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पूजा विधि
Step-by-step Dussehra puja vidhi for 2026 — what to prepare, the order of the ritual, and what to do when you are doing it at home for the first time.
Dussehra 2026: 20 October 20261 dayदशहरा
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In the order a household actually does it, including what to set up beforehand.
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.
The checklist tool builds the full item list for this puja from the same data as the steps above, and saves your ticks on your own device so you can reopen it in the market.
Ritual order genuinely varies. Where it does, this is the difference.
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.