Which Pooja to Book for Each Festival: A 2026–27 Guide

Last updated: September 2026 · By Acharya Alok Pandit, Divine Hindu, Jayanagar 3rd Block East, Bengaluru 560011 · ~18 min read

Most people arrive at a page like this with a specific question. Diwali is five weeks away, the family is scattered across three cities, and somebody wants to know what is actually appropriate to arrange — not a list of everything available, but the one thing that fits the occasion. So this guide is organised the way the question is asked: by festival, in the order the festivals arrive, with the date first.

Two ground rules. First, a date on a website is not a panchang. Every festival below is a tithi or a solar transit mapped onto a calendar day, and that mapping moves with your city's sunrise. Second, we do not claim that any ritual produces an outcome. A pooja is a traditional observance kept at a traditional time. It does not remove a dosha, cure an illness or guarantee a marriage, a child, a job or money.

How the dates on this page were checked

Two festival dates on this site were recently found to be wrong by a single day — exactly the kind of error a solar transit after sunset or a tithi ending at breakfast will produce if you copy from an aggregator. So every date below was verified twice, from independent sources: Drik Panchang set to Delhi, and an independent computation of tithi boundaries, nakshatra windows, sankranti moments, sunrise, sunset and ascendant timings using the Swiss Ephemeris with the Lahiri ayanamsa. For the 2026 autumn festivals a third check against mypanchang matched on every day.

Where the sources agreed, the date is given plainly. Where they legitimately differ — there are four such cases in this window — both days appear, with the reason. A hedged answer that sends you to your own panchang is more useful than a confident wrong one.

The 2026–27 festival calendar at a glance

The four dates where sources genuinely disagree

These are worth reading carefully, because a printed calendar in your house may say something different from the table above, and it will not be wrong.

Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami, 19 or 20 October 2026

Ashtami ends at about 10:52 AM on Monday 19 October and Navami at about 12:51 PM on Tuesday 20 October, compressing two days into one. Drik Panchang lists both Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami on Monday 19 October; mypanchang keeps Durga Navami puja on the 19th and the Maha Navami balidan on Tuesday 20 October. Both are defensible readings of the same tithi. Vijayadashami is Tuesday 20 October in every source, because Dashami holds through the aparahna window that day. See our Navratri 2026 guide and Dussehra 2026.

Govardhan Puja, 9 or 10 November 2026

This one catches out a great many calendars. Amavasya runs until about 12:31 PM on Monday 9 November, so the Pratipada that Govardhan Puja needs at sunrise only arrives on Tuesday 10 November in India. Calendars that simply count the day after Diwali print 9 November, and for London, Dubai and the western hemisphere that is in fact correct. For India, Drik Panchang and mypanchang both give Tuesday 10 November for Govardhan Puja, Annakut, Bali Pratipada and the Gujarati New Year, and Wednesday 11 November for Bhai Dooj. See Govardhan Puja 2026 and Bhai Dooj and Govardhan Puja 2026.

Dev Uthani Ekadashi, 20 or 21 November 2026

A textbook sampradaya split. Ekadashi begins at about 7:16 AM on Friday 20 November and ends at about 6:32 AM on Saturday 21 November, so it is not cleanly present at sunrise on either day. Smarta households generally keep Friday 20 November; Vaishnava households, which avoid an Ekadashi touched by Dashami, keep the gauna Ekadashi on Saturday 21 November. Tulsi Vivah is Saturday 21 November in both reckonings — see Tulsi Vivah 2026 and the Ekadashi 2026 list.

Makar Sankranti, 14 or 15 January 2027, and Akshaya Tritiya, 8 or 9 May 2027

Makar Sankranti is a solar festival, fixed by the moment the Sun enters sidereal Makara. In 2027 that falls at roughly 9:10 PM on Thursday 14 January, after sunset. By the standard rule a transit that happens at night carries its punya kaal to the following morning, which places the observance on Friday 15 January 2027 — the date Drik Panchang publishes and our own computation supports. Gujarat's Uttarayan kite festival is widely kept on the 14th regardless. Our Makar Sankranti 2027 guide explains the reasoning at length.

Akshaya Tritiya 2027 is the mirror image. Tritiya runs from about 11:42 AM on Saturday 8 May to about 9:03 AM on Sunday 9 May. Drik Panchang places the festival on Sunday 9 May, because Tritiya is the tithi at sunrise, and gives only a short morning window for the puja. Several Gujarati and North Indian publishers keep Saturday 8 May, because the tithi covers that whole afternoon and evening, and Parashurama Jayanti is kept on the 8th in most reckonings. We cannot resolve this one for you — confirm with your family's panchang, and note that Drik itself flags the longer 8 May window as the better one for purchases even while dating the festival to the 9th.

Festival by festival: what is kept, and what corresponds

Pitru Paksha · 26 September to 10 October 2026

The fortnight given to the ancestors, kept on the tithi on which each person died and closing on Sarva Pitru Amavasya for everybody whose tithi is unknown or was missed. Shradh is performed in the afternoon aparahna window, with tarpan, pind daan where the family keeps it, food set aside for cow, crow and dog, and daan in the ancestors' name.

This is the one occasion in the year where the honest answer is a page rather than a product. Our guide on shradh, tarpan and having the rites performed for you covers what a commissioned rite can and cannot do; the full observance sits in the Pitru Paksha 2026 shraddh dates and vidhi guide. Do not let anybody sell you a pooja that promises to remove pitra dosh.

Sharad Navratri · 11 to 20 October 2026

Nine nights of Devi worship, opening with Ghatasthapana on Sunday 11 October and closing with Vijayadashami on Tuesday 20 October, with Saraswati Avahan on the 16th and Saraswati Puja on the 17th. Kalash sthapana with barley sown in earth, the Durga Saptashati or Durga Chalisa read through the nine days, a fast in many households, kanya pujan on Ashtami or Navami.

What corresponds: the Shri Sukt and Durga Chalisa Puja among the Ayodhya sevas — Shri Sukt for Lakshmi, the Chalisa for Devi, taken in your name and gotra.

Dussehra · Tuesday 20 October 2026

Vijayadashami, kept both as the day Rama defeated Ravana and as the day Devi defeated Mahishasura, and traditionally treated as a muhurat on which almost anything may be begun without further calculation: shastra puja and vahana puja, Shami leaves exchanged in Maharashtra, new work started, a child's first letters written.

What corresponds: the Ram Raksha Stotra Path performed at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. For a new venture rather than the festival itself, the Ganesh Puja is the traditional opening rite.

Sharad Purnima · Sunday 25 October 2026

The Kojagari full moon, kept as the night Lakshmi is said to move through the world asking who is awake: kheer left out under the moon, a night vigil, Lakshmi puja after moonrise. Ashwin Purnima at sunrise falls on Monday 26 October, but the night observance is on the 25th — see our Sharad Purnima 2026 guide. What corresponds: Shri Sukt and Durga Chalisa Puja.

Karwa Chauth · Thursday 29 October, and Ahoi Ashtami · Sunday 1 November 2026

Karwa Chauth is the day-long nirjala fast kept for a husband's long life, broken after sighting the moon, with sargi before dawn and the evening katha with the karwa pot. Ahoi Ashtami four days later is the mothers' vrat kept for children. Moonrise varies by city by up to an hour, so take the minute from a current panchang — see Karwa Chauth 2026.

What corresponds: the Prem Milan Rudra Abhishek, a Rudra Abhishek dedicated to marital harmony — a traditional observance, not a guarantee about any relationship.

The five days of Diwali · 6 to 11 November 2026

Dhanteras Friday 6, Kali Chaudas Saturday 7, Narak Chaturdashi and Lakshmi Puja Sunday 8, Govardhan Puja Tuesday 10, Bhai Dooj Wednesday 11. Lakshmi Puja is performed during pradosh on the evening of Sunday 8 November, when Amavasya prevails. The muhurat method, the sthir lagna reasoning and city-by-city windows are in our Diwali 2026 muhurat guide.

What corresponds: Shri Sukt and Durga Chalisa Puja for Dhanteras and Lakshmi Puja; Hanuman Chalisa and Sundarkand Puja for Kali Chaudas, which across the Hindi belt is kept as a Hanuman day.

Chhath Puja · Friday 13 to Monday 16 November 2026

Four days of worship of Surya and Chhathi Maiya, kept with unusual severity: Nahay Khay on the 13th, Kharna on the 14th, Sandhya Arghya to the setting sun on Sunday the 15th, Usha Arghya to the rising sun on Monday the 16th, with a nirjala fast of roughly thirty-six hours. Arghya timings are strictly local sunrise and sunset, and river towns in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal each keep their own ghat timings, so follow the ghat you attend rather than a national figure. See our Chhath Puja 2026 guide.

What corresponds: the Vishesh Surya Puja. It does not replace the vrat, which is the point of Chhath and cannot be delegated to anybody.

Dev Uthani Ekadashi, Tulsi Vivah and Dev Diwali · 20 to 24 November 2026

Vishnu is said to wake from the four-month Chaturmas sleep on Prabodhini Ekadashi, after which weddings and auspicious work resume. Tulsi Vivah on Saturday 21 November marries the tulsi plant to Shaligram. Kartik Purnima on Tuesday 24 November is kept as Dev Diwali at the Varanasi ghats, as Karthigai Deepam in the Tamil country, and as Guru Nanak Jayanti.

What corresponds: Rudra Abhishek at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi for Kartik Purnima, among the most kept abhishek days of the year. The Shree Swaminarayan Puja is taken where the intention is peace within the family rather than a festival.

Margashirsha: Vivah Panchami, Gita Jayanti, Dattatreya Jayanti · December 2026

Vivah Panchami on Monday 14 December is kept as the marriage day of Rama and Sita, particularly at Janakpur and Ayodhya. Gita Jayanti and Mokshada Ekadashi fall together on Sunday 20 December, and Dattatreya Jayanti closes the month on Wednesday 23 December. What corresponds: Ram Raksha Stotra Path for Vivah Panchami, performed in Ayodhya, is as close a fit as the calendar offers.

Makar Sankranti · Friday 15 January 2027

The Sun's entry into Makara and the start of Uttarayan, kept as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Magh Bihu in Assam, Lohri the evening before in Punjab and Uttarayan in Gujarat: a holy dip, til and gur eaten and given, daan of blankets and sesame, the sun addressed at sunrise. What corresponds: Vishesh Surya Puja. Of all the sevas, this is the one whose occasion is least ambiguous.

Vasant Panchami · Thursday 11 February, and Maha Shivratri · Saturday 6 March 2027

Vasant Panchami is kept for Saraswati and is the customary day for a child's vidyarambham, the first letters. Maha Shivratri is kept on the Chaturdashi that carries nishita, the true midnight, with the fast held through the night and abhishek offered in four prahar — see our Maha Shivratri 2027 guide. What corresponds: Rudra Abhishek for Maha Shivratri, and the Ganesh Puja for a student on Vasant Panchami.

Holi, Chaitra Navratri and Ram Navami · March and April 2027

Phalguna Purnima begins only shortly before sunset on 21 March, which makes the Holika Dahan muhurat narrow that evening — take the window locally rather than from a national figure, and see our Holi and Holika Dahan 2027 guide. Holi follows on Monday 22 March. Ugadi and Gudi Padwa on Wednesday 7 April open the Hindu new year in the Deccan and the west, and the spring Navratri, which closes on Ram Navami on Thursday 15 April. The Navami tithi ends in the early afternoon that day, so the birth observance is best kept in the morning.

What corresponds: Ram Raksha Stotra Path at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi for Ram Navami, and Shri Sukt and Durga Chalisa Puja for the nine nights.

Hanuman Jayanti · Tuesday 20 April, and Akshaya Tritiya · 8 or 9 May 2027

Hanuman Jayanti is kept on Chaitra Purnima across most of North India; the Hanuman Chalisa and Sundarkand Puja is the corresponding seva. Akshaya Tritiya is treated as an abujh muhurat, a day held to need no further calculation, and kept for beginnings, for gold and for daan — see the disagreement note above before you fix a date. Shri Sukt and Durga Chalisa Puja is the seva that corresponds.

The nine Ayodhya sevas, and who takes which

These are performed at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya through the Divine Hindu and Ayodhyatra partnership, under which Divine Hindu holds signed exclusive authorisation for these sevas. Each is taken with sankalp in your name and gotra. Full details are on the online puja page.

Tiers. The eight sevas above the Putrakameshti are offered at ₹851 for an individual, ₹1,201 for a couple, ₹1,901 for a family of three to four and ₹2,801 for a family of five to six — the tier determines how many names are taken in the sankalp, not how the ritual is performed. Putrakameshti Yagna runs from ₹7,051 to ₹15,051 depending on the number of aahutis and priests.

A necessary word about the Putrakameshti. It is a traditional observance with a long place in the Ramayana and in household practice. It is not a fertility treatment and we do not present it as one. If you are trying to conceive, see a doctor; keep the observance alongside medical care if it is meaningful to you, not instead of it.

The remedy poojas, and when they are taken

Separately from the festival calendar, six poojas on our pooja seva page are taken for a situation rather than a date. The same process applies: sankalp in your name and gotra, kalash sthapana, mantra japa, havan and aarti on the muhurat, photographs and video on WhatsApp, prasad shipped, and guidance afterwards.

What this guide does not claim

• No ritual removes a dosha. Pitra dosh, Kaal Sarp, Mangal dosh and Sade Sati are interpretive categories in Vedic astrology, and the poojas associated with them are traditional observances, not treatments with stated outcomes.
• No ritual cures anything. Where illness is involved, keep the observance alongside medical care and never in place of it.
• No ritual guarantees a marriage, a child, a job, a court result or money. Anyone promising that is not describing a tradition.
• Urgency is a warning sign. If a page or a caller tells you something terrible will happen unless you book today, close the page.
• Dates move. Every date here is a tithi or a transit mapped onto a calendar day and can shift with your city's sunrise.

Further out: Raksha Bandhan falls on Tuesday 17 August 2027, Krishna Janmashtami on Wednesday 25 August 2027 by the smarta reckoning, Ganesh Chaturthi on Saturday 4 September 2027, Pitru Paksha from 16 to 29 September 2027, Sharad Navratri from Thursday 30 September, Dussehra on Saturday 9 October and Diwali on Friday 29 October 2027 — from Drik Panchang and our own computation, and to be rechecked nearer the time. The current year sits in our Hindu festival calendar 2026, and if you want to understand how a pooja performed elsewhere is meant to be yours, read how Divine Hindu performs and verifies an online puja.

This guide is for educational and devotional purposes and reflects traditional practice, which varies by region, community and family. Dates are tithis and solar transits mapped onto calendar days and can shift with your city's sunrise, so confirm with a current panchang before you observe. Prices are those published on our service pages at the time of writing and may change. Nothing here is medical, financial or legal advice, and no ritual is offered as a remedy for any medical or material condition.