Durga Visarjan 2026: Date and Muhurat (20 or 21 October?), Sindoor Khela and Home Kalash Visarjan

Quick answer: Drik Panchang gives Durga Visarjan on Tuesday 20 October 2026, 12:50 PM to 2:49 PM IST (Kolkata). Bengal follows its panjika: Bijoya Dashami, Debi Boron, Sindoor Khela and the start of immersions are on Wednesday 21 October.

Durga Visarjan is the farewell of the Goddess at the end of Durga Puja and Navratri: the images worshipped through the festival are taken in procession and immersed in a river, lake or tank, and families who installed a kalash at home bring their own Navratri puja to a close. In 2026 the date depends on which calendar you follow, so this guide explains both, along with the main customs of the day.

Durga Visarjan 2026 date and muhurat

The Dashami tithi begins at 12:50 PM IST on Tuesday 20 October and ends at 2:11 PM IST on Wednesday 21 October (Drik Panchang). Drik Panchang explains that the visarjan muhurat usually falls in the morning, but when Dashami and Shravana nakshatra both prevail in the afternoon, the afternoon (Aparahna) muhurat is preferred. This year Shravana nakshatra runs until 6:02 PM on 20 October, which is why Drik gives the Tuesday afternoon.

Bengal follows its own panjika. The West Bengal government's holiday notification (No. 4188-F(P2), Finance Department, 27 November 2025) lists Maha Ashtami on 19 October, Maha Nabami on 20 October and Dashami on 21 October, and Bengali pujas in Kolkata hold Bijoya Dashami, Debi Boron and Sindoor Khela on Wednesday 21 October, with immersions starting that day. See our Kolkata Durga Puja 2026 calendar.

For a Navratri kalash at home, most North Indian families close the puja on Vijayadashami, Tuesday 20 October; see our Dussehra 2026 date guide. If your family or puja committee follows a particular panjika, follow it.

What happens on Durga Visarjan

Dashami puja and Debi Boron

On Dashami morning the priest performs the final puja and the Dashami rites, and the Goddess is formally bid farewell. In Bengali pujas, married women then perform Debi Boron: they offer sweets, betel leaves and vermilion to the Goddess, touch her feet and say goodbye, much as a family says goodbye to a daughter returning to her husband's home after a visit.

Sindoor Khela

After Debi Boron, married women smear sindoor (vermilion) on each other's foreheads and faces in Sindoor Khela, a joyful custom wishing each other a long and happy married life. In Kolkata this is on Wednesday 21 October in 2026. In recent years many pujas have opened Sindoor Khela to all women who wish to take part, while others keep the traditional practice; follow your puja's custom.

The immersion procession

The images are carried to the ghat or immersion point with drums (dhak), music and chants of farewell, and immersed in the water. Before the image is lowered, many devotees take a last darshan and say "Asche bochor abar hobe" ("it will happen again next year"). Municipal authorities set the immersion points, dates and routes each year; follow the instructions of your local police and civic body.

Bijoya greetings and sweets

After the immersion, families visit elders, touch their feet and exchange Shubho Bijoya greetings, and younger members embrace each other. Homes are filled with sweets such as narkel naru and nimki; see our Bijoya Dashami sweets recipe.

Visarjan of a home Navratri kalash

Families who installed a kalash and sowed barley or other grains on the first day of Navratri usually close the puja on Dashami:

• Offer a final puja and arati to the Goddess and thank her for her presence through the nine days.
• Distribute the sprouted grains (jaware) as prasad, or keep a few in the puja space, as your family does.
• Sprinkle the water of the kalash around the home, or pour it at the root of a tree or plant.
• Place flowers and natural offerings in a garden or compost rather than in a river.
• Keep the coconut from the kalash as prasad, or offer it at a temple.

If you are unsure of a step, ask your family priest or local temple.

Eco-friendly visarjan

Many cities now ask families and pujas to immerse images in artificial ponds or designated tanks, and to keep flowers, plastics and decorations out of rivers. Clay images without chemical paints dissolve more easily; small images can be immersed at home in a bucket or tub and the clay used in the garden. Our guide to eco-friendly visarjan at home for Ganesh Chaturthi uses the same method.

Durga Visarjan outside India

Bengali associations and temples abroad usually cannot immerse images in open water and hold a symbolic visarjan instead, often with a mirror or water-bowl ritual (darpan visarjan), Sindoor Khela and Bijoya greetings. Many keep the Kolkata panjika date of 21 October or the nearest weekend; check your committee's schedule. In the USA, Canada and the UK, Dashami prevails at sunrise on Tuesday 20 October local time.

Related reading

For the days before Dashami, see our guides to Maha Ashtami 2026, Sandhi Puja and Maha Navami 2026.

Frequently asked questions

When is Durga Visarjan 2026?

Drik Panchang gives Tuesday 20 October 2026, with the muhurat from 12:50 PM to 2:49 PM IST for Kolkata. In Bengal, Bijoya Dashami and the start of immersions are on Wednesday 21 October, per the Bengali panjika and the West Bengal holiday list.

When is Sindoor Khela 2026?

Sindoor Khela is held on Bijoya Dashami after Debi Boron. In Kolkata this is Wednesday 21 October 2026.

Why are there two dates for Durga Visarjan in 2026?

Dashami begins at 12:50 PM IST on 20 October and ends at 2:11 PM IST on 21 October. Drik Panchang prefers the afternoon of 20 October because Dashami and Shravana nakshatra coincide then; the Bengali panjika keeps Dashami on 21 October.

How do I do visarjan of a Navratri kalash at home?

On Dashami, offer a final puja, distribute the sprouted grains as prasad, sprinkle or pour the kalash water at the root of a plant, and place flowers in a garden or compost rather than a river.

What does Asche bochor abar hobe mean?

It is Bengali for 'it will happen again next year', the farewell devotees call out as the Goddess is immersed.

Editor's note (15 October 2026)

Dates and times were checked on 15 October 2026 against the official and calendar sources linked in this article. Local customs and announcements vary, so confirm with your temple, puja committee, bank or local authority.

Related guides

• Kolkata Durga Puja 2026 news
• Durga Puja 2026 in Delhi's CR Park