Durga Puja: Maha Saptami 2026

Durga Puja: Maha Saptami 2026 is on Saturday, 17 October 2026. The tithi runs from 05:54, 17 October 2026 to 08:28, 18 October 2026.

Durga Puja: Maha Saptami 2026 date in major cities

About Durga Puja: Maha Saptami

Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Sharadotsava, is a major Hindu festival honouring the goddess Durga and commemorating her victory over Mahishasura. It is one of the biggest festivals among Bengali Hindus and Maithili Hindus. It is widely observed in eastern India, Bangladesh. In 2021, Durga Puja in Kolkata was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashvin on the Hindu luni-solar calendar.

History and origins

Durga is an ancient goddess of Hinduism according to available archeological and textual evidence. However, the origins of Durga Puja are unclear and undocumented. Fine stone and metal carvings of Mahishasuramardini from the 12th century show that the iconography of the goddess was well-established and deeply revered at the time. The name Durga, and related terms, appear in Vedic literature, such as in the Rigveda hymns 4.28, 5.34, 8.27, 8.47, 8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the Atharvaveda. A deity named Durgi appears in section 10.1.7 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka. While the Vedic literature uses the word Durga, the description therein lacks legendary details about her or about Durga Puja that is found in later Hindu literature. A key text associated with Durga Puja is Devi Mahatmya, which is recited during the festival.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), shortened.

Other years: Durga Puja: Maha Saptami 2027

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Updated: 2026-10-18 · Calculated for the place shown, with Lahiri ayanamsha. How we calculate