Pujo Gyan
Durga Puja Rituals, Day by Day
Durga Puja is not one ritual but a sequence, each day with its own rites, food and feeling. Here is what happens and why, from Mahalaya to Bijoya. Dates are for 2026; exact timings are in the Puja Calendar.
Mahalaya
The new moon that ends Pitri Paksha and opens Devi Paksha. Tarpan for ancestors at the ghats at dawn, 'Mahishasuramardini' on the radio, and chokkhu daan, painting the idol's eyes, in the workshops.
Shashthi · Bodhon
The goddess arrives. Kalparambha (the formal start) in the morning; in the evening, Bodhon, the awakening, is performed at a bel (wood-apple) tree, followed by amantran (invitation) and adhibas (consecration). The idol's face is unveiled, and pandals open to the crowds. In 2026 the Shashthi tithi covers the sunrise of both days.
Saptami · Nabapatrika snan
Before dawn, the Nabapatrika (Kola Bou) is carried to the river with the dhak playing, bathed, dressed in a new sari and installed beside Ganesh. Then pran pratishtha: life is invoked into the idol, and the main worship begins.
Maha Ashtami
The biggest day. In the morning, everyone fasts and offers pushpanjali (flowers with mantras) in new clothes. Many pujas hold Kumari Puja, worshipping a young girl as the living goddess, most famously at Belur Math. Then comes bhog: khichuri, labra, beguni and payesh. At the junction of Ashtami and Navami is Sandhi Puja (below).
Maha Navami
The last full day of worship, ending with a homa (fire offering). Bhog is grand, and the evening arati is the wildest of all: the dhunuchi naach, dhak contests and pandal-hopping go on all night, because everyone knows the goddess leaves tomorrow.
Bijoya Dashami
The final rites are performed in the morning, ending with darpan bisarjan: the goddess's reflection is seen in a mirror placed in water, a symbolic immersion. Married women then do boron (farewell): they touch the goddess's face with sweets and paan from the boron dala, put sindoor on her forehead, and then smear sindoor on each other in Sindoor Khela. In the afternoon and evening, the idols leave in processions to the dhak and are immersed in the river (bisarjan).
Kojagari Lakshmi Puja
On the full moon after Dashami, Bengali homes worship Lakshmi with alpana (rice-paste designs) on the floor, khichuri, and the belief that she visits homes where people stay awake ('ko jagarti?', who is awake?). Then come Kali Puja and Diwali on 8 Nov, Bhai Phonta on 11 Nov, and Jagaddhatri Puja on 18 Nov.