Durga Puja 2026

What is Durga Puja?

Durga Puja is the annual worship of Goddess Durga, celebrating her victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura and the triumph of good over evil. It is held during the bright half of the lunar month of Ashwin, overlapping with the last days of Navratri, and its main rituals take place over five days — Shashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Vijaya Dashami.

It is the biggest festival of West Bengal and is also celebrated in Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, and by Bengali communities throughout India and the world. In 2021, Durga Puja in Kolkata was added to UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

What is the story behind Durga Puja?

According to the Devi Mahatmya, the demon Mahishasura had won a boon that no man or god could defeat him, and he drove the gods from heaven. The gods combined their powers to create Goddess Durga, and each gave her a weapon. Riding a lion, she fought Mahishasura for days and finally slew him — which is why she is called Mahishasuramardini. Durga Puja celebrates her strength, courage and protection of her devotees.

In Bengal, the festival is also seen as the Goddess's annual homecoming to her parents' house with her children — Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya — which is why the pandal images show her with all four, and why the immersion on Dashami feels like a daughter's farewell.

What happens on each day of Durga Puja?

Mahalaya

About a week before the main days, Mahalaya marks the end of Pitru Paksha and the beginning of Devi Paksha. Many Bengali households wake before dawn to listen to the radio recitation of Mahishasuramardini, and it is traditionally the day the artisans paint the Goddess's eyes (chokkhu daan).

Shashthi

The Goddess is welcomed with the Bodhon (awakening) and the unveiling of her face in the pandal. The Kalparambha and Amantran rituals begin the festival.

Saptami

Early in the morning the Kola Bou — a banana plant draped in a red-bordered sari, representing a form of the Goddess — is bathed in a river or pond and installed beside Ganesha. The Navapatrika (nine plants) is worshipped, and the main daily pujas begin.

Ashtami

Maha Ashtami is the most important day for many devotees. People dress in new clothes and offer pushpanjali (flowers with prayers) in the morning. Kumari Puja — the worship of a young girl as the Goddess — is held at many pandals. The Sandhi Puja, performed in the 48-minute window where Ashtami ends and Navami begins, is offered with 108 lamps and 108 lotuses.

Navami

Maha Navami concludes the main worship with a grand aarti and bhog. Community feasts of khichuri, labra, chutney and payesh are served at many pandals.

Vijaya Dashami

On the final day, married women take part in Sindoor Khela, smearing sindoor on the Goddess and on one another. The idols are then carried in procession for bisarjan (immersion) in a river or water body, to the sound of dhak drums. Families visit elders and exchange sweets with greetings of "Shubho Bijoya".

What are pandals, and how is Durga Puja celebrated?

A pandal is a temporary structure built to house the Goddess for the festival. Neighbourhood committees — often called sarbojanin (for everyone) pujas — spend months designing them, and many have elaborate themes, art installations and lighting. Visiting as many pandals as possible ("pandal hopping") is a favourite tradition, along with cultural programmes, dhunuchi dance with incense burners, dhak drumming, new clothes and festive food.

The idols are traditionally sculpted from river clay, and today many committees choose eco-friendly materials and natural colours to keep rivers clean during immersion.

Durga Puja outside Bengal

Bengali associations organise Durga Puja in almost every major city — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai each have dozens of community pujas — and across the diaspora in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, the Gulf and Singapore. Away from home, community pujas are often scheduled around weekends, but the main rituals still follow the panjika's tithis for Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami.

Use MyPujaWorld's events map to find pandals near you with their pushpanjali, Sandhi Puja and bisarjan timings.

How is Durga Puja different from Navratri?

Both honour the Goddess in the same season, but they are celebrated differently. Navratri, observed especially in Gujarat, Maharashtra and North India, spans nine nights of fasting, worship of the nine forms of Durga, and garba and dandiya. Durga Puja, the Bengali tradition, focuses on the last five days with community worship of the Goddess with her children in pandals. Both end on Vijaya Dashami, which in much of India is also celebrated as Dussehra.

Why is Durga Puja important?

Beyond its religious meaning, Durga Puja is the biggest cultural event of the year for Bengalis — a time of art, music, food and reunion that supports thousands of artisans, decorators and drummers. Its message, that courage and righteousness overcome evil, is celebrated by people of every background who join the festivities.