Quick facts
- Mahalaya
- Saturday, 10 October
- Bodhon (Maha Shashthi)
- Friday, 16 October, evening
- Maha Saptami
- Sunday, 18 October
- Maha Ashtami
- Monday, 19 October
- Sandhi Puja (19 October)
- 10:28 to 11:16 AM (Vishuddha Siddhanta)
7:25 to 8:13 AM (Gupta Press) - Maha Navami
- Tuesday, 20 October
- Bijoya Dashami
- Wednesday, 21 October
Day-by-day schedule (Kolkata)
Tithi times are from the Vishuddha Siddhanta panjika. Ritual times in brackets are from Belur Math’s programme; your local puja committee sets its own.
| Date | Puja day | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sat, 10 Oct | Mahalaya Amavasya until 9:20 PM | Tarpan for the ancestors ends Pitru Paksha, and Devi Paksha begins. Many listen to Mahishasuramardini at dawn. |
| Fri, 16 Oct | Maha Shashthi Shashthi from 3:25 AM | Kalparambha in the morning. Bodhon, the awakening of the goddess, in the evening under a bel tree. |
| Sat, 17 Oct | Shashthi continues Shashthi until 5:55 AM, then Saptami | Amantran and Adhivas, the invitation and welcoming rites, in the evening. Shashthi holds at sunrise, so the Saptami puja waits for tomorrow. |
| Sun, 18 Oct | Maha Saptami Saptami until 8:29 AM, then Ashtami | Navapatrika snan at dawn: the bundle of nine plants (Kola Bou) is bathed and installed beside the goddess. Pran Pratishtha, Saptami puja and Pushpanjali. |
| Mon, 19 Oct | Maha Ashtami Ashtami until 10:52 AM, then Navami | Ashtami puja and Pushpanjali. Kumari Puja (9:00 AM at Belur Math). Sandhi Puja: 10:28 to 11:16 AM by the Vishuddha Siddhanta panjika, or 7:25 to 8:13 AM by Gupta Press. |
| Tue, 20 Oct | Maha Navami Navami until 12:51 PM, then Dashami | Navami puja, Homa and bhog, Pushpanjali, and the evening arati, with dhunuchi dance in many pandals. |
| Wed, 21 Oct | Vijaya Dashami (Bijoya) Dashami until 2:12 PM | Dashami puja and Darpan Visarjan in the morning (within 8:30 AM at Belur Math). Sindoor Khela, then immersion, and Bijoya greetings with sweets. |
Sandhi Puja time in your city
Sandhi Puja is held at a single moment for the whole world: the junction of Ashtami and Navami. Choose a city to see that moment on your local clock.
Why there are two Sandhi Puja times
Sandhi Puja spans 48 minutes: the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami. Bengali panjikas work out that junction in two ways. Traditional panjikas such as Gupta Press follow the Surya Siddhanta as it was written, and end Ashtami at about 7:49 AM. The Vishuddha Siddhanta panjika, first published in 1890, corrects those calculations against the observed positions of the Sun and Moon, and ends Ashtami at 10:52 AM. Belur Math and the Ramakrishna Mission follow the Vishuddha Siddhanta. Both are living traditions, so keep the time your family priest or puja committee follows.
Why Bengal and North India keep different dates
Bengali panjikas generally place each day’s puja on the day whose sunrise falls in that tithi. That gives Maha Navami on Tuesday 20 October and Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday 21 October. North Indian calendars use other rules: when Navami begins before evening on Ashtami day, the Navami puja is done the same day, so Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami are both on Monday 19 October; and Dussehra is kept on the day Dashami holds in the afternoon, Tuesday 20 October. Neither is wrong; they are different regional rules.
The rituals, day by day
- Bodhon. On the evening of Shashthi the goddess is awakened and invited, at a bel (wood apple) tree. Kalparambha, the formal start of the puja, is done that morning.
- Amantran and Adhivas. The goddess is formally invited, and the offerings and articles of worship are sanctified.
- Navapatrika. At dawn on Saptami, a bundle of nine plants, each standing for a form of the goddess, is bathed and dressed in a red-bordered sari. It is popularly called Kola Bou and thought of as Ganesha’s bride, but traditionally it stands for the goddess herself.
- Kumari Puja. On Ashtami a young girl is worshipped as the living goddess, most famously at Belur Math.
- Sandhi Puja. At the junction of Ashtami and Navami, the goddess is worshipped as Chamunda, who in the scriptures slew the demons Chanda and Munda at this moment. 108 lamps are lit and 108 lotuses offered.
- Navami. The final day of worship, with Homa (fire offerings), bhog and the evening arati.
- Dashami. After the Dashami puja the goddess’s reflection is seen in a mirror and bid farewell (Darpan Visarjan). Married women offer sindoor to the goddess and to each other (Sindoor Khela), the images are immersed, and families exchange Bijoya greetings and sweets.
Akal Bodhon: why the puja is in autumn
In the Bengali Krittivasi Ramayana, Rama worships Durga in autumn before his battle with Ravana. The goddess hides one of the 108 lotuses he needs, and Rama begins to offer one of his own lotus-like eyes in its place; pleased, she stops him and blesses him. Because the gods are believed to sleep in this half of the year, the autumn worship is called akal bodhon, the untimely awakening, and the Bodhon rite of Shashthi recalls it.
Pandal hours, anjali slots and immersion schedules are set by each puja committee and the local authorities; check with them before you go.
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