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तारीख
The Dussehra 2026 date, why it falls on that day, and where it differs by region. Includes the countdown and a one-tap add-to-calendar.
Dussehra 2026: 20 October 20261 dayदशहरा
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Counting down to Dussehra 2026
Your local time · Tuesday 20 October 2026
Dussehra follows Dashami of Shukla Paksha in Ashwin, the tenth day after Navratri begins. It runs for about 1 day in the regions where it is observed.
A common question is why the date moves. The Hindu calendar is lunisolar: it tracks the moon for months and the sun for years, which means the civil date of a lunar festival drifts by up to about a fortnight from one year to the next. Islamic festivals follow the purely lunar Hijri calendar and move roughly eleven days earlier every year, subject to moon sighting. A handful of festivals — Makar Sankranti, Vaisakhi, Pongal and the other solar ones — stay on nearly the same date. The entry below tells you which of these applies here.
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.
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Sources and how this was checked
Last reviewed 6 October 2026. Economic Times — October 2026 Hindu festival calendar. How we source and correct festival content.