Every rite of Pujo, timed for Kolkata, from Mahalaya to the immersion. Bengali panjikas follow one of two traditions, and this year they are hours apart, so choose the one your family's panjika follows and every time on the page follows it too.
Your panjika follows
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Bisuddhasiddhanta: Bisuddha Siddhanta Panjika, Belur Math. Computed from the true positions of the Sun and Moon.
October 2026
বঙ্গাব্দ ১৪৩৩
Sunরবি
Monসোম
Tueমঙ্গল
Wedবুধ
Thuবৃহঃ
Friশুক্র
Satশনি
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Puja day
Same tithi, second sunrise
Sandhi Puja
Amavasya tithi · অমাবস্যা
Mahalaya মহালয়া
Saturday, 10 October 2026শনিবার
By Bisuddhasiddhanta
Sunrise
5:31 AM
Sunset
5:15 PM
Brahma Muhurta
3:55 AM
to 4:43 AM
Amavasya ends
9:21 PM
10 Oct, began 9 Oct, 9:37 PM
Rites of the day
4:00 AM
Mahishasuramardini মহিষাসুরমর্দিনী
The dawn broadcast on Akashvani. Radios across the city come on before first light.
From sunrise, until 9:21 PM
Tarpan তর্পণ
Offerings of water to the ancestors at the ghats, closing Pitri Paksha and opening Devi Paksha.
Through the day
Chokkhu daan চক্ষুদান
At Kumartuli the idol-makers paint the goddess's eyes, traditionally beginning on Mahalaya.
Offerings
Water, black sesame and kusha grass, offered to the ancestors in tarpan
Flowers and Ganga water at the ghats
Bhog
No bhog yet: the goddess has not been invoked. Many families keep the day niramish.
Menus vary from one puja to the next.
The most important 48 minutes
Sandhi Puja সন্ধিপূজা
The last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 of Navami. A hundred and eight lotuses, a hundred and eight lamps, and the bali offered at the instant one tithi becomes the next.
By Surya Siddhanta
7:25 AM – 8:13 AMsame morning
Monday, 19 October 2026 · Bisuddhasiddhanta
10:29 AM
to
11:17 AM
Ashtami ends and Navami begins at 10:53 AM. Kolkata time; arrive well before the start to be inside a large pandal for it.
Two panjikas, one festival
Why the times disagree.
A tithi ends when the Moon has moved another twelve degrees from the Sun, and the two traditions place the Moon differently. This year that moves every Surya Siddhanta junction earlier, by up to three and a half hours, and shifts Saptami to a different day.
বিশুদ্ধসিদ্ধান্ত
Bisuddhasiddhanta
Bisuddha Siddhanta Panjika, Belur Math
Sandhi Puja
10:29 AM – 11:17 AM
Saptami, Kola Bou snan
Sun 18 Oct
Where the times come from
Computed from the true positions of the Sun and Moon
সূর্যসিদ্ধান্ত
Surya Siddhanta
Gupta Press and the traditional panjikas
Sandhi Puja
7:25 AM – 8:13 AM
Saptami, Kola Bou snan
Sat 17 Oct
Where the times come from
As published in the Gupta Press panjika
Bisuddhasiddhanta times are computed from the Moon's true position and match our schedule page exactly. Printed Bisuddha Siddhanta panjikas give the same instants a minute or two earlier, which is rounding.
Surya Siddhanta times are the Gupta Press panjika's own, as published, checked across more than one report and against each other. Each tithi's end is the next one's start.
Sunrise and sunset are computed for Kolkata and are the same in both. Brahma Muhurta is the 48 minutes that end 48 minutes before sunrise. For ritual purposes, follow the panjika your family uses.
Questions
Common questions.
What time is Sandhi Puja in 2026?
It depends on your panjika. By Bisuddhasiddhanta, which the Bisuddha Siddhanta Panjika and Belur Math follow, it runs from 10:29 AM to 11:17 AM on Monday, 19 October 2026. By Surya Siddhanta, which Gupta Press follows, it runs from 7:25 AM to 8:13 AM the same morning. Both are Kolkata time.
Is Saptami on 17 or 18 October 2026?
Both, depending on the panjika. By Surya Siddhanta, Saptami holds the sunrises of the 17th and the 18th, so Kola Bou snan and Saptami puja are on Saturday, 17 October 2026. By Bisuddhasiddhanta, Shashthi holds the sunrises of the 16th and the 17th instead, and Saptami puja is on Sunday, 18 October 2026. Ashtami, Navami and Dashami fall on the same days in both.
Why are the two panjikas hours apart?
They place the Moon differently. Bisuddhasiddhanta uses its true position, as modern astronomy measures it. Surya Siddhanta uses the classical model of the treatise it is named after, which the traditional panjikas still compute with. This year that puts every Surya Siddhanta tithi junction earlier, by up to three and a half hours.
When is Brahma Muhurta during Durga Puja 2026?
In Kolkata it runs from 3:55 AM to 4:43 AM on Mahalaya, moving to 3:59 AM to 4:47 AM by Dashami: the 48 minutes that end 48 minutes before sunrise.