Dussehra (Vijayadashami) 2027: Date, Significance & Auspicious Beginnings

Last updated: 21 October 2026 · By the Divine Hindu Team · ~12 min read

Vijayadashami — the “tenth day of victory” — is among the most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar. It marks the triumph of righteousness over evil and is traditionally the perfect day to start a new venture, learn a new skill, or buy something meaningful, as anything begun on this day is believed to end in victory. Here is the complete guide from our Jayanagar desk.

Dussehra 2027 date

In 2027, Dussehra (Vijayadashami) falls on Saturday, 9 October 2027, the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Ashvin, immediately after the nine days of Navratri.

All timings are for New Delhi and shift with local sunrise. Dashami tithi itself runs from 09:01 AM on 9 October to 11:40 AM on 10 October — which is why Bengal, Nepal and parts of the East, which reckon Dashami by the sunrise rule, observe Bijoya Dashami on 10 October, and why Karnataka and Kerala keep Vijayadashami, Mysuru's Jamboo Savari and Vidyarambham on 10 October as well, while most of India keeps Vijayadashami on the 9th. Both are correct within their own reckoning.

One caution on the name. It is a compound of dasha, ten, and hara, to remove — the ten heads of Ravana taken off. Because it reaches English through several Indian languages at once it is romanised many ways, none of them wrong: Karnataka and Maharashtra write Dasara, the Hindi belt writes Dussehra, Dashara, Dussera, Dushara or Dasahra, while Bengal and the East keep to Vijaya Dashami.

For a family prayer around a new beginning, read when families arrange Ganapati Homam. For devotion to Shri Ram through Hanuman Ji, explore the Sundarkand guide and the Ayodhya Hanuman Chalisa & Sundarkand service. Confirm the date and scope of any offering separately from the festival calendar.

Navratri to Dussehra: how the ten days connect

Dussehra does not stand alone. It is the dashami — the tenth day that closes the nine nights of Sharad Navratri. In 2027 Sharad Navratri begins on 30 September with Ghatasthapana, and the nine nights of Durga worship run straight into Vijayadashami on 9 October. Each night is traditionally devoted to a different form of the Goddess. 2027 is an unusual year: Ashwin Shukla Pratipada is dropped and Ashtami is doubled, falling at sunrise on both 7 and 8 October, so Durga Ashtami lands on Thursday 7 October and Maha Navami on Friday 8 October, with Sandhi Puja at 06:03 AM to 06:51 AM on the 8th and Kanya Pujan on either day. Bengal keeps Maha Navami on 9 October and Bijoya Dashami on 10 October — the Bengali calendar and ritual sequence are covered in our Durga Puja 2027 guide. The full breakdown, with the Ghatasthapana muhurat and the nine colours, is in our Navratri 2027 guide.

Significance of Dussehra

Dussehra carries two great victories: Lord Rama's defeat of the demon king Ravana, and Goddess Durga's slaying of the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. Both tell the same eternal truth — that good ultimately triumphs over evil. The burning of Ravana effigies (Ravana Dahan) symbolises destroying the ego, greed and negativity within.

How Dussehra is celebrated

Shastra Puja and Ayudha Puja: honouring the tools of livelihood

Shastra Puja — the worship of weapons — comes from warrior tradition, where a king honoured his arms before a campaign. It widened over centuries into Ayudha Puja, the worship of every implement by which a household earns its living. In much of South India, Ayudha Puja falls on Mahanavami, the ninth day; in North and West India, Shastra Puja is more commonly done on Vijayadashami itself.

Who does it, and how. The head of the household or workshop usually leads, but the whole family joins in — armed forces honour their arms, farmers their plough, drivers their vehicles, artisans their tools, musicians their instruments, students their books, office workers their laptops. The tools are cleaned and rested from work for the day, laid on fresh cloth, marked with haldi, kumkum and sandal paste, tied with marigold and mango leaves, then offered a diya, dhoop and aarti. Nothing is used for work until the puja is complete — the rest itself is part of the offering.

Aparajita Puja: invoking the goddess who cannot be defeated

Aparajita means “she who cannot be defeated” — a form of Durga invoked on Vijayadashami for a victory that holds. Where Shastra Puja honours the instrument, Aparajita Puja addresses the outcome: it is traditionally performed for strength, courage and the removal of obstacles before any new undertaking. It is usually done in the aparahna period, the late-afternoon stretch of the day in which the Vijaya Muhurat is also generally reckoned. Confirm that window against a current panchang for your own city, since it moves with local sunrise and sunset.

How it is performed. An eight-petalled lotus — the ashtadal kamal — is drawn on clean ground or on a wooden chowki using rice flour, roli or rangoli powder. Aparajita is invoked at the centre, with her two attendants Jaya and Vijaya placed on either side. The offerings are deliberately simple: akshat, kumkum, sandal paste, flowers, a lamp and dhoop, with the deep blue aparajita flower (Clitoria ternatea) used where families can find it. Some households perform it in the north-east corner of the home; others do it outdoors, immediately before setting out for Shami puja, Seemollanghan or the Ravan Dahan ground. Families that keep Shastra Puja often fold the two into a single sitting, since both are addressed to the same idea — that what is begun now should not fail.

The prayer here is traditionally for courage and perseverance rather than for any specific material result. Keep a diya, dhoop, a pooja thali and a kalash ready if your family's custom includes one.

Apta leaves, the Shami tree and Seemollanghan

In Maharashtra and parts of Karnataka, people exchange the heart-shaped leaves of the Apta tree (Bauhinia racemosa) on Dussehra evening and call them sone — gold. The custom is traditionally traced to Kautsa, who needed gold coins as guru-dakshina; Lord Kubera is said to have rained gold onto an Apta tree so he could pay it. Elders are greeted with “sona ghya, sonyasarkhe raha” — take this gold, live like gold.

The Shami tree (Prosopis cineraria, banni in Karnataka) carries a parallel legend: the Pandavas are believed to have hidden their weapons in one during their year in disguise and recovered them on this day, and Rama is said to have worshipped the Shami before marching on Lanka. Shami puja often precedes the evening Seemollanghan — the ceremonial crossing of the village boundary, once the moment an army set out, now a symbolic step past one's own limits.

Ravan Dahan and the Ramlila tradition

Through the nine nights before Dussehra, troupes across North India stage the Ramlila — the Ramayana performed in the open, episode by episode. On the tenth evening the crowd watches the finish live: towering effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad, packed with firecrackers, are set alight by an arrow loosed by the actor playing Rama. Ravana's ten heads are traditionally read as ten vices — lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride, jealousy, selfishness, injustice, cruelty and ego — so the burning is understood less as the defeat of an ancient enemy than as a yearly clearing-out of one's own. Many households mark the same idea quietly at home, with a lamp lit before the mandir and a resolve set for the year ahead.

How Dussehra is celebrated across India

The tenth day is one festival with strikingly different faces.

Auspicious beginnings on Vijayadashami

Because Dussehra is an abuja muhurat — auspicious all day without needing a specific time — it is ideal for new starts. Begin a venture with an 8 Mukhi Rudraksha (Ganesha, remover of obstacles) or refresh your business and wealth setup; students can begin Vidya Aarambh with a 4 Mukhi Rudraksha and the Gayatri mantra; and it is a blessed day to bring home a new idol for the mandir.

Vidyarambham: the traditional first day of learning

Vijayadashami is the classical day to begin an education. In Kerala the rite is called Vidyarambham — literally the beginning of knowledge — and a child of about three is seated on an elder's lap and guided to trace the first letters of the alphabet in a tray of raw rice, then on the tongue with a gold ring dipped in honey. Temples and family homes both hold it, and thousands of children are initiated on the same morning. The same instinct appears elsewhere under other names: Vidya Aarambh or Akshar Abhyasam in Karnataka and Andhra, Haate Khori in Bengal, and the placing of books, instruments and account ledgers before Saraswati on Mahanavami across much of the country. Older students and adults use the day to open a new notebook, resume a lapsed practice, or take the first lesson in music, dance or a language.

Starting a venture or a new job on Vijayadashami

Because the whole day is treated as auspicious, Vijayadashami is one of the most common days in the year to open a shop, register a firm, begin a new ledger, join a new job, sign an agreement, take possession of premises, or launch something that has been waiting for a date. The customary sequence is straightforward: clean the space, perform a short Ganesha or Lakshmi puja, do Shastra or Ayudha Puja on the tools and machines, light a lamp, mark the first entry in the new book of accounts, and distribute prasad. Many proprietors keep the day free of the first sale's bargaining and treat whatever comes in as shagun. None of this is a forecast of results — it is a tradition of beginning well, with intent and a clean slate. Judge the business decision itself on its merits and take qualified professional advice on anything financial or legal.

What is traditionally bought on Vijayadashami

Because the whole day is treated as auspicious, Vijayadashami is one of the busiest buying days of the Indian year — the traditional logic being that a thing acquired on a day of victory will serve well. Families take delivery of vehicles, buy gold and silver, register property, sign contracts, open fresh ledgers and invest in tools, machinery and instruments; children are given their first slate or pen. Homes bring in a new idol for the mandir and shops replace a worn pooja thali. None of this is a promise of returns — it is a tradition of starting well. Judge any purchase on its own merits and consult a qualified professional for financial or legal decisions.

Dussehra puja and gifting checklist

If you are setting up at home, this is what most families keep ready. Treat it as a preparation list and skip whatever you already own.

Choosing a gemstone or a particular mukhi is a matter of personal faith and tradition; nothing here is a medical, financial or guaranteed outcome. Planning the rest of the season? See our Hindu Festival Calendar 2026, and if you have just come through Pitru Paksha, our Pitra Dosh remedies guide.

What comes after Dussehra: the 2027 festive run

Vijayadashami opens the busiest three weeks of the Hindu year. If you are setting up the mandir now, it helps to know what follows — most households buy once for the whole run rather than three times over.

Govardhan Puja follows on 30 October and Bhai Dooj on 31 October, and the season closes with Chhath Puja in early November. Because a tithi is set by the moon rather than the clock, each of these can shift by a day depending on your city's sunrise — confirm against a current panchang before you observe. The full year is laid out in our Hindu Festival Calendar 2026, with fasting days in the Ekadashi 2026 guide and the Purnima and Amavasya 2026 list.

Visit us or order online

For idols, rudraksha for new beginnings and certified gemstones this Vijayadashami, visit Divine Hindu Store, Jayanagar 3rd Block East, Bengaluru 560011, or shop our idols and rudraksha collections online with free shipping across India. Related reading: 8 Mukhi Rudraksha for New Ventures · Rudraksha for Business & Wealth.

This guide is for educational and devotional purposes and reflects traditional practice. Tithi-to-date mapping shifts with sunrise and location, so confirm the exact date and muhurat timings with a current panchang for your city before observing any rite.