Dussehra 2026: Vijay Muhurat, Ravan Dahan Time & Shami Puja by City - and Why Australia Celebrates on October 21

Vijayadashami is the tenth day after the nine nights of Navratri. It marks Rama's victory over Ravana and Durga's victory over Mahishasura, and it closes the festival: the Navratri fast is broken, the Kalash is moved, the sprouted barley is distributed, and Durga idols are immersed.

Vijayadashami is kept on the day Dashami tithi prevails in the Aparahna - the fourth of the five parts of the daytime, roughly early to mid afternoon. Within it sits the Vijay Muhurat, the eleventh of the fifteen muhurtas of the day, held to grant success to anything begun in it. Where Dashami covers the Aparahna on two consecutive days, the first is taken; and when Shravana nakshatra also falls in the Aparahna, that day is preferred over all others.

In India, Dashami begins at 12:51 PM IST on October 20 and covers the whole Aparahna that afternoon, with Shravana nakshatra running until 6:01 PM. Both conditions point to October 20. In Kolkata, Dashami also runs into the afternoon of October 21, until 2:12 PM, but the first-day rule and Shravana keep the pan-Indian Dussehra on the 20th, while Bengal's own panjika places Bijoya Dashami and the immersion of the Goddess on the 21st.

In the Americas and Britain Dashami is already running by the morning of the 20th, so the date is the same. In Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland it begins only in the evening of the 20th, after the afternoon has passed, so the first afternoon with Dashami is October 21. Singapore and Perth sit on the boundary: Dashami begins at 3:21 PM local time on October 20, touching only the end of that afternoon, while the full Vijay Muhurat falls on October 21. Temples there may choose either day - check with yours.

Each window below is computed from that city's own sunrise and sunset, not converted from IST. Perform the Aparajita and Shami puja within the Aparahna, and anything you want to begin with the day's blessing - a purchase, a signature, a first lesson - within the Vijay Muhurat.

The burning of the effigies of Ravana, Meghanada and Kumbhakarna is held after sunset on Vijayadashami, at the end of the Ramlila. It is a community observance tied to the day rather than a fixed muhurat, so the practical time is your local sunset onwards. Abroad, many community Dussehra events are scheduled on the nearest weekend; the puja, the Shami worship and anything you want to begin under the Vijay Muhurat still belong on the day itself.

Dussehra 2026 falls on a working Tuesday in North America, Britain and the Gulf, and on a Wednesday in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. Most temples and community associations abroad move the Ramlila and the Ravan Dahan to the nearest weekend. That is a sensible compromise for the public celebration, but the parts of Vijayadashami that are tied to the tithi - the Aparajita and Shami puja, the Shastra puja, and anything you want to begin under the Vijay Muhurat - belong on the day itself.

The Aparahna falls in the afternoon everywhere, so a short household puja fits a lunch break or the end of the working day. Do not take India's Vijay Muhurat and convert it to your own clock: in North America that lands before dawn, and in eastern Australia it lands on the evening of October 20, a day before Dussehra there. Use the window computed for your own city above.

Vijayadashami is one of the Sade Teen Muhurat - the three and a half days of the year so auspicious that they need no further muhurat. The others are Gudi Padwa (Chaitra Shukla Pratipada), Akshaya Tritiya, and the half day of Kartik Shukla Pratipada after Diwali. On these days the festival itself, its puja and ordinary good works need no checking at all.

For a major personal beginning - signing for property, buying a vehicle, launching a business, starting a job - Jyotish still looks at the individual through Chandra Bala, the strength of the transiting Moon counted from your own natal Moon sign. The Moon is in Capricorn throughout the daytime of Dussehra, including the Vijay Muhurat, in India, the Americas, Britain and the Gulf. Counted from your Rashi, the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th and 11th places are favourable. The 8th, called Chandrashtama, is the one to respect: it is traditionally avoided for new ventures even on an otherwise excellent day.

Australia and New Zealand keep Dussehra on October 21, when the Moon has moved into Aquarius by the Vijay Muhurat (from 12:30 PM in Sydney, 9:30 AM in Perth and 2:30 PM in Auckland), so the list there is different. These are Vedic Moon signs, which usually differ from the Western sun sign - use the free calculator below if you are unsure of yours.

Away from the personal chart, the sky of Dussehra 2026 carries a fitting image. The Sun, the planet of authority and ego, entered Libra - its sign of debilitation - on October 17, and sits there on the festival of the fall of the proudest king. Vijayadashami is a day for victories won through right action rather than force.

Because the day is self-auspicious, it is the traditional date for beginnings across India. If your Moon sign is favourable, any of the following can be started on Dussehra without consulting a separate muhurat; if it is Chandrashtama for you, keep the puja and move the commitment to another good day.

The core worship of Vijayadashami is done in the afternoon, in the Aparahna, after the Navratri fast has been broken. The sequence below is the standard household form.

Keep everything ready before the Aparahna begins, so the whole puja falls inside the window - 1:13 PM to 3:30 PM IST in New Delhi on October 20, or your own city's window in the table above.

Two victories are remembered on this day. In the Ramayana, Rama defeats and kills Ravana after a long war in Lanka, having worshipped the Goddess for strength - the episode that ties Ramlila to Navratri across North India. In the Devi Mahatmya, Durga slays the buffalo demon Mahishasura after nine nights of battle, and the tenth day is her victory. A third story belongs to the Mahabharata: the Pandavas, ending their year in disguise, recovered their weapons from the Shami tree, which is why the tree is worshipped today.

The celebrations vary across India and the diaspora. In Mysuru, the Dasara procession carries the Goddess Chamundeshwari through the city on a caparisoned elephant. In Kullu, the Dussehra fair begins on Vijayadashami and runs for a week. In Bengal and across the Bengali diaspora, Bijoya Dashami brings the immersion of Durga and Sindoor Khela, married women smearing each other with vermilion. In North India the day ends with Ravana's effigy in flames.