दशहरा
Vijayadashami — the tenth day that ends Navratri with Ravana Dahan and new beginnings.
Counting down to Dussehra 2026
Your local time · Tuesday 20 October 2026
No login needed to share or download anything on TyoharHub.
Don’t miss Dussehra. Add the date to your phone calendar — we will not email or notify you.
Dashami of Shukla Paksha in Ashwin, the tenth day after Navratri begins
Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, is the tenth day of the Navratri cycle. It marks Rama's victory over Ravana in the Ramayana and Durga's victory over Mahishasura in the Devi tradition, and in 2026 it falls on Tuesday 20 October.
In North India the day is dominated by Ramlila performances that run through the preceding nine nights, ending with the burning of giant effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad in an open ground in the evening. Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, Varanasi's Ramnagar Ramlila and Almora's Ramlila are the best-known.
In Mysuru the same day is Dasara, a ten-day state festival with the palace lit by tens of thousands of bulbs and the Jamboo Savari elephant procession on the final day. In West Bengal, Odisha and Assam, Dashami is the last day of Durga Puja, marked by sindoor khela and immersion of the idols.
Dussehra is also considered one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu year for starting something — buying a vehicle, moving into a new house, beginning a course of study, or opening a business. Ayudha Puja, when tools, machines and vehicles are worshipped, falls the day before in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Copy any message in one tap. Written by hand, not pulled from a quote database.
May the truth always win, and may this Dussehra bring you victory in everything you attempt. Happy Vijayadashami!
Wishing you a Dussehra filled with the joy of good over evil. Happy Dussehra!
May Ravana's fall remind us that no amount of power outlives the truth. Happy Dussehra!
Wishing you and your family a very Happy Dussehra and a bright festive season ahead.
May this Vijayadashami mark a new beginning for you. Happy Dussehra!
Buraai par acchai ki jeet — Happy Dussehra to you and yours.
May the ten days of celebration bring you ten times the happiness. Happy Dussehra!
In the order a household actually does them.
Bathe and offer prayers to Rama or Durga depending on your household tradition. Light a ghee lamp and offer flowers, fruit and sweets. Recite the Durga Saptashati's final chapter or the Ram Raksha Stotra.
Offer shami leaves to elders and exchange them between family members and neighbours, saying the traditional line about the shami tree being a symbol of gold and victory.
Clean all tools, machinery, vehicles and instruments of work, apply kumkum and turmeric, place a flower garland and light a lamp in front of them. In workshops and offices this is usually done for the whole team's equipment.
Attend the local effigy burning. It usually starts around dusk. Stand well back — the effigies are packed with crackers and the debris carries.
This is where most festival sites give one national answer to a question that has several.
Ramlila in the nine preceding nights with the burning of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad effigies on Dussehra evening. Ramlila Maidan in Delhi and Ramnagar in Varanasi are the most famous. Bareilly, Almora and Varanasi all have distinct Ramlila styles.
Dasara is the state festival, running ten days with the Mysore Palace lit by close to a hundred thousand bulbs. The Jamboo Savari procession on Vijayadashami carries the golden howdah on Chamundeshwari's elephant. Ayudha Puja and Saraswati Puja fall in the preceding days.
Vijayadashami is Vidyarambham, when children write their first letters in rice, and Ayudha Puja the day before sees tools, vehicles and machines decorated and worshipped.
Vijaya Dashami ends Durga Puja. Married women perform sindoor khela, applying vermilion to each other and to the idol, and the idol is immersed, followed by the exchange of greetings with sweets and touching feet.
Dussehra closes the garba season. Ravana Dahan happens in most towns, and since the next day is the Gujarati new year, houses are cleaned and prepared for the new year on the same evening.
Odisha celebrates Durga Puja through Dashami with the Ravana Podi tradition in some districts. Assam observes Durga Puja with the same Dashami immersion.
Gift categories, honestly described — not a list of sponsored products.
Dussehra and Vidyarambham mark the formal start of learning, so books are the traditional gift for children on this day.
Suits: child, student, niece, nephew
Ties directly into Ayudha Puja — a new tool, camera, laptop stand or professional kit is the most on-theme Dussehra gift for a working adult.
Suits: professional, employee, self, team
Dussehra is the biggest vehicle-buying season in India, so accessories — seat covers, a car vacuum, a puja kit for the vehicle — arrive on theme.
Suits: family, self, couple
Gold or gold-tone jewellery is the traditional Dussehra gift in South India, where the shami tree is associated with Rama and wealth.
Suits: wife, mother, girlfriend, sister
TyoharHub does not currently use affiliate links. These are plain links to a marketplace search, with no tracking attached. We earn nothing from them. Read the full disclosure.
With honest budget ranges and a difficulty rating for each.
A small bow-and-arrow motif on the door, with an arrangement of shami or apta leaves in a brass bowl. Simple, and it reads immediately as Dussehra rather than generic festivity.
Budget: ₹200–₹600
Draw a large bow-and-arrow in the centre, framed by diyas. Use the shami-leaf green and marigold yellow for a colour pair that is distinctly Dussehra.
Budget: ₹150–₹400
If hosting a terrace viewing of the local Ravana Dahan, set folding chairs well back, keep a bucket of water and sand nearby, and put children behind a railing. Safety, not aesthetics, is the entire brief here.
Budget: ₹0–₹500
A single continuous warm-white light run along the roofline or balcony edge, rather than scattered strings. The Mysuru palace look comes from uninterrupted lines of light, not from many colours.
Budget: ₹800–₹3,000
Including a note on why each dish belongs to this festival.
The classic Dussehra and Ramlila-side sweet, and the one most families attempt at home exactly once.
About 60 minutes
Ingredients
Every page below has its own content — we do not publish empty topic pages.
Dussehra (Vijayadashami) falls on Tuesday 20 October 2026, the day after Maha Navami in the Shardiya Navratri cycle.
It marks Rama's victory over Ravana and, in the Devi tradition, Durga's victory over Mahishasura after nine nights of battle. Both stories are about the defeat of evil by good.
Yes — it is one of the three most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar for a new beginning, along with Akshaya Tritiya and Diwali. Vehicle purchases, house-warmings, and starting a course of study are all common on this day.
Ayudha Puja is the worship of tools, machinery and vehicles, observed on Maha Navami (the day before Dussehra) in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Equipment is cleaned, decorated with kumkum and flowers, and worshipped.
Vidyarambham is the South Indian practice of introducing a child to formal learning, usually on Vijayadashami. The child writes their first letters in a plate of rice with a finger or gold ring, in front of Saraswati.
Last reviewed 6 October 2026. This page covers a regionally specific festival — where practices differ, they are described separately rather than averaged. If you spot an error, tell us and we will correct it.