About Dussehra
Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, is the tenth day that closes Navratri and Durga Puja, and in 2026 it falls on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. North India burns effigies of Ravana, the south worships tools, books and vehicles, Bengal immerses the goddess, and Mysuru holds a state procession. The common thread is a victory won and a new venture begun.
Dussehra is the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Ashvin, which is why its other name, Vijayadashami, simply means the tenth day of victory. The word Dussehra is usually read as dasha-hara, the removal of the ten, taken as Ravana's ten heads or as ten kinds of wrongdoing.
Two stories share the date. In the north and west, this is the day Rama killed Ravana at the end of the war in Lanka. In the east, it is the day Durga finished her three-day fight with Mahishasura, and the day the goddess goes home. Both readings are old, and neither cancels the other.
How is the date of Dussehra decided?
Panchangs give Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, to the day on which the Dashami tithi is running in aparahna, the late afternoon. When Dashami covers the afternoon on two consecutive days, or on neither cleanly, panchangs apply further tests, which is one reason local calendars can differ by a day. Bengali almanacs count the day differently again, so Bijoya Dashami in Kolkata sometimes falls after the effigies have burnt in Delhi. See Durga Puja for how that works.
The ritual window is Vijaya Muhurta, in the afternoon rather than the evening. In Maharashtra the whole day is counted among the saade teen muhurat, the three and a half most auspicious days of the year, which is why vehicle showrooms and jewellers are busy and why so many people start something on it.
Ramlila and the burning of Ravana
Across the Hindi belt, the nine nights of Sharad Navratri are filled by Ramlila, the staged Ramayana. UNESCO inscribed Ramlila in 2008 and names Ayodhya, Ramnagar, Varanasi, Vrindavan, Almora, Satna and Madhubani as the most representative. Most cycles run ten to twelve days; the Ramnagar Ramlila, staged across the Ganga from Varanasi, runs close to a month.
The effigies come from workshops, not households. Titarpur in west Delhi turns into an open-air effigy yard for weeks, with labourers arriving from other states. Sizes run from about ten feet to seventy, and prices from a few hundred rupees to tens of thousands, firecrackers extra. Ravana is burnt with Kumbhakarna and Meghnad beside him, usually after an arrow is fired at dusk.
How is Dussehra celebrated in different parts of India?
Dussehra is done very differently across India: Mysuru has the Jamboo Savari, Kullu and Bastar burn no Ravana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka keep Ayudha Puja, Kerala Vidyarambham, and Bengal Bijoya Dashami.
| Place | What happens on Vijayadashami | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mysuru, Karnataka | Jamboo Savari, the procession from the palace to Bannimantap with Chamundeshwari in a golden howdah on an elephant | Nada Habba, the state festival. The Wadiyars began it at Srirangapatna in 1610; the palace is lit with over a hundred thousand lamps through the ten days |
| Kullu, Himachal Pradesh | The festival starts when the rest of India's ends, running a week at the Dhalpur maidan as village deities are carried in to Raghunath ji | Raja Jagat Singh installed Raghunath as the valley's ruling deity in the 17th century; no Ravana effigy is burnt |
| Bastar, Chhattisgarh | The closing days of a 75-day festival that begins with Pat Jatra in Shravan and ends with the Muria Durbar | A tribal festival centred on Danteshwari rather than on Rama. No Ravana effigy here either |
| Tamil Nadu and Karnataka | Ayudha Puja, also called Astra Puja: tools, machines, laptops, books and vehicles are cleaned, garlanded and left unused for a day | Traced to the weapons of the goddess, and to the Pandavas recovering their arms from the shami tree |
| Kerala | Vidyarambham: a child's first letters are written on rice or sand with an elder guiding the finger, and books placed for worship on Ashtami are taken back | The tenth day is treated as the best day of the year to begin learning |
| Maharashtra | Apta leaves are exchanged as sone, gold, after Shami puja and Simollanghan, the ceremonial crossing of the village boundary | A story of the student Kautsa, whose guru-dakshina was paid when gold rained on the apta trees of King Raghu's kingdom |
| Gujarat | Vehicles are worshipped and the day is eaten as fafda and jalebi after nine nights of garba | The morning after the last garba, by long habit rather than scripture |
| West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Odisha | Bijoya Dashami: sindoor khela, immersion of the image, sweets and pronam to elders | The goddess returns to Kailash; the greeting becomes Shubho Bijoya |
Not everyone burns Ravana. Bastar and Kullu, two of the largest Dussehra festivals in the country, have never had the ritual at all. At Nagpur, the day carries an entirely separate meaning: B. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism there with roughly half a million followers on 14 October 1956, and the anniversary at Deekshabhoomi is marked each year on Vijayadashami, with new converts taking the vows.
What to write
Happy Dussehra, Maa and Papa. Thank you for every year you kept things going when they were hard. Wishing you both health and an easy year ahead.
Happy Dussehra. Wishing you a good year at work and the sense to know which battles are worth it.
Happy Vijayadashami. Good day to begin. Whatever you are starting this week, I'm backing you all the way.
Happy Vijayadashami! New books, new notebook, fresh start. May the year be kinder to your marks than the last one.
Wishing you a happy Vijayadashami and an easy Ayudha Puja. Hope the car, the laptop and the kitchen all get their day of rest.
Dasara chya hardik shubhechha. Sona ghya, sonyasarkhe raha. Take the gold, and stay as good as gold.
Shubho Bijoya. Pronam to the elders, sweets for everyone, and see you on the other side of the immersion.
Happy Dussehra. Not everything gets defeated in one day, and that's fine. Here's to the parts you did win this year, and to the next round.
Do
- Match the custom to the person: Ravan Dahan in the north, Ayudha Puja in the south, Shubho Bijoya in Bengal, sone in Maharashtra.
- Send it in the afternoon or evening. The day's rituals sit in the aparahna window, not at sunrise.
- If you are gifting on this day, tools, books, a pen or something for a new venture fit the occasion better than sweets alone.
Avoid
- Don't build a wish around burning Ravana for friends who don't observe it that way, including Ambedkarite Buddhist and many tribal communities.
- Don't call it Dussehra when writing to a Bengali family on the day of the immersion. Bijoya Dashami is what they will say.
- Don't send a "conquer your enemies" line to a colleague or client. It reads worse than you think in writing.
- Vijaya Muhurta
- The afternoon window in which the day's main rituals are done
- Ayudha Puja
- Worship of tools, weapons, instruments and vehicles on the ninth or tenth day
- Vidyarambham
- A child's initiation into letters, written in rice or sand on Vijayadashami
- Simollanghan
- Crossing the village boundary in procession, once the start of the campaign season
- Jamboo Savari
- The Mysuru elephant procession that closes Dasara
- Sone
- Apta leaves exchanged as symbolic gold in Maharashtra
Twenty days after Dussehra comes Diwali, counted in the north as the day Rama reached Ayodhya after the victory this day marks.
How to wish someone on Dussehra
Dussehra wishes work best when tied to something starting. A first day at work, a new shop, a child's first letters, a hard year being put behind. Match the local custom: Ravan Dahan in the north, Ayudha Puja and Vidyarambham in the south, Shubho Bijoya in Bengal, and apta leaves in Maharashtra. Keep the victory-over-evil line short, and don't aim it at anyone in particular.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is Dussehra in 2026 and 2027?
Dussehra is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026may vary by location
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Dussehra in 2026?
Dussehra 2026 falls on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. The exact date can vary by location and local calendar, so confirm with your community.
What is the difference between Dussehra and Vijayadashami?
They are the same day. Vijayadashami is the Sanskrit name, the tenth day of victory in the bright fortnight of Ashvin. Dussehra, read as dasha-hara, is the popular north Indian name and is usually explained as the removal of Ravana's ten heads or of ten vices.
Why is Ravana's effigy burnt on Dussehra?
In the north Indian telling, Rama killed Ravana on this day at the end of the Ramlila cycle, and the burning re-enacts it. The effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad are stuffed with firecrackers and lit at dusk, usually after a bow is drawn. The custom is not followed everywhere in India.
What is Ayudha Puja and when is it done?
Ayudha Puja, also called Astra Puja or Saraswati Puja in the south, is the worship of tools, machines, books, instruments and vehicles. They are cleaned, garlanded and left untouched from the evening of Mahanavami until Vijayadashami morning, when work and study begin again.
Is Dussehra a good day to start something new?
By tradition, yes. Vijayadashami is widely treated as an auspicious day to begin a business, buy a vehicle, start learning or open a new account, and in Maharashtra it is counted among the saade teen muhurat, the three and a half most auspicious days of the year.
Why does Dussehra fall on different days in different parts of India?
The date depends on when the Dashami tithi covers the late afternoon, and that can land on two calendar days or neither cleanly. Bengali almanacs also use a different reckoning, so Bijoya Dashami in Kolkata occasionally falls a day after Dussehra in north India.
How do you wish someone on Dussehra?
"Happy Dussehra" or "Happy Vijayadashami" is fine anywhere in India. Use "Shubho Bijoya" for Bengali friends, "Dasara chya hardik shubhechha" in Marathi, and keep the message about a good start ahead rather than about defeating anyone.
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