Durga Puja as it was kept in 2020.
Next date: 5 October 2027Durga Puja 2020
Thursday, 22 October 2020, in Ahmedabad
FestivalIndian · Hindu
Panchang on the day
22
Thursday
Waxing Sixth
until 07:40
Sagittarius
- ભBha
- ધDha
- ફPha
- Sunrise
- 06:38
- Sunset
- 18:09
- Moonrise
- 12:21
- Nakshatra
- Purva Ashadha
- until 00:59 next day
- Yoga
- Sukarma
- until 02:36 next day
- Karana
- Taitila
- until 07:40
- Rahu Kalam 13:50 to 15:16
- Yamaganda 06:38 to 08:04
- Abhijit muhurat 12:00 to 12:46
Why this date
Aso Waxing Sixth, taken at sunrise
Runs from 21 Oct 09:08 IST to 22 Oct 07:40 IST.
In short
Autumn festival of Durga, culminating in Vijayadashami and immersion.
The story
Durga Puja honours the Divine Mother through the victory narrative of the Devi Mahatmya. In its story, the buffalo-form asura Mahishasura defeats the gods and threatens the worlds. The gods' united brilliance manifests as Durga; each offers her weapons and divine power. She battles the asura's armies, confronts Mahishasura as he shifts forms and finally defeats him. Other chapters recount the Goddess confronting Shumbha, Nishumbha and Raktabija. These are related but distinct episodes, not a historically dated sequence assigned to each Puja day. In Bengal she is also affectionately welcomed as a daughter returning to her maternal home with her children.
The autumn celebration begins in the wider season of Mahalaya and Bodhan, the ritual awakening or invitation of the Goddess. On Maha Shashthi the face of the image is ceremonially unveiled in many traditions. Saptami brings bathing or consecration rites of the Nabapatrika, Ashtami features anjali and worship, and the transition between Ashtami and Navami is marked by Sandhi Puja. Navami worship and offerings lead to Dashami, when devotees bid the Goddess farewell, often with sindoor khela in participating communities and immersion of clay images. Customs vary by temple, family and region.
In West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Odisha the festival is a major expression of collective artistry. Clay-image makers, decorators, musicians and volunteers create pandals that welcome the public. UNESCO inscribed Durga Puja in Kolkata on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2021. A single database entry for Shashthi cannot represent all ceremonies: Bodhan, Sandhi Puja, Navami Homa and Dashami need separate local tithi and muhurta calculations.
Why it matters
Durga Puja honours the Goddess's victory over Mahishasura and brings together worship, artistry and community life.
What people do
Bodhan, pandal worship, anjali, aarti and Dashami farewell follow regional tradition; Sandhi Puja and Navami Homa have distinct timings.
Told differently elsewhere
Most prominent in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Odisha; it overlaps with Navratri but has distinctive Bengali and eastern rituals.
Questions people ask
- When is Durga Puja in 2020?
- On Thursday, 22 October 2020 in India. Runs from 21 Oct 09:08 IST to 22 Oct 07:40 IST.
- Why does the date change every year?
- It is kept by the lunar calendar, so its day on the civil calendar moves from year to year.
- Is the date the same everywhere?
- Yes. It is kept everywhere on the day it falls on in Kolkata.
Dates in the coming years
- 2027Tuesday, 5 OctoberAso Sud 6
- 2028Sunday, 24 SeptemberAso Sud 6
- 2029Saturday, 13 OctoberAso Sud 7
- 2030Wednesday, 2 OctoberAso Sud 6
- 2031Tuesday, 21 OctoberAso Sud 6
Last kept16 October 2026
