Festival · The tenth day of victory
Dussehra (Vijayadashami) 2027: date, tithi and muhurat
Dussehra (Vijayadashami) 2027 falls on Saturday, 9 October, on Shukla Dashami of Ashwina. The times here are for Chandigarh; choose your city to see yours.
What Dussehra (Vijayadashami) is
Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, falls on the tenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Ashwina and completes the nine nights of Navratri. Tradition marks two victories on it: Rama’s over the ten-headed Ravana, which is why effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakarna are burned at dusk across North India after the Ramlila, and the Goddess’s over Mahishasura, which Bengal celebrates as the close of Durga Puja. In the south and west it is a day to begin learning, to worship tools and books, and to exchange leaves of the shami tree.
How the date is fixed
The festival is on Ashwina Shukla Dashami. The day that counts is the one on which Dashami covers Aparahna, the afternoon fifth of the daylight; if Shravana nakshatra falls in Aparahna on one of two candidate days, that day is preferred. The Vijaya Muhurta, the eleventh of the fifteen muhurtas of the day, is the window the texts give for beginning new work.
Dates for 2026 to 2028
Dussehra (Vijayadashami) is on Tuesday, 20 October in 2026, Saturday, 9 October in 2027 and Wednesday, 27 September in 2028. These dates are calculated from the sky for Chandigarh, not copied from a printed calendar. It falls on Shukla Dashami of Ashwina.
| Year | Date | Tithi and month |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday, 20 October | Shukla Dashami · Ashwina |
| 2027 | Saturday, 9 October | Shukla Dashami · Ashwina |
| 2028 | Wednesday, 27 September | Shukla Dashami · Ashwina |
Muhurat for Dussehra (Vijayadashami)
For Chandigarh in 2027, the main time is the Vijaya Muhurta: 2:06 pm – 2:53 pm on Saturday, 9 October. Sunrise, sunset and the parts of the day move with the city, so the window, and sometimes the day itself, can change elsewhere. Choose your city below and the tables follow.
| Muhurat | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vijaya Muhurta | 2:00 pm – 2:46 pm | 2:06 pm – 2:53 pm | 2:13 pm – 3:01 pm |
| Aparahna (afternoon fifth of the day) | 1:15 pm – 3:31 pm | 1:20 pm – 3:39 pm | 1:25 pm – 3:49 pm |
Dusk brings the Ravana effigies and fireworks. The afternoon is for Shami Puja and Aparajita Puja, for worshipping tools, books and vehicles (Ayudha Puja) and, in Kerala and Karnataka, for beginning a child’s lessons, Vidyarambham. Families choose the Vijaya Muhurta to start a journey or a new piece of work.
In Kullu the festival starts on Vijayadashami and runs for a week, and Mysuru holds its royal procession on the same day.
A share card for the Dussehra (Vijayadashami) muhurat is coming. Today the app has one for Diwali only.
Questions people ask
Is Dussehra the same as Vijayadashami?
Yes. They are two names for Ashwina Shukla Dashami; Bengal calls the day Bijoya Dashami.
What is the Vijaya Muhurta?
The Vijaya Muhurta is the eleventh of the fifteen muhurtas of the day, roughly 45 minutes to an hour, starting about two-thirds of the way through the daylight. The traditional texts recommend it for starting work or a journey on Dussehra, and the table shows it for your city.
Why does the date sometimes differ by a day between calendars?
Dashami can run across two afternoons, or begin and end close to Aparahna. Calendars then use the Shravana nakshatra to decide, and different traditions weigh it differently; the date shown follows this rule for the city you choose.
When is Dussehra (Vijayadashami) in 2026, 2027 and 2028?
Dussehra (Vijayadashami) is on Tuesday, 20 October 2026; Saturday, 9 October 2027; Wednesday, 27 September 2028, calculated for Chandigarh. In another city the day can differ by one when the tithi starts or ends close to the time of day the rule uses.
How does JYOTISH.info calculate Dussehra (Vijayadashami)?
From the sky, with the astronomy-engine library on the Lahiri sidereal zodiac: the lunar month from the Sun’s sign at the new moon, the tithi from the Moon–Sun angle, and the day part that the festival’s own rule asks for, at the city’s sunrise and sunset. Nothing is copied from a table. The rule is stated above and the full method is on the method page.
Every position on this page is calculated sidereal with the Lahiri ayanamsa from the astronomy-engine library (MIT licence). The classical texts describe tendencies; this page is for guidance and reflection, not a verdict, and no outcome is promised. How we calculate. This is the English page and the legal reference. The same page is available in Hindi. Checked October 2026.