Mahalaya Amavasya

Pitru Paksha ends; Durga is invited (Bengal).

Bengal & OdishaCelebrated everywhere

Dates

YearDate
2026Saturday, 10 October 2026
2027Thursday, 30 September 2027
2028Monday, 18 September 2028
2029Sunday, 7 October 2029
2030Friday, 27 September 2030
2031Thursday, 16 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

New moon of Bhadrapada. 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

The last day of Pitru Paksha and, in Bengal, the morning Durga is invited down to earth. All-India Radio's 4 AM broadcast of “Mahishasura Mardini” has woken Bengal since 1931.

How it is kept

Tarpan for all ancestors at the river; in Kolkata the eyes of the Durga idols are painted today.

Common questions

When is Mahalaya Amavasya in 2027?

In 2027, Mahalaya Amavasya falls on Thursday, 30 September 2027 in Mumbai. Dates for other years are in the table above.

How is the date of Mahalaya Amavasya decided?

New moon of Bhadrapada. 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.

How is Mahalaya Amavasya kept?

Tarpan for all ancestors at the river; in Kolkata the eyes of the Durga idols are painted today.

Other festivals nearby

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

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