Durga Puja: the complete guide

Durga Puja (pujo in everyday Bengali) is the great autumn festival of the goddess Durga. It celebrates her victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, and in Bengal it is just as much a family reunion: the goddess arrives as Uma, the daughter of the Himalaya, coming home to her parents for a few days with her children Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik. For five days, from Shashthi to Bijoya Dashami, temples, family homes and thousands of neighbourhood pandals (temporary shrines) hold worship, food, music and art, and then the images are carried to the river and immersed.

This page is the starting point for every article on the site. Each section below gives you the short version and points to the full guide.

Durga Puja 2026 dates

For a day-by-day plan and advice on crowds, see Durga Puja 2026 dates. Exact ritual timings (muhurta) vary by almanac, so check your local panjika or the puja you will attend.

Understand the festival

• What is Durga Puja? explains the story from the Devi Mahatmya, the idea of Durga as Shakti (divine power), Rama's untimely invocation (akal bodhon) and why the festival is held in autumn.
• History of Durga Puja in Bengal traces the festival from the pujas of landowning families and royal houses, through the first community pujas, to today's theme pandals.
• Goddess Durga and her family is a guide to reading the image: the ten arms, the weapons, the lion, Mahishasura, the four children and their animal mounts.
• Durga Puja and UNESCO covers the 2021 inscription of Durga Puja in Kolkata as intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
• Kumartuli and the making of the idols follows a clay image from bamboo frame to the painting of the eyes.
• Durga Puja around the world looks at the festival elsewhere in India, in Bangladesh and in the diaspora.
• Bonedi bari pujas introduces the old family pujas of Kolkata's aristocratic houses.

The rituals, day by day

The rituals hub walks through the whole sequence. Start with Mahalaya, the new-moon day when the season begins and many Bengalis wake before dawn for the Mahishasuramardini radio programme. Then follow Shashthi, Saptami with the bathing of the Kola Bou, Maha Ashtami with Kumari Puja and Sandhi Puja, Maha Navami and Bijoya Dashami.

Some moments people search for most:

• The words of the morning flower offering: Pushpanjali mantra.
• The evening dance with incense burners: Dhunuchi naach.
• The farewell of married women smearing vermilion: Sindoor khela.
• The drummers who set the rhythm of the festival: Dhak and dhaki.

Celebrating at home

If you are holding a puja yourself or simply want to mark the days, read Durga Puja at home and the samagri list of items you will need. For the food offered to the goddess and shared afterwards, see Durga Puja food and bhog, and for greetings after the immersion, Bijoya Dashami wishes. Unfamiliar words are explained in the Durga Puja glossary.

Navratri

Across much of India the same days are kept as Navratri, the nine nights of the goddess. Our Navratri section covers the nine forms of Durga, Ghatasthapana, fasting rules, Kanya Pujan, Garba and Dandiya and Dussehra.

Seeing Durga Puja in Kolkata

Kolkata holds thousands of pujas, from two-hundred-year-old family celebrations to vast community pandals that draw crowds through the night. The Kolkata pandal guide maps them by area, with practical routes:

• North Kolkata heritage trail for Bagbazar, Kumartuli Park and Sovabazar Rajbari.
• Central Kolkata blockbusters for College Square, Md Ali Park and Santosh Mitra Square.
• South Kolkata classics and the all-nighter route.
• Parking advice if you are driving.

Before you set out, read our pandal hopping tips on timing, footwear, metro use and staying comfortable in the crowds.