durga, gracious, forgiving, sustainer, Svaha and Svadha — salutations to you.
When and how: The verse of the Argala Stotram, said at the first round of Ashtami anjali in the word order used in Bengal; repeat it after the priest and offer the flowers and bel leaves.
Om Mahishaghni Mahamaye Chamunde Mundamalini, Ayurarogyavijayam Dehi Devi Namostu Te
Meaning: Slayer of Mahisha, great Maya, Chamunda, wearer of the garland of heads: grant long life, health and victory; O Goddess, salutations to you.
When and how: The verse of the second round of Ashtami anjali, as the Bengal Durgotsava manuals give it; repeat it after the priest and offer the flowers and bel leaves.
Sarvamangalamangalye Shive Sarvarthasadhike, Sharanye Tryambake Gauri Narayani Namostu Te
Meaning: O auspicious one, source of all good, who fulfils every aim, our refuge, three-eyed Gauri, Narayani — salutations to you.
When and how: Devi Mahatmya, chapter 11, verse 10; the third round of anjali begins with it.
Pushpanjali mantra (third round, continued)
सृष्टिस्थितिविनाशानां शक्तिभूते सनातनि । गुणाश्रये गुणमये नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
Srishtisthitivinashanam Shaktibhute Sanatani, Gunashraye Gunamaye Narayani Namostu Te
Meaning: Eternal one, the power behind creation, preservation and dissolution, support of the qualities and made of them — Narayani, salutations to you.
When and how: Devi Mahatmya, chapter 11, verse 11; it follows 'Sarva mangala' in the third round.
Durga salutation
ॐ दुं दुर्गायै नमः
Om Dum Durgayai Namah
Meaning: Om, salutations to Durga, with her seed syllable 'dum'.
When and how: For the daily lamp and flower offering at the home ghat: 108 times, or with each offering.
Gachchha Gachchha Param Sthanam Svasthanam Parameshvari, Yatra Brahmadayo Deva Na Viduh Paramam Padam
Meaning: Go now, Supreme Goddess, to your own highest abode, the supreme state that even Brahma and the gods do not know.
When and how: The farewell verse of the Kalika Purana (57.169), said at the Dashami visarjan while moving the ghat slightly or before the image leaves.
Katha · the story and its meaning
Durga Puja katha and significance
The katha
The demon Mahishasura, who could change between buffalo and human form, had won a boon that no man or god could kill him, and drove the gods from heaven. Their anger became a blaze of light from which the Goddess took shape; each god gave her a weapon, the mountain-king gave her a lion, and she fought and killed him. Bengal worships her in exactly this form — ten-armed Mahishasuramardini, the lion at her feet and the demon beneath her spear — as the Devi Mahatmya tells it.
The autumn Puja is called 'akal bodhan', the untimely awakening. The Goddess's worship belonged to spring, but in the Bengali Krittivasi Ramayana, Rama woke her in autumn, before his last battle with Ravana, under a bel tree — which is why Bodhon is still done under a bel on Shashthi.
In Bengal's songs the Goddess is also Uma, the daughter of the mountain-king Himalaya and Menaka, who comes home to her parents once a year with her four children — Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya — for the days of the Puja, and leaves for her husband Shiva's home on Kailash on Dashami. The Agamani songs welcome her; the Bijoya songs, and the tears at the immersion, see her off.
Why it is kept
Durga Puja joins two pictures of the Goddess: the warrior who destroys the demon of arrogance, and the beloved daughter who comes home for a few days and must leave again. That is why the same festival holds the stern Sandhi Puja and the tearful, joyous farewell of Sindoor Khela and Bijoya.
It is Bengal's festival of the whole community — artisans of Kumartuli, drummers, the neighbourhood pujas (baroari) and the old family pujas of the great houses (bonedi bari). UNESCO lists Durga Puja in Kolkata as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Durga Puja and Navratri fall in the same fortnight but are kept differently: Navratri, in the north and west, centres on nine nights of fasting and the nine forms of the Goddess; Bengal's Puja centres on the last five days and the image of Durga with her children.
Upay · traditional practice
Durga Puja upay: traditional remedies
Give anjali on Ashtami
Offering pushpanjali on Maha Ashtami, after staying without food until then, is the most widely kept act of devotion of the Puja; it is believed to bring the Goddess's protection to the household for the year.
Keep the Shashthi fast for children
Many Bengali mothers fast on the Shashthi of the Puja for their children's well-being; in many homes no rice is eaten that day, only fruit or luchi.
Offer 108 lamps at Sandhi
Joining the lighting of 108 lamps at the Sandhi Puja, or lighting a few at home through the 48 minutes, is believed to remove obstacles.
Sindoor Khela for married life
Married women offer sindoor to the Goddess and to one another on Dashami, traditionally for a long and happy married life — a farewell to the daughter who has come home.
Share the bhog
Eating the Puja's bhog with the community and serving it to others is itself counted as prasad and seva.
Bijoya pranam
Touching elders' feet and seeking their blessings on Bijoya, and sending sweets to those who cannot visit, keeps the bonds the festival is about.
The custom, in short
Durga Puja do's and don'ts
Do
Give anjali with clean hands and, if you can, before eating.
Carry water and keep children's hands held in the pandal crowds.
Wear the traditional white-and-red sari for Sindoor Khela if you join it.
Ask before applying sindoor to anyone.
Remove plastic and thermocol from offerings before immersion.
Touch elders' feet and visit them with sweets on Bijoya.
Don't
Don't push or crowd at pandal entrances, especially at night.
Don't light dhunuchis near curtains, dry decorations or in closed rooms.
Don't immerse plastic, foil or synthetic cloth with the image or ghat.
Don't use chemical-coloured sindoor on skin; choose a natural or skin-safe one.
Don't skip the darpan visarjan and the farewell rites to rush the immersion.
Don't play loud music near hospitals; respect local sound limits.
Across India
Durga Puja customs and food
By region
Kolkata and West Bengal
Neighbourhood baroari pujas with theme pandals, the old bonedi bari pujas of the great houses, the Kumari Puja at Belur Math, and immersion processions along the Hooghly; the images are made in Kumartuli.
Assam and Tripura
Durga Puja kept much as in Bengal, with community pujas across towns and villages; in Assam the season also brings special worship at the Kamakhya temple.
Odisha
Durga Puja with the images of Cuttack famed for their silver-filigree backdrops (chandi medha), alongside temple worship of the Goddess in her local forms.
Bihar and Jharkhand
The curtains of the pandals open on Saptami, fairs run through Ashtami and Navami, and immersion follows on Dashami.
Delhi, Mumbai and Bengali communities everywhere
Bengali associations hold pujas — CR Park in Delhi and the Bengal Club at Shivaji Park in Mumbai are well known — with anjali, bhog and cultural evenings.
Bhog, prasad and fasting food
Bhog khichuriRice and moong dal cooked with ghee, the heart of the Puja's bhog.
Labra, beguni and chutneyMixed vegetables, batter-fried aubergine, and a sweet tomato or raw-papaya ('plastic') chutney served with the khichuri.
PayeshRice pudding, the sweet of the bhog.
Luchi and alur domThe vegetarian festive meal, especially on Ashtami, when many Bengali homes avoid fish and meat.
Mutton curry on NavamiA Navami tradition in many Bengali homes.
Narkel naru, nimki and ghugniCoconut sweets and savouries offered to Bijoya visitors.
Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) across five years
Two years back, this year, and two ahead. Past years are kept rather than dropped so you can check the engine against a calendar you already have.
Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) across five years
Year
Date
Status
2024
Thursday, 10 October 2024
past
2025
Monday, 29 September 2025
past
2026This year
Saturday, 17 October 2026
past
2027
Wednesday, 6 October 2027
upcoming
2028
Monday, 25 September 2028
upcoming
Every row is computed for New Delhi from the same ephemeris, not looked up. Sunrise decides which day a tithi names, and sunrise differs across India by more than an hour, so a date computed for Delhi can be a day out elsewhere.
Why calendars disagree about this date
In 2027, for New Delhi: Some calendars give the Visarjan in the afternoon of the day before, on Navami. The time here is the morning of Dashami (pratahkal), as Bijoya Dashami is kept.
There is no single authority that settles a Hindu festival date, and the divergence is genuine rather than sloppy. Three causes account for almost all of it.
A tithi rarely starts at sunrise. One that is running at the deciding moment on two days — or on none — is claimed by both days under different rules.
Month reckoning. North India runs purnimanta, the south and west amanta. The same dark fortnight carries different month names in the two, so an observance defined as "krishna X of month Y" can land a full lunation apart.
Which moment decides. Most vratas belong to the day whose sunrise carries the tithi, but not all: this one is decided at sunrise. Almanacs that apply the sunrise rule to everything move several festivals by a day.
So this page shows its working. If your pandit or your family almanac gives a different day, the instants above will usually show you exactly why — and that is more useful than a date asserted without one.
Durga Puja runs from Shashthi to Bijoya Dashami. Its first great day, Maha Saptami, is on Wednesday, 6 October 2027 in New Delhi, with Saptami tithi running 2:33 AM to 4:13 AM (7 Oct); Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami follow, the Sandhi Puja falls at 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM, and the Dashami immersion window is 10 Oct, 6:18 AM to 8:38 AM.
Why does another calendar give a different Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) date?
Three honest reasons. The tithi can be running at the deciding moment on two days or on none. North India reckons the month purnimanta and the south and west amanta, which names the same krishna fortnight differently. And almanacs differ on which moment of the day decides an observance. The instants above are the astronomy; the day is an interpretation of them.
What happens on each day of Durga Puja?
Mahalaya opens the season with tarpan. Shashthi brings Bodhon, the Goddess's awakening; Saptami the Nabapatrika bath and Pran Pratishtha; Ashtami the anjali, Kumari Puja and Sandhi Puja; Navami the homa and bhog; and Dashami the darpan visarjan, Sindoor Khela, immersion and Bijoya.
How many days does Durga Puja last?
The main festival is five days, from Shashthi to Dashami, with Saptami, Ashtami and Navami as the three great days. The season begins at Mahalaya, about a week earlier, and Bijoya visits continue for days after the immersion.
Are Durga Puja and Navratri the same?
They are the same festival season of the Goddess, kept in the same fortnight, but differently: Navratri centres on nine nights of fasting and the nine forms of Durga, while Bengal's Durga Puja centres on the last five days and the image of Durga with her four children.
What is Sindoor Khela, and who can take part?
On Bijoya Dashami, before the image leaves, married women offer sindoor to the Goddess and then smear it on each other, wishing long married life. Traditionally it was for married women; today many pujas welcome all women who wish to join, while others keep the old custom — follow your community and ask before applying sindoor to anyone.
What time is the Sandhi Puja?
The Sandhi Puja covers the last 24 minutes of Maha Ashtami and the first 24 of Maha Navami, 48 minutes in all. In New Delhi it falls at 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM. It follows the tithi, so it may come in the day or deep in the night.
When is Durga Visarjan?
On Bijoya Dashami. The farewell puja and darpan visarjan are done in the morning or afternoon window, 10 Oct, 6:18 AM to 8:38 AM in New Delhi; the immersion procession often continues into the evening under local rules.
Which mantra is said at Durga Visarjan?
The farewell verse of the Kalika Purana asks the Supreme Goddess to go to her own highest abode: 'Gachchha gachchha param sthanam svasthanam Parameshvari'. It is given above in Devanagari with its meaning; the crowd's cry 'asche bochor abar hobe' asks her to come again next year.
What is Mahalaya?
Mahalaya is the new moon that ends Pitru Paksha and opens Devi Paksha, the fortnight of the Goddess. Bengal marks it with tarpan to the ancestors at dawn and the Mahishasuramardini recital; it is the herald of the Puja about a week later.
Which mantras are said at the Ashtami anjali?
Three rounds are usual: 'Om Jayanti mangala kali bhadrakali kapalini' in the first, 'Om Mahishaghni Mahamaye' in the second, and 'Sarva mangala mangalye' with 'Srishti sthiti vinashanam' in the third. The priest says each line and the devotees repeat it, then offer the flowers and bel leaves. All of them are given above with their meaning.
What is the Nabapatrika, or Kola Bou?
Nine plants — banana, colocasia, turmeric, jayanti, bel, pomegranate, ashoka, arum and paddy — bound together, bathed at dawn on Saptami and dressed in a red-bordered sari. Each stands for a form of the Goddess, and the bundle is placed beside Ganesha, which is why it is fondly called his bride, Kola Bou.
Can Durga Puja be done at home?
Yes, in a simple form. Set up a ghat of water with mango leaves and a green coconut before a picture of Durga, offer flowers, bel leaves, a lamp and sweets each day from Shashthi to Dashami, light lamps at Sandhi, and close with a farewell on Dashami. The full image-worship of the pandal is done by priests.
Is Durga Puja the same as Dussehra?
They meet on the same day. Bengal's Bijoya Dashami, the last day of Durga Puja, is the day the rest of India keeps as Dussehra or Vijayadashami; but Durga Puja is the whole festival of the Goddess, and Dussehra is that one tenth day.
