Vijayadaśamī is the tenth day that closes the nine nights of Navarātri, the day of victory. The Devī Māhātmya tells how Durgā, formed from the gathered strength of the gods, fought Mahiṣāsura for nine days and slew him on the tenth. In much of North India the same day recalls Rāma's victory over Rāvaṇa. Whatever is begun today is believed to end in success, so homes take up study, work and new ventures again with the goddess's blessing. How the day is fixed: Vijayadaśamī is the day on which Āśvina Śukla Daśamī, the tenth tithi of the bright fortnight, stands at local sunrise. It follows Mahānavamī. Time for the pūjā: The day's worship is best done in Aparāhṇa, the part of the day after midday. Within it, leave out Rāhu kālam, Yamagaṇḍam and Guḷikai. Keep in mind: Tithis begin and end by the sunrise of your own town, so Vijayadaśamī can fall a day apart between places. The month is Āśvina under both amānta and pūrṇimānta reckoning, because the bright fortnight carries the same name in both. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. At home: South Indian homes take back the books and tools laid before Sarasvatī and in Āyudha Pūjā and begin study and work again. Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati homes worship the śamī tree, recalling the weapons the Pāṇḍavas hid in it during their year in disguise and took back on this day. A day to begin: Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu choose this day for Vidyārambham, when an elder guides a child's finger to write the first letters in rice. Many families also start a new art, a vehicle or a business on this day. Across the regions: Mysuru takes Cāmuṇḍēśvarī through the city on a caparisoned elephant, and Kullu begins its week-long procession of deities only as the festival ends elsewhere. Across much of North India, effigies of Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa and Meghanāda are burned at dusk after weeks of Rāmlīlā, while Bengal immerses its Durgā images. Worth remembering: Āyudha Pūjā and Sarasvatī Pūjā belong to Mahānavamī, the day before, and Durgāṣṭamī comes a day earlier still. Vijayadaśamī is the day the books and tools come back into use and the goddess is sent off. How the day is kept rests on kulācāra and deśācāra. One family takes up its books after Sarasvatī Pūjā, another worships the śamī and hands out its leaves as gold, another sends the goddess off with sindūr and Bijoyā greetings. The hour, the order of rites and the prasāda differ from house to house. Know what the pañcāṅga says, and then follow the way the elders of your own home have kept the day.
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