When is Durga Puja 2026?
Durga Puja 2026 runs from Maha Shashthi on Friday, 16 October to Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday, 21 October, with Mahalaya on Saturday, 10 October. This year Maha Saptami spans two dates, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October, so Pujo stretches over six days. Maha Ashtami, the biggest day, is Monday, 19 October, with Sandhi Puja from about 10:27 to 11:15 am. Pan-India Dussehra falls a day earlier, on 20 October, because Bengali almanacs count the puja days by the tithi at sunrise.
| Date | Day | What happens | The vibe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahalaya মহালয়া | Devi Paksha begins. Pre-dawn Mahishasuramardini on the radio, tarpan for ancestors at the ghats. | Unofficial start of Pujo season | |
| Maha Shashthi মহাষষ্ঠী | Bodhon, amantran and adhivas in the evening: the Goddess is awakened and most pandals open. | First night out; crowds still manageable | |
| Maha Saptami (day 1) মহাসপ্তমী | Saptami tithi begins at about 5:55 am. Kola Bou (Nabapatrika) bath and the start of the main pujas. | Pandal-hopping marathon begins | |
| Maha Saptami (day 2) মহাসপ্তমী | Saptami continues until about 8:29 am, then Ashtami tithi begins. Many pujas hold Saptami rites this morning. | Bonus Pujo day: a full Sunday of hopping | |
| Maha Ashtami মহাষ্টমী | Pushpanjali in the morning, Kumari Puja at many pujas, and Sandhi Puja from about 10:27 to 11:15 am. | The big outfit day. Peak crowds. | |
| Maha Navami মহানবমী | Final rituals, homa and bhog; dhunuchi naach and adda through the night. | Last full night. Make it count. | |
| Bijoya Dashami বিজয়া দশমী | Darpan bisarjan, sindoor khela and immersion processions. Bijoya greetings begin. | Happy-sad. Asche bochor abar hobe. | |
| Kojagari Lakshmi Puja লক্ষ্মীপূজা | Lakshmi Puja at home on the full-moon night after Durga Puja. | Bijoya visits and mishti season |
Durga Puja captions & wishes: tap to copy
Fresh lines for your Pujo posts, stories and family group. Tap Copy, paste, done.
Instagram captions (English)
Short, punchy, built for Reels and carousels.
- Pandal hopping > everything. 📍
- Main character energy, Ashtami edition. ✨
- Sleep is a myth. It's Pujo.
- Dhak beats > any playlist. 🥁
- Anjali at 9, phuchka at 9:05.
- Five days. Zero chill. Infinite phuchka.
- Saree, sindoor, selfie. Repeat. 📸
- Not lost, just pandal hopping.
- Ma is home, and so is the vibe. 🏠
- Pujo outfit loading… 99%
- Ten arms, zero excuses. Durga energy only.
- Kash phool in the frame, Pujo in the heart. 🤍
Bengali captions (বাংলা)
Desi, nostalgic and very shareable.
- শুভ শারদীয়া! 🌸
- মা আসছেন, ছুটি আসছে, আড্ডা আসছে!
- পুজো মানেই প্যান্ডেল হপিং, ফুচকা আর আড্ডা।
- অঞ্জলি দিয়ে এসে, এবার শুধু খাওয়া!
- ঢাকের আওয়াজ শুনলেই মন বলে, পুজো এসে গেছে।
- কাশফুল, শিউলি আর নতুন জামা: পুজোর গন্ধ এসে গেছে।
- চার দিনের পুজো, সারা বছরের অপেক্ষা।
- আসছে বছর আবার হবে! 🙏
Squad & pandal-hopping captions
For the group photo at 2 am.
- Squad goals: 20 pandals, 0 regrets.
- Our step count this Pujo could fund a marathon. 👟
- Hopping pandals with my favourite humans.
- Queue for one hour, photo for one second. Worth it.
- Same gang, new pandals, same chaos.
- Navami night, no curfew, no regrets. 🌙
WhatsApp wishes for family & friends
Warm, simple and safe to send to anyone.
- Wishing you and your family a joyful Durga Puja. May Maa Durga bless your home with health, happiness and peace. Shubho Sharodiya!
- May Maa Durga give you the strength to face every challenge and the wisdom to enjoy every win. Happy Durga Puja!
- এই পুজোয় সবার জীবন আনন্দে ভরে উঠুক। শুভ শারদীয়ার অনেক শুভেচ্ছা ও ভালোবাসা।
- Here's to new clothes, old friends, endless food and the sound of the dhak. Happy Pujo!
- Far from home this Pujo? Ma travels with you. Shubho Sharodiya from all of us!
Bijoya Dashami messages
Send after the immersion. Elders get a pranam.
- শুভ বিজয়ার প্রণাম নেবেন। 🙏
- শুভ বিজয়ার প্রীতি ও শুভেচ্ছা রইল।
- Shubho Bijoya! Hugs, mishti and see you next year, Ma.
- Bijoya hits different every year. Asche bochor abar hobe! 💛
- Saying goodbye is hard. Good thing it's only for a year. Shubho Bijoya!
Free Durga Puja greeting cards
Pick a day for themed cards, or scroll for all-rounders you can send any day of Pujo.
All-day Pujo cards
May Goddess Durga fill your life with joy and happiness. May She turn all your dreams into reality this Durga Puja. Have a Happy & Blessed Durga Puja!
Wish you great success, health and happiness on this Durga Puja. Happy Durga Puja!
May Maa Durga fulfill all your wishes. Happy Durga Puja to you and your family!
মা আসছেন!
May Maa Durga protect you in every path of your life. Happy Durga Puja to you!
Celebrate the victory of the force of good over evil. Let's celebrate an auspicious day to begin new beginnings in life. Happy Durga Puja!
শুভ ষষ্ঠী!
শুভ মহাষষ্ঠী!
Pujo vibes, decoded
Pujo is five days of devotion and five nights of the best street festival in the world. For first-timers, new-age Bengalis and anyone who keeps hearing these words in reels, here is the Pujo dictionary.
- Pujo
- What Bengalis call Durga Puja. If someone says “Pujo”, they mean the main puja days, Shashthi to Dashami.
- Sharodiya
- From Sharat, the autumn season. “Shubho Sharodiya” means happy autumn festival.
- Mahalaya
- The new-moon day that ends Pitri Paksha and opens Devi Paksha, a week before Shashthi.
- Bodhon
- The ritual awakening of the Goddess on Shashthi evening.
- Kola Bou
- The Nabapatrika: nine plants tied to a banana plant, bathed and draped in a sari on Saptami morning.
- Anjali
- Pushpanjali, the flower offering with chanted mantras. Ashtami morning is the big one.
- Sandhi Puja
- Worship at the junction of Ashtami and Navami, traditionally with 108 lamps and 108 lotuses.
- Dhunuchi naach
- Dance with a clay incense burner (dhunuchi) to the beat of the dhak.
- Bhog
- The food offered to the Goddess and then shared: khichuri, labra, beguni, payesh.
- Sindoor khela
- Married women smear sindoor on the Goddess and on each other on Dashami before the farewell.
- Bisarjan
- The immersion of the idol in a river or pond on Dashami.
- Kumartuli
- The potters' quarter in north Kolkata where many of the idols are sculpted.
- Theme pujo
- A pandal built around a concept or art installation rather than a traditional temple look.
- Bonedi bari pujo
- Old family pujos in heritage homes, many of them over two centuries old.
- Pujabarshiki
- The fat special Pujo issues of Bengali magazines, full of new stories and novels.
Pandal hopping survival guide
- Plan by area, not by pandal. Cluster North, Central and South Kolkata pujos so you are not crossing the city at midnight.
- Go early or go very late. Early afternoon and post-2 am queues are shortest; Ashtami evening is the longest.
- Use the Metro. It usually runs extended hours during Pujo; check Metro Railway Kolkata's notice before you head out.
- Charge everything. A power bank, offline maps and a UPI app with backup cash save the night.
- Shoes over style. You will walk 15,000+ steps; break in new sandals before Shashthi.
- Keep a meeting point. Networks jam near big pandals, so fix a landmark for the squad.
- Respect the space. Queue, don't climb barricades, and keep pandal areas clean.
What to wear: the 5-day Pujo fit check
Shashthi
Easy ethnic or indo-western: kurti with jeans, short kurta. Comfortable shoes for the first night out.
Saptami
Bright colours and handloom: a cotton saree or printed kurta-pyjama.
Ashtami
The big one. A new saree or a crisp panjabi with dhoti for anjali; this is the photo everyone posts.
Navami
Night-out glam: silk, sequins, statement jewellery, a jacket for late hours.
Dashami
Red-and-white: the lal paar sada saree for sindoor khela, white or cream panjabi for the procession.
The Pujo food bucket list
- Phuchka Non-negotiable. Tetul jol, extra spicy.
- Egg or chicken roll The official pandal-hopping fuel.
- Mughlai paratha Stuffed, fried, worth every bite.
- Kolkata biryani With the potato. Always with the potato.
- Bhog khichuri With labra, beguni and chutney, ideally from a pandal.
- Fish fry Crumb-coated bhetki, best with kasundi.
- Kosha mangsho Slow-cooked mutton, a Navami favourite in many homes.
- Mishti Rosogolla, sandesh, mishti doi: the Bijoya essentials.
The lore: what is Durga Puja?
Durga Puja celebrates the Goddess Durga's victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, the triumph of good over evil. In Bengali tradition it is also a homecoming: Durga, as Uma, returns from Mount Kailash to her parents' home for four days with her children Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartik, before leaving on Dashami. That is why Bijoya feels like a farewell, and why everyone says asche bochor abar hobe: it will happen again next year.
The festival is celebrated across Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar, in Bangladesh, and in Bengali communities worldwide. In December 2021, UNESCO inscribed Durga Puja in Kolkata on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Beyond the city: kash phool, rajbaris and radio at dawn
Long before theme pandals and drone shots, Pujo meant autumn in rural Bengal: fields of white kash phool swaying by the river, shiuli flowers on the ground at dawn and idols carried home on bamboo poles. That image still says Pujo to every Bengali.
The heritage runs deep. Shobhabazar Rajbari in north Kolkata has held its family Durga Puja since 1757, and dozens of bonedi bari pujos across the city keep centuries-old rituals alive. The community or barowari puja began in 1790, when twelve friends in Guptipara, Hooghly, pooled money for a shared celebration, and Kolkata's first barowari puja followed in Bhowanipore in 1909. And every Mahalaya since 1931, Bengalis have woken before dawn for Mahishasuramardini on All India Radio, the chant-and-music programme voiced by Birendra Krishna Bhadra.
Durga Puja 2026: FAQ
When is Durga Puja in 2026?
In 2026, Mahalaya falls on Saturday 10 October. The main Durga Puja days run from Maha Shashthi on Friday 16 October to Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday 21 October. Maha Saptami spans two dates, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October, so Pujo runs six days this year. Maha Ashtami is on Monday 19 October and Maha Navami on Tuesday 20 October.
When is Ashtami and Sandhi Puja in 2026?
Maha Ashtami is on Monday 19 October 2026. The Sandhi Puja, held at the junction of the Ashtami and Navami tithis, falls between about 10:27 am and 11:15 am that morning. Panjikas differ by a minute or two, so check with your local puja committee.
Why is Bijoya Dashami on 21 October when Dussehra is on 20 October?
Bengali almanacs fix each puja day by the tithi at sunrise, while the pan-Indian Dussehra date follows the Dashami tithi in the afternoon. In 2026 this places Dussehra on 20 October in much of India and Bijoya Dashami in West Bengal on Wednesday 21 October.
What does Shubho Sharodiya mean?
Shubho Sharodiya means happy autumn festival. Sharodiya comes from Sharat, the autumn season in which Durga Puja falls, and it is the standard Bengali greeting during Pujo.
Is it right to say Shubho Mahalaya?
Opinions differ. Mahalaya is the last day of Pitri Paksha, when people offer tarpan to their ancestors, so some feel a celebratory greeting is out of place. Others wish Shubho Mahalaya because the day also opens Devi Paksha and the countdown to Durga Puja.
What do you say to elders on Bijoya Dashami?
After the immersion on Bijoya Dashami, younger people touch the feet of elders and say Shubho Bijoyar pranam neben, while friends and equals exchange hugs and say Shubho Bijoya. Sweets are shared with every visit.
Is Kolkata's Durga Puja a UNESCO heritage?
Yes. In December 2021, UNESCO inscribed Durga Puja in Kolkata on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Are the Durga Puja cards on this page free?
Yes. All greeting cards and the Pujo 2026 calendar on this page are free to download and share for personal, non-commercial use on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. For commercial use, email editor@deepestfeelings.com.
Usage terms
All greeting cards and the Durga Puja 2026 calendar on this page are free to download and share for personal, non-commercial use. Please do not resell them, remove the DeepestFeelings credit or use them in advertising. For commercial or bulk licensing, email editor@deepestfeelings.com.
