Does Durga Puja begin on Mahalaya?

It's the day Durga is said to begin her journey home, so emotionally yes, but the puja itself is a week later. Mahalaya is also the last day of Pitru Paksha, with tarpan at the riverbank at dawn. In Bengal the recording of Mahishasura Mardini played on the radio from four in the morning is what really marks it.

Mahalaya

Bengali

the invocation

Next date

10 October 2026

Saturday · Krishna Amavasya

Tithi begins09:36 PM · 9 Oct

Tithi ends09:20 PM

Full panchang for this day

About

The day of ancestral tarpan concluding Pitru Paksha; the invocation that begins Durga Puja.

Falls on: Ashwin Amavasya, the last day of Pitru Paksha, a week before Durga Puja

What it is

Two things at once. It closes the ancestral fortnight with tarpan at the riverbank at dawn, and it opens Durga Puja, marking the moment Durga begins her journey home. The pre-dawn radio broadcast of Mahishasura Mardini, Birendra Krishna Bhadra's chandipath, recorded in the 1930s, is played across Bengal from 4am and is genuinely the emotional start of the season for most Bengalis. Idol-makers paint the eyes (chokkhu daan) today.

Food

Tarpan offerings; the festival cooking starts.

Common questions

Does Durga Puja begin on Mahalaya?: It's the day Durga is said to begin her journey home, so emotionally yes, but the puja itself is a week later. Mahalaya is also the last day of Pitru Paksha, with tarpan at the riverbank at dawn. In Bengal the recording of Mahishasura Mardini played on the radio from four in the morning is what really marks it.

2026

Oct10SatSaturdayNextKrishna AmavasyaTithi begins09:36 PM · 9 OctTithi ends09:20 PM

2027

Sep29WedWednesdayKrishna ChaturdashiTithi begins01:55 PM · 28 SeptTithi ends10:55 AM