Dussehra 2026: Date, Vijay Muhurat, Shami and Shastra Puja

Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, is on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 in India. It falls on the tenth day of the bright half of Ashwin, the day after Sharad Navratri ends.

Timings for New Delhi (India, IST):

• Dashami tithi: 12:50 pm on 20 October to 2:11 pm on 21 October
• Vijay muhurat: 1:59 pm to 2:45 pm on 20 October
• Aparahna puja time: 1:14 pm to 3:30 pm on 20 October
• Bijoya Dashami in Bengal: Wednesday, 21 October

Why the 20th? Vijayadashami is kept on the day Dashami reaches the afternoon (aparahna), the classical time for its rites. On 20 October Dashami begins at 12:50 pm, before the afternoon window opens, and covers it fully. Bengali calendars follow their own rule for Bijoya Dashami and the Durga visarjan, which is why Bengal marks the next day.

Muhurat times shift by a few minutes from city to city, so check a local panchang or our daily panchang if you are far from Delhi. Our Dussehra 2026 page lists the Vijay muhurat for cities in India and abroad.

For most families abroad the date is the same, but the clock is local:

• USA and Canada: Tuesday, 20 October. Vijay muhurat 2:30 pm to 3:13 pm in New York and 2:50 pm to 3:33 pm in Toronto (local time)
• UK: Tuesday, 20 October. Vijay muhurat 2:29 pm to 3:10 pm in London (UK time)
• UAE: Tuesday, 20 October. Vijay muhurat 1:59 pm to 2:44 pm in Dubai (UAE time)
• Singapore: Tuesday, 20 October in most calendars, though some give Wednesday, 21 October, because Dashami begins in the middle of the afternoon window there
• Australia: Wednesday, 21 October in Sydney, where Dashami reaches the afternoon only on the 21st. Vijay muhurat 2:51 pm to 3:43 pm (Sydney time)

If your local temple publishes its own calendar, follow it. A difference of a day between countries is normal, because the tithi changes at the same moment everywhere while the clock and the afternoon do not.

Vijayadashami means the Dashami of victory, and several traditions meet on this day:

• Rama and Ravana: in the Ramayana tradition, Lord Rama defeats Ravana. Ramlila performances across North India end with this victory, and effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakarna are burnt in the evening.
• Durga and Mahishasura: the Devi's nine-night battle ends with her victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, which is why the day closes Sharad Navratri.
• The Pandavas and the Shami tree: as the Mahabharata tells it, the Pandavas hid their weapons in a Shami tree during their year in disguise, and Arjuna took them back at its end. Worshipping the Shami tree on Dussehra recalls this.

For families, Vijayadashami is a day to begin things well. Children often start learning (vidyarambh) in many South Indian homes, and people take blessings from elders. It is one of the days tradition treats as auspicious for a new start without a separate muhurat, though many families still consult a panchang for big events.

• A picture or idol of Durga, and of Rama if your family worships him on this day
• Roli, haldi, akshat (unbroken rice), chandan and mauli
• Flowers, especially marigold, and a garland
• A ghee diya, incense and camphor
• Sweets and fruit for the offering
• Shami leaves, or a small Shami plant if one grows nearby; in Maharashtra, Apta leaves
• The barley shoots (jaware) and the kalash from your Navratri puja, if you kept one
• A clean cloth to wipe and cover the tools or books you will worship
• A little water in a lota

As tradition describes it, the main worship of the day is done in the afternoon, during aparahna or the Vijay muhurat:

1. In the morning, finish your Navratri worship. Offer the jaware to the Devi and move the kalash with respect; the water is usually sprinkled around the home and poured into plants.
2. In the afternoon, bathe, sit facing north-east and take a short sankalp with your name, gotra and a prayer for the family's wellbeing.
3. Worship Goddess Aparajita, the form of the Devi who is never defeated, with roli, akshat, flowers and a lamp. Many families draw a simple eight-petalled lotus with rice or kumkum and invoke her there.
4. Go to a Shami tree, or keep Shami leaves before you. Offer water, roli, akshat and a flower, light a lamp, and pray for success in right action.
5. Take a few Shami leaves home. In some families they are kept with money or account books; in Maharashtra, Apta leaves are exchanged with friends as "sona", gold.
6. Finish with an aarti of the Devi, such as Jai Ambe Gauri, and share the sweets as prasad.

If you cannot reach a Shami tree, worship the leaves at home. The prayer matters more than the place.

In many parts of North and West India, Dussehra is the day to honour the tools of one's work. Soldiers and police units worship their weapons, farmers their ploughs, students their books, and working families their vehicles, computers or instruments. In much of South India the same worship, Ayudha Puja, is usually done a day earlier, on Maha Navami.

A simple shastra puja at home:

1. Clean the tools, books or vehicle, and place them on a clean cloth.
2. Apply a small tilak of roli or haldi and offer akshat and a flower.
3. Tie mauli where it makes sense, for example on a pen or a steering column.
4. Light a lamp and pray that your work stays honest and safe, and that the tools serve others well.
5. Many families rest the tools for the day and use them again the next morning.

Keep lamps and camphor away from vehicles and electronics, and do not leave a diya burning unattended.

Dussehra looks different across the country:

• North India: Ramlila ends with Ravan Dahan after sunset, often in a town ground. Go early, stay behind the barricades, and keep children close; the effigies burn fast and fireworks go off nearby.
• Himachal Pradesh: Kullu Dussehra begins on Vijayadashami itself and continues for a week, with local deities carried in procession to the town.
• Karnataka: Mysuru Dasara ends with a grand procession on Vijayadashami.
• Andhra Pradesh: the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada draws large crowds through Dasara.
• Bengal and the East: Bijoya Dashami is the day of Durga visarjan. Married women play sindoor khela before the idol leaves, and families visit each other with sweets.
• Maharashtra: Seemollanghan, crossing the village boundary, is still observed in some places, and Apta leaves are shared as "sona".

Whatever your region's custom, the heart of the day is the same: gratitude for the good that has won, and a resolve to keep choosing it.

Many families recite these on Vijayadashami, each with the full text and meaning on our site:

• Mahishasura Mardini Stotram, for the Devi's victory
• Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu, from the Durga Saptashati
• Shri Ramchandra Kripalu, in praise of Lord Rama
• Durga Chalisa

If you would like a pooja at a temple on Dussehra, you can book a Durga Pooja or a Durga Archana. The pandit performs it at the temple in your name and gotra on the date you choose, and photo proof is sent to you by email after the pooja. It sits alongside your own worship at home; it does not replace it. For the nine days before, see our Sharad Navratri 2026 guide.