In Bengal, Durga Puja is much more than a religious observance. It’s the year’s defining cultural celebration, shaping public life, neighbourhoods, art, food, fashion, and family gatherings across the state. It’s also called Sharadiya Pujo, Sharodotsab, or Maha Pujo. The main public observance runs across five days, Shashthi through Dashami, commonly falling in mid to late October, though the exact dates shift each year with the lunar calendar and can vary slightly depending on which panjika you’re following, so it’s worth checking a Bengali calendar closer to the date for the precise days near you.
Before the five main days comes Mahalaya. It marks the transition into Devi Paksha and is deeply associated with the invocation of Goddess Durga. For generations, Bengali households have begun Mahalaya morning before dawn with the famous Mahishasuramardini radio broadcast, one of the most recognisable sounds of the Bengali festive season.
Shashthi: the goddess arrives
By Shashthi, many pandals are formally open to visitors, and Kolkata’s famous pandal-hopping season is fully underway. Rituals like Bodhon, the ceremonial awakening of the goddess, take place around this time.
Saptami: the puja proper starts
Saptami brings Nabapatrika Puja, when a bundle of nine plants is ritually bathed, dressed, and worshipped. The banana plant within the arrangement is popularly known as Kola Bou. This is considered the actual start of the main puja rituals.
Ashtami: Kumari Puja and Sandhi Puja
Ashtami is one of the most significant days. Kumari Puja, the worship of a young girl as a living form of the goddess, is observed at many pujas, particularly associated with the Belur Math tradition, though not universal across every puja. The junction between Ashtami and Navami is marked by Sandhi Puja, a short, precisely timed ritual spanning the last part of Ashtami and the first part of Navami. It’s one of the most significant ritual moments of the festival, traditionally marked by 108 lamps and other offerings.
Navami: the last night
Navami Homa and major pushpanjali ceremonies typically take place in the morning. For many, Navami evening is the last big night out at the pandals before the festival winds toward its close.
Dashami: Sindoor Khela and Visarjan
The final day is Vijaya Dashami. Traditionally, married women take part in Sindoor Khela, applying vermilion to one another and to the goddess’s idol as they bid farewell before immersion. The day closes with Visarjan (also written Bisarjan), the immersion of the idol in a river or other body of water, symbolising the goddess’s departure until the following year. The procession to the immersion is often as grand and communal as anything earlier in the festival.
The pandal: more than a puja venue
What sets Bengal’s Durga Puja apart from Navratri elsewhere in India is the scale and artistry of the pandal itself. Community (barowari) pujas increasingly turn pandal-making into an elaborate art form, with themes, design, craftsmanship, lighting, and sustainability becoming part of the creative conversation, often as part of organised judging and awards in Kolkata. Older bonedi bari (aristocratic household) pujas, meanwhile, maintain generations-old family traditions. These household pujas can look very different from the spectacular theme-based community pandals, preserving rituals, architecture, and family customs passed down over generations. Many families also host relatives and friends at home across the five days, not unlike the gatherings that build around Ganesh Chaturthi elsewhere in India.
For many people in Kolkata, pandal-hopping has become an essential part of experiencing Durga Puja, alongside worship, dhaak, dhunuchi naach, food, and adda.
New clothes, family gatherings, and the cost of the season
New clothes for every day of the puja are a well-known part of the tradition, along with family visits, pandal outings, and festive meals, all of which add up across five days. Deciding what you’ll spend before the season starts tends to work out better than tracking it as you go, our festive season budgeting guide walks through exactly that. If you’re also putting together outfits for the season, our Navratri 2026 fashion trends guide covers colour and fabric directions that carry over well beyond Gujarat’s Garba nights.
FAQ
When is Durga Puja 2026 in Bengal?
Mahalaya falls in early to mid-October 2026, with the five principal days, Shashthi through Vijaya Dashami, following across mid to late October. Sources vary slightly on the exact date-to-day mapping because Bengali panjikas assign each day by the tithi current at sunrise, so it’s worth checking a local panjika for exact timings.
What happens on each day of Durga Puja?
Shashthi is associated with the ceremonial awakening and invocation of the goddess. Saptami brings Nabapatrika Puja. Ashtami involves major worship, Kumari Puja at some observances, and Sandhi Puja. Navami includes Navami Homa and further worship. Dashami closes the festival with Sindoor Khela at many traditional celebrations and the immersion.
How many days is Durga Puja actually celebrated?
The main public observance runs five days, Shashthi through Dashami. Mahalaya, which precedes it, marks the beginning of the festive period but isn’t one of the five main puja days.
What is Sindoor Khela?
A ritual observed on Vijaya Dashami where married women, traditionally, apply vermilion (sindoor) to each other and to the idol, as part of bidding farewell to the goddess before immersion.