Maha Shashthi

Durga Puja begins — the goddess is welcomed at Bodhon.

Bengal & Odisha

Dates

Year	Date
2026	Friday, 16 October 2026
2027	Tuesday, 5 October 2027
2028	Sunday, 24 September 2028
2029	Friday, 12 October 2029
2030	Wednesday, 2 October 2030
2031	Tuesday, 21 October 2031

Dates are for Mumbai. A tithi that changes close to sunrise or sunset can fall a day earlier or later in another city, so for your own town open the festival in the app.

When it falls

6th day of the waxing moon, in Ashwina. Like every lunar festival it lands on a different Gregorian date each year. Muhurtha works the date out from the positions of the Sun and Moon, using the rule for this festival; see how every festival is dated.

The story

On Shashthi, Durga is welcomed to earth as a daughter visiting her parents' home with her four children, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The rite of Bodhon, the awakening, invokes her and begins the five-day Durga Puja.

How it is kept

Pandals open and the idols' faces are unveiled. The goddess is awakened at Bodhon with the beat of dhak drums, conch shells and new clothes.

Common questions

When is Maha Shashthi in 2027?

In 2027, Maha Shashthi falls on Tuesday, 5 October 2027 in Mumbai. Dates for other years are in the table above.

How is the date of Maha Shashthi decided?

How is Maha Shashthi kept?

Pandals open and the idols' faces are unveiled. The goddess is awakened at Bodhon with the beat of dhak drums, conch shells and new clothes.

Other festivals nearby

Open the Muhurtha app to see Maha Shashthi for your own town, with the exact time its tithi begins and ends. How every festival is dated.

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