Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) 2026 महा सप्तमी

Why Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) is celebrated

Maha Saptami is the first of the three main days of Durga Puja, the biggest festival of West Bengal and eastern India. In 2026 it falls on Sunday, 18 October. Pandals open to visitors from Shashthi, the evening before, but the full worship of Goddess Durga begins on Saptami with rituals that invoke her presence into the idol.

Durga Puja celebrates the goddess's victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, a story of good overcoming evil. In Bengal it also carries a warm family meaning. Durga, called Uma, is believed to visit her parents' home with her four children for a few days each year, and Saptami is the day the daughter is truly felt to have arrived.

History and story of Durga Puja (Maha Saptami)

The tale of Durga slaying Mahishasura comes from the Devi Mahatmya, a part of the Markandeya Purana. Gods who could not defeat the demon pooled their powers to create the goddess, and each handed her a weapon. The Bengali Ramayana of Krittibas adds that Rama worshipped Durga in autumn before fighting Ravana. Because this was outside the usual spring season, the autumn puja is called akal bodhan, the untimely awakening.

Grand family pujas in Bengal date back several centuries and were hosted by zamindars and rich households. Community pujas, called sarbojanin, became common in Kolkata in the early twentieth century. In 2021, Durga Puja in Kolkata was added to UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

How Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) is celebrated

Saptami begins before dawn with the Kola Bou snan, also called Navapatrika snan. A banana plant is tied together with eight other plants, including turmeric, arum and paddy, and bathed in a river or pond. It is then draped in a red bordered sari like a new bride and placed beside Ganesha in the pandal. The nine plants stand for nine forms of the goddess and link the puja to the harvest.

Next comes pran pratishtha, which brings the idol to life in the eyes of devotees. The priest then performs the Saptami puja with chants from the Chandi and offerings of flowers, fruit and bhog. After the morning puja, devotees offer pushpanjali, flowers held in folded hands while repeating the priest's mantras. In the evening, the aarti is performed with dhunuchi, clay burners filled with coconut husk and incense. People wear new clothes, go pandal hopping late into the night and share khichuri bhog.

Durga Puja (Maha Saptami) across India

Saptami is most visible in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand. In North India, including Uttarakhand, the same day is the seventh day of Navratri, when devotees worship Maa Kalaratri. Bengali associations in Dehradun and other northern cities set up pandals with Kola Bou rituals and cultural evenings.