Durga Puja 2026 is the autumn search most Bengali households and Kolkata travellers are already bookmarking. Across Drik Panchang, Kolkata Durgotsav listings and major Kolkata festival guides, the public peak sits in mid-October: Mahalaya on Saturday, 10 October 2026, with the main Shashthi-to-Dashami arc commonly listed from about 16/17 October through 21 October, and Maha Ashtami widely fixed on Monday, 19 October.
This ADVANCE guide is for the Durga Puja calendar intent—not a redo of the North Indian Navratri colour sheet or the Vijayadashami / Ravana Dahan explainer already live on this desk. Use those siblings for adjacent festivals; use this page for pandal timing, Mahalaya, and Kolkata-facing tithi notes.
Quick calendar: Mahalaya to Bijoya Dashami
Consensus across the sources consulted for this desk:
• Mahalaya — Saturday, 10 October 2026. End of Pitru Paksha, start of Devi Paksha; pre-dawn Mahishasura Mardini listening and tarpan culture in Bengal.
• Maha Shashthi — Friday, 16 October 2026 on Drik Panchang’s Durga Puja day-1 listing and on Kolkata Durgotsav / Kolkata schedule explainers (Bodhan, Amantran, Adhivas). Some panjikas shift early-day labels by a sunrise; treat 16 vs 17 October variance as documented, not an error.
• Maha Saptami — 17–18 October 2026 (Saturday–Sunday span appears in Kolkata guides because the tithi crosses midnight/sunrise).
• Maha Ashtami — Monday, 19 October 2026 (consistent across major Kolkata listings; the ritual “power day” for Pushpanjali and Sandhi Puja planning).
• Maha Navami — Tuesday, 20 October 2026 on the widely cited Kolkata public calendar.
• Bijoya / Vijaya Dashami — Wednesday, 21 October 2026 for immersion and Sindoor Khela on the Kolkata Durgotsav / Kolkata schedule pages used here.
Drik Panchang’s multi-day Durga Puja table for 2026 likewise opens Shashthi on 16 October and runs through 21 October. Always re-check your local panjika for muhurat minutes—this guide does not invent Sandhi Puja clocks.
Why early days disagree but Ashtami holds
Lunar tithis rarely map cleanly onto civil midnights. Kolkata festival explainers openly warn that Shashthi and Saptami can appear a day apart across Beni Madhab Shil–style Bengali panjikas versus other almanacs, while Ashtami–Navami–Dashami stay aligned for 2026 planning. That is why hotel and leave bookings should lock on the mid-October week and the 19 October Ashtami anchor, then confirm neighbourhood pandal notices in the final fortnight.
KolkataDurgotsav’s 2026 schedule also records traditional arrival/departure vehicle lore (horse arrival / boat departure for this year’s weekday pattern)—cultural colour, not a substitute for municipal immersion orders.
What each major day is for (practical, not scripture dump)
Mahalaya is mood and memory: radio Chandi Path, ancestor rites, Kumartuli eye-painting season. It is not a pandal-hopping day.
Shashthi unveils idols and starts Bodhan. First quiet pandal evening for travellers who hate Ashtami crush.
Saptami brings Nabapatrika / “Kola Bou” river rites at dawn—photogenic, early, and easy to miss if you sleep in.
Ashtami is queues, Pushpanjali batches, Kumari Puja at major venues such as Belur Math on published local timings, and Sandhi Puja in the Ashtami–Navami hinge. Kolkata guides stress arriving early; do not invent a universal Sandhi minute—follow the pandal board.
Navami is final full worship, bhog and one last night of lights.
Dashami is farewell: Sindoor Khela, visarjan, Bijoya greetings. Immersion traffic is its own logistics problem—plan return routes, not only outbound Metro cards.
People also ask: is Durga Puja the same as Navratri or Dussehra?
Related, not identical. Sharad Navratri’s nine nights and Dussehra / Vijayadashami share the same autumn lunar window, but Durga Puja 2026 search intent is Bengal-forward: Mahalaya, pandals, Shashthi–Dashami, Sindoor Khela. For the North Indian nine-night colour and Ghatasthapana frame, read our Navratri 2026 dates guide (https://www.thesundayprofile.com/navratri-2026-dates-guide). For Ravana Dahan, Ramlila and Mysuru Dasara notes on the victory day itself, use Dussehra 2026: date guide (https://www.thesundayprofile.com/dussehra-2026-date-guide). Linking the three prevents the cluster from cannibalising itself.
Planning notes if you are going to Kolkata
• Book central stays early; Ashtami on a Monday creates a natural long-weekend squeeze for 2026.
• Mix theme pandals with bonedi bari houses if you want more than Instagram density.
• Shashthi and Saptami mornings are calmer; Ashtami–Navami nights are beautiful chaos.
• Vijayadashami / Dashami is a gazetted holiday across much of India—useful for leave, useless as a guarantee that every pandal follows the same immersion hour.
Mark 10 October for Mahalaya culture and 16–21 October for the public festival arc, with 19 October Ashtami as the planning spike inside the week. Reconfirm muhurats locally; this page is a calendar map, not a purohit.
Sources: Drik Panchang Durga Puja 2026 calendar; KolkataDurgotsav.com 2026 dates & schedule; durga-puja-kolkata.com 2026 schedule guide. Verify final ritual timings with your panjika or pandal.