# Durga Puja: the complete guide

> Durga Puja is the autumn festival in which Hindus, above all Bengalis, worship the goddess Durga for her victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura and welcome her home as Uma, the daughter who visits her parents once a year. The main rites run over five days, Shashthi to Bijoya Dashami, in the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Ashwin. In 2026 Mahalaya falls on Saturday 10 October and the festival runs from Shashthi on Saturday 17 October to Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday 21 October. Kolkata's Durga Puja was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2021.

Source: https://pujoparikramaguide.in/durga-puja/ (updated 2026-10-06)

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

| Day | Date |
|---|---|
| Mahalaya | Saturday 10 October 2026 |
| Panchami | Friday 16 October 2026 |
| Shashthi | Saturday 17 October 2026 |
| Saptami | Sunday 18 October 2026 |
| Maha Ashtami | Monday 19 October 2026 |
| Maha Navami | Tuesday 20 October 2026 |
| Bijoya Dashami | Wednesday 21 October 2026 |

For a day-by-day plan and advice on crowds, see [Durga Puja 2026 dates](/guide/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?](/durga-puja/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](/durga-puja/history/) 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](/durga-puja/goddess-durga/) 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](/durga-puja/unesco-heritage/) covers the 2021 inscription of Durga Puja in Kolkata as intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
- [Kumartuli and the making of the idols](/durga-puja/kumartuli-idol-making/) follows a clay image from bamboo frame to the painting of the eyes.
- [Durga Puja around the world](/durga-puja/around-the-world/) looks at the festival elsewhere in India, in Bangladesh and in the diaspora.
- [Bonedi bari pujas](/durga-puja/bonedi-bari-pujas/) introduces the old family pujas of Kolkata's aristocratic houses.

## The rituals, day by day

The [rituals hub](/durga-puja/rituals/) walks through the whole sequence. Start with [Mahalaya](/durga-puja/rituals/mahalaya/), the new-moon day when the season begins and many Bengalis wake before dawn for the [Mahishasuramardini radio programme](/durga-puja/mahishasuramardini-radio/). Then follow [Shashthi](/durga-puja/rituals/shashthi/), [Saptami](/durga-puja/rituals/saptami/) with the bathing of the [Kola Bou](/durga-puja/rituals/kola-bou/), [Maha Ashtami](/durga-puja/rituals/ashtami/) with [Kumari Puja](/durga-puja/rituals/kumari-puja/) and [Sandhi Puja](/durga-puja/rituals/sandhi-puja/), [Maha Navami](/durga-puja/rituals/navami/) and [Bijoya Dashami](/durga-puja/rituals/dashami/).

Some moments people search for most:

- The words of the morning flower offering: [Pushpanjali mantra](/durga-puja/rituals/pushpanjali-mantra/).
- The evening dance with incense burners: [Dhunuchi naach](/durga-puja/rituals/dhunuchi-naach/).
- The farewell of married women smearing vermilion: [Sindoor khela](/durga-puja/rituals/sindoor-khela/).
- The drummers who set the rhythm of the festival: [Dhak and dhaki](/durga-puja/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](/durga-puja/at-home/) and the [samagri list](/durga-puja/samagri-list/) of items you will need. For the food offered to the goddess and shared afterwards, see [Durga Puja food and bhog](/durga-puja/food-and-bhog/), and for greetings after the immersion, [Bijoya Dashami wishes](/durga-puja/bijoya-dashami-wishes/). Unfamiliar words are explained in the [Durga Puja glossary](/durga-puja/glossary/).

## Navratri

Across much of India the same days are kept as [Navratri](/navratri/), the nine nights of the goddess. Our Navratri section covers the [nine forms of Durga](/navratri/navadurga/), [Ghatasthapana](/navratri/ghatasthapana/), [fasting rules](/navratri/fasting-rules/), [Kanya Pujan](/navratri/kanya-pujan/), [Garba and Dandiya](/navratri/garba-dandiya/) and [Dussehra](/navratri/dussehra-vijayadashami/).

## 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](/guide/) maps them by area, with practical routes:

- [North Kolkata heritage trail](/guide/trails/north_heritage/) for [Bagbazar](/guide/pandals/bagbazar/), [Kumartuli Park](/guide/pandals/kumartuli_park/) and [Sovabazar Rajbari](/guide/pandals/sovabazar_rajbari/).
- [Central Kolkata blockbusters](/guide/trails/central_blockbusters/) for [College Square](/guide/pandals/college_square/), [Md Ali Park](/guide/pandals/md_ali_park/) and [Santosh Mitra Square](/guide/pandals/santosh_mitra/).
- [South Kolkata classics](/guide/trails/south_classic/) and the [all-nighter route](/guide/trails/all_nighter/).
- [Parking advice](/guide/parking/) if you are driving.

Before you set out, read our [pandal hopping tips](/durga-puja/pandal-hopping-tips/) on timing, footwear, metro use and staying comfortable in the crowds.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is Durga Puja?**
Durga Puja is a Hindu festival honouring the goddess Durga, who in the Devi Mahatmya defeats the demon Mahishasura. In Bengal it is also a homecoming: the goddess is welcomed as Uma, a married daughter visiting her parents with her four children.

**When is Durga Puja in 2026?**
Mahalaya is on Saturday 10 October 2026. Shashthi is on Saturday 17 October, Saptami on Sunday 18, Maha Ashtami on Monday 19, Maha Navami on Tuesday 20 and Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday 21 October 2026.

**How many days is Durga Puja?**
The core worship lasts five days, from Shashthi to Dashami. Many people count the whole stretch from Mahalaya, about a week earlier, as the puja season, and the festive mood in Kolkata often begins a few days before Shashthi.

**Why is Durga Puja so big in Kolkata?**
Over two and a half centuries the festival moved from the homes of wealthy families to neighbourhood committees that build pandals open to everyone. Today thousands of community pujas, a whole idol-making quarter at Kumartuli and the city's artists turn Kolkata into an open-air gallery for a week.

**Is Durga Puja the same as Navratri?**
They fall in the same nine-to-ten-day window of Ashwin and both celebrate the goddess, but the practices differ. Bengal centres on clay images of Durga with her children and the days from Shashthi to Dashami, while Navratri in much of India honours nine forms of the goddess over nine nights, often with fasting and Garba.