Festival · Ashwin Shukla Dashami
Dussehra 2026
Ashwin Shukla Dashami is Dussehra, Vijayadashami: the day of victory after Navratri. Give apta leaves as gold, and cross the boundary!
Date, tithi and timing
Times are for Mumbai. The app gives times for your city.
Date by city
The date is the same in every city listed.
Next year, 2027
Quick facts
- Also known asVijayadashami, Dasara, Dashain (Nepal)
- WhereAll of India; apta leaves in Maharashtra, Ravana burned in the north, Mysore Dasara in the south
- Puja forAparajita, the shami and the apta; Rama and Durga
- In one lineThe tenth day of victory: Rama's over Ravana and Durga's over Mahishasura. One of the three and a half muhurtas.
Dussehra, in a little more detail
- 01
About the festival
Vijayadashami means the tenth day of victory. In the Ramayana Rama defeats Ravana, and after the nine nights of Navratri Durga defeats Mahishasura. Both victories belong to today.
Dussehra is one of the three and a half muhurtas. So it's held a good day to start new work, or to buy a vehicle, a home, clothes or gold.
And the lesson of the day: a win over the Ravana inside you. Cross the line of anger, greed and pride, and make a fresh start.
- 02
Kautsa and King Raghu: the gold of the apta
Kautsa studied under the sage Varatantu. When he finished, he insisted on giving gurudakshina. At last the guru said: you learned fourteen vidyas from me, so give me fourteen crore gold coins.
Kautsa went to King Raghu. But the king had just given away all his wealth in the Vishvajit yajna. Still, no one who asked would leave empty-handed, so Raghu decided to march on Kubera, the god of wealth. Frightened, Kubera rained gold first, on the apta trees around Ayodhya.
Raghu offered Kautsa all of it, but Kautsa took only his fourteen crore. The rest went to the people. That day, the story goes, was Dussehra. So today apta leaves are given as gold.
- 03
In Maharashtra and beyond
In the morning, weapons, tools and books are worshipped. Children draw Saraswati on a slate and worship her. A toran of mango leaves on the door, and puran poli for lunch.
In the evening, in new clothes, comes seemollanghan: you cross the village boundary and worship the shami and the apta. The Pandavas hid their weapons in a shami tree during their year in hiding. And the Marathas set out on their campaigns on Dussehra.
Back home, the apta leaves go first to the gods, then to the elders, with a bow: take this gold, and stay like gold! Kolhapur keeps a royal Dasara, and at Nagpur's Deekshabhoomi it is Dhammachakra Pravartan Din: Dr Ambedkar embraced Buddhism there on this day in 1956.
In the north the Ramlila ends and Ravana's effigies burn. Bengal immerses Durga with a Shubho Bijoya. Mysore's procession is world-famous, and in Nepal, for Dashain, elders give tika and blessings.
How to do the puja
In short: Weapons, tools and books worshipped in the morning, and the boundary crossed and apta gold given in the evening.
- 1Put up a toran of mango leaves and marigolds on the door.Many put the toran up the day before, and keep it until Diwali.
- 2If the ghat is still up, do its last puja and take it down.Family members tuck the sprouts from the ghat in their hair or cap.
- 3Garland weapons, work tools, machines and vehicles with marigolds, and worship them.Wash the vehicle, put haldi-kunku on it, and garland it. Keep sharp things out of children's hands.
- 4Let the children draw Saraswati on a slate, and worship her with books and notebooks.Some families draw Saraswati as a figure made of numbers. Books are worshipped today, not read.
- 5Many homes worship the goddess Aparajita as well.Aparajita is held to be the goddess of victory.
- 6Offer puran poli as naivedya.Some homes make shrikhand-puri or another sweet as well.
- 7As the day ends, put on new clothes for seemollanghan, and worship the shami and the apta.In a city with no village boundary, stepping out to a nearby temple or tree is enough.
- 8Bow to your elders and give them apta leaves as gold.As you give them, you say: "Take this gold, and stay like gold." Never break a branch of the apta tree: take only a few leaves.
What you needTick as you go
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Frequently asked questions
What do you say when giving apta leaves?
"Sona ghya, sonyasarkhe raha": take this gold, and stay like gold. The young touch their elders' feet and give them leaves, and friends, neighbours and siblings swap them too. A few leaves go to the household gods first.
How do I do it without harming the apta tree?
On Dussehra, branches of apta trees, and of the kanchan that looks like it, are broken in large numbers. Take only a few leaves, never a branch, give one leaf each, or plant an apta sapling.
What exactly is seemollanghan?
Once, it meant crossing the village boundary. Today you step out in the evening in new clothes, worship a shami or apta tree, and give out the leaves on your way home.
Why do people start new things on Dussehra?
It counts among the three and a half muhurtas: the belief is that no separate muhurta is needed to begin something good today. So people buy a vehicle or a home, or start a business, today.
Is the ghat taken down on Navami or on Dussehra?
Both are kept: follow the way your home always has. If unsure, ask the elders of the family.
Set a reminder in the app
The app sends a notice the day before and on the day, even offline.