Last updated: June 2026.
When is Dasara in 2026?
Vijaya Dashami (Dasara) 2026 falls on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 in India, as computed by our astronomy engine for Ashwayuja Shukla Dashami. The full Devi Navaratri sequence for 2026 (IST, computed):
| Date | Observance |
|---|
| October 10 (Sat) | Mahalaya Amavasya — Bathukamma begins (Telangana) |
| October 11 (Sun) | Devi Navaratri begins — Kalasha Sthapana |
| October 19 (Mon) | Durga Ashtami |
| October 20 (Tue) | Maha Navami — Ayudha Puja, Saraswati Puja |
| October 21 (Wed) | Vijaya Dashami / Dasara |
About these dates: All dates below are computed by our astronomy engine for India (IST, Hyderabad reference) using Drik Ganita with Lahiri Ayanamsa. Timings shift with your location — a festival can fall one day earlier or later outside India. Use your
city-specific Panchangam page for local timings, and always confirm important observances with your temple or Pandit.
The Meaning of Vijaya Dashami
Dasara celebrates the victory of good over evil — Goddess Durga's triumph over Mahishasura, and Lord Rama's victory over Ravana. The day is one of the three-and-a-half most auspicious muhurthams of the Hindu year (sade teen muhurat), considered favourable for beginning education, new ventures, and major undertakings without consulting any further Panchangam.
Telugu Traditions
- Jammi Chettu (Shami) Worship — families visit the Shami tree at dusk, exchange its leaves as \u201cbangaram\u201d (gold), and greet elders. This recalls the Pandavas retrieving their weapons from the Shami tree.
- Palapitta Darshanam — sighting the Indian Roller (palapitta) on Dasara is considered highly auspicious in both Telugu states.
- Ayudha Puja — on Maha Navami, tools, vehicles, machines, and books are cleaned, decorated, and worshipped.
- Bathukamma — Telangana's iconic flower festival runs through the Navaratri period, with women singing around concentric flower stacks each evening. The concluding Saddula Bathukamma falls during Navaratri; regional practice varies.
- Bommala Koluvu — the display of dolls arranged in odd-numbered steps, welcoming the Goddess into the home.
- Kanaka Durga Temple, Vijayawada — the Navaratri alankarams at Indrakeeladri draw millions; the Goddess appears in a different form each day.
The Nine Nights of Navaratri
Devi Navaratri unfolds in three phases of three nights each, honouring the Goddess in her three great forms. The first three days are devoted to Durga, the fierce power that destroys negativity; the next three to Lakshmi, the giver of wealth and wellbeing; and the last three to Saraswati, the source of knowledge and art. The tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, celebrates the victory that this ninefold worship secures.
In the Telugu states, temples dress the Goddess in a different alankaram (divine form) on each of the nine days. At the Kanaka Durga temple on Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada — one of the most revered Navaratri shrines in Andhra Pradesh — the Goddess is adorned in a different alankaram each day, in forms such as Bala Tripura Sundari, Annapurna, Mahalakshmi, Saraswati, Durga and Mahishasura Mardini, appearing as Sri Rajarajeshwari on Vijaya Dashami (the sequence is set by the temple each year). Devotees fast, keep the Bommala Koluvu (display of dolls), and read the Devi Mahatmyam through the nine nights.
Vijaya Dashami Rituals in Detail
- Shami Puja (Jammi): at dusk on Dasara, families gather at a Shami (Jammi) tree, worship it, and exchange its leaves as a symbol of gold and goodwill — recalling how the Pandavas recovered their hidden weapons from a Shami tree at the close of their exile.
- Palapitta Darshanam: catching sight of the Indian Roller bird (palapitta) on Dasara is held to be especially auspicious across the Telugu states.
- Ayudha Puja & Saraswati Puja: begun on Maha Navami, tools, vehicles, machines, instruments and books are cleaned, decorated and worshipped — and left unused that day so the divine may rest in them.
- Aksharabhyasam: because Vijaya Dashami is supremely auspicious for beginning learning, many children are initiated into their first letters (Aksharabhyasam) on this day.
- Vidyarambham & new ventures: as one of the sade-teen (three-and-a-half) unconditionally auspicious muhurthams of the year, Dasara needs no further Panchangam check to start education, business or travel.
Dasara Outside India
Because each Navaratri day is fixed by the Tithi at local sunrise, dates can shift by one day for cities in the Americas. Diaspora Telugu associations typically celebrate on the nearest weekend — but for vratams and pujas performed at home, use your city's computed Tithi below.
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