Kolkata · Bangabda 1433
Kolkata Durga Puja 2026 schedule
Every date and tithi timing for Pujo 2026, from Mahalaya through to the immersion on Vijaya Dashami. The timings below are computed from the Moon's position rather than copied, and they are given in Kolkata time.
Pujo 2026
- Mahalaya
- 10 Oct
- Devi Paksha begins
- Puja days
- 16 Oct – 21 Oct
- Shashthi to Dashami
- Sandhi Puja
- 10:29 AM
- 19 Oct, 48 minutes
The five days
Shashthi to Dashami.
A tithi is a twelve-degree step of the Moon away from the Sun, so it rarely lines up with a calendar day. Each day below is the one on which that tithi is running at sunrise in Kolkata, which is the rule Bengali panjikas follow.
- Day
Maha Shashthi
BuildingDateFriday, 16 October 2026
Sunrise 05:33
Tithi window16 Oct, 3:26 AM to 17 Oct, 5:55 AM
What happensBodhon: the goddess is formally welcomed and her face is unveiled. Most big pandals open to the public tonight, and the first serious crowds appear after dark.
- Day
Maha Saptami
BusyDateSunday, 18 October 2026
Sunrise 05:34
Tithi window17 Oct, 5:55 AM to 18 Oct, 8:29 AM
What happensKola Bou snan at dawn, when the nabapatrika is bathed in the river and dressed beside Ganesha. From evening onwards the city is properly full.
- Day
Maha Ashtami
HeaviestDateMonday, 19 October 2026
Sunrise 05:34
Tithi window18 Oct, 8:29 AM to 19 Oct, 10:53 AM
What happensPushpanjali through the morning, Kumari Puja at some pandals, and Sandhi Puja at the junction with Navami. The grandest day, and by a distance the most crowded.
- Day
Maha Navami
HeavyDateTuesday, 20 October 2026
Sunrise 05:35
Tithi window19 Oct, 10:53 AM to 20 Oct, 12:52 PM
What happensNavami homa and bhog served through the day. The last full night of celebration, and the one regulars tend to save their energy for.
- Day
Vijaya Dashami
Winding downDateWednesday, 21 October 2026
Sunrise 05:35
Tithi window20 Oct, 12:52 PM to 21 Oct, 2:13 PM
What happensDevi boron and sindoor khela in the morning, then the immersion processions to the ghats. Pandals empty out through the afternoon.
Why 17 October is missing. Shashthi tithi begins at 3:26 AM on 16 October and runs until 5:55 AM on 17 October, which is 22 minutes after sunrise. It therefore covers both mornings, and Saptami falls on 18 October. Saturday the 17th is a full puja day in every practical sense, and some panjikas resolve so narrow a margin the other way and call it Saptami.
The most important 48 minutes
Sandhi Puja.
Ashtami ends and Navami begins at a single instant. Sandhi Puja fills the last 24 minutes of one and the first 24 minutes of the other, and it is the moment the whole festival turns on. A hundred and eight lamps, a hundred and eight lotuses, and every pandal in the city doing it at once.
The junction itself falls at 10:53 AM. Because a tithi junction is a geocentric instant it happens at the same moment everywhere on earth; only the clock you read it on changes.
Monday, 19 October 2026
10:29 AM
to
11:17 AM
Kolkata time. Arrive well before the start if you want to be inside a large pandal for it.
Where it begins
Mahalaya.
Mahalaya closes Pitri Paksha and opens Devi Paksha. Kolkata wakes before dawn for Mahishasura Mardini on the radio, and the ghats fill with people offering tarpan to their ancestors. The pandals are still half-built, and the city starts counting.
It falls on the Amavasya that closes Bhadrapada. That is Saturday, 10 October 2026 in 2026, six days before Shashthi.
See the live countdownAmavasya tithi
Saturday, 10 October 2026
- Begins
- 9 Oct · 9:37 PM
- Ends
- 10 Oct · 9:21 PM
Tarpan is offered during the tithi, traditionally in the morning.
Choosing your nights
Which day should you go out?
Every day of Pujo is worth seeing, but they are not the same experience. Here is what to expect, so you can spend your energy where it counts.
Friday 16 and Saturday 17 October
The quietest way to see the big-name pandals. Bodhon is done, most marquees are open, and the queues have not yet reached their peak. If you only have one night to give and you want photographs without a scrum, take one of these.
Sunday 18 to Tuesday 20 October
Peak Pujo. Ashtami on Monday is the heaviest single day of the festival. Expect long queues at the famous South Kolkata pandals from late afternoon, and plan on walking rather than driving between them.
After midnight
Serious hoppers go out between midnight and four in the morning, when queues shorten and the lighting is at its best. The metro runs extended hours through the puja nights, so check the last train before you set out.
Wednesday 21 October
Vijaya Dashami. Mornings are for devi boron and sindoor khela at the para pandals, afternoons for the immersion processions heading to the ghats. Roads near the river close in stages.
How these were worked out
Computed, not copied.
A tithi is the span in which the Moon's elongation from the Sun crosses a twelve-degree step. Every instant on this page is the moment the Moon reaches that exact angle, found with an astronomical ephemeris and checked a second time by an independent method. The two agreed to within a couple of minutes, and the Dashami window matches the figures this app already used, which were derived separately.
Which calendar day a tithi belongs to was decided by computing sunrise in Kolkata for each morning and asking which tithi was running at that moment. Nothing here was transcribed by hand.
This is the modern drik method. Panjikas still computing from Surya Siddhanta tables can quote times a few minutes different, and in a year like this one, where Shashthi ends 22 minutes after sunrise, a different panjika may label the days differently. For ritual purposes, follow the panjika your family uses.
Questions
Common questions.
When does Durga Puja 2026 start in Kolkata?
Mahalaya falls on Saturday, 10 October 2026, which opens Devi Paksha. The public festival runs from Maha Shashthi on Friday, 16 October 2026 to Vijaya Dashami on Wednesday, 21 October 2026.
What time is Sandhi Puja in 2026?
From 10:29 AM to 11:17 AM on Monday, 19 October 2026. It occupies the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami, centred on the tithi junction at 10:53 AM.
Why is there no Saptami on 17 October?
Shashthi tithi begins at 3:26 AM on 16 October and runs until 5:55 AM on 17 October, which is 22 minutes after sunrise. It therefore covers both mornings, and Saptami falls on 18 October. Saturday the 17th is a full puja day in every practical sense, and some panjikas resolve so narrow a margin the other way and call it Saptami.
Which day is the most crowded?
Maha Ashtami, Monday 19 October. Queues at the best-known pandals can run to a couple of hours from late afternoon onwards. Shashthi and the small hours of any night are much easier.
Do pandals stay open all night?
Most of the large ones do from Saptami onwards, and the streets stay busy until dawn. Smaller para pandals usually close their gates for a few hours before sunrise.
Are these timings the same everywhere?
The tithi junctions are geocentric instants, so they happen at the same moment worldwide and only the local clock changes. The times here are Kolkata time. Sunrise, which decides which day a tithi is observed on, is local.