About Mahalaya
Mahalaya is the new-moon day that ends Pitru Paksha, the fortnight for remembering ancestors, and opens Devi Paksha, the fortnight of the goddess. In 2026 it falls on Saturday, 10 October 2026. Bengalis wake before dawn for the Mahishasuramardini radio programme, families offer tarpan at the river, and Durga Puja follows about a week later.
In much of Bengal, Mahalaya starts in the dark. Alarms go off around four, someone switches on the radio, and the house fills with a deep voice reciting the Chandi in Sanskrit and Bengali. By sunrise, men and a growing number of women are standing waist-deep in the Hooghly with water and sesame in their cupped hands, calling out the names of their dead. For most Bengalis, this is the morning the Pujo season begins.
Two fortnights meet on one morning
Mahalaya is the last day of Pitru Paksha, the sixteen lunar days after the Bhadrapada full moon that Hindu families set aside for their ancestors. Each family offers shraddha on the lunar day on which a parent or grandparent died. The new-moon day, Sarva Pitru Amavasya, is for everyone else: forefathers whose dates nobody remembers, and relatives who had no one to perform rites for them.
The story most often told for the fortnight is Karna's. In the Mahabharata tradition, he reaches heaven after the war and finds that every food he touches turns to gold, because in life he gave away gold but never food to his ancestors. He is allowed back to earth for fifteen days to put it right. That, the story says, is the fortnight.
The next morning, Pratipada of the bright half of Ashwin, begins Devi Paksha, the fortnight of the goddess. It holds Sharad Navratri and Durga Puja and ends on the full moon of Kojagari Lakshmi Puja. So Mahalaya is a hinge: grief and remembrance on one side, homecoming and festivity on the other.
Tarpan at the ghat
Tarpan means satisfying, and the rite is the offering of water to satisfy the thirst of the dead.
- Bathe firstThe person offering tarpan bathes in the river, or at home if the river is far, and wears clean, usually unstitched white cloth.
- The kusha ringA ring of kusha grass is slipped on the ring finger of the right hand. Kusha is used in almost every rite for the dead.
- Water and sesameWater mixed with black sesame, and in some families barley, is held in cupped hands and poured back into the river.
- Names, generation by generationThe priest guides the person through the names of father, grandfather and great-grandfather, then the mother's side, then teachers and friends.
- Water for the forgottenThe last offerings are for anyone who died with no one to remember them, which is why many people say tarpan is never only for their own family.
Tradition gives the rite to sons and other male relatives. Some families now have daughters offer tarpan, and some priests accept that while others do not. Kolkata's ghats, from Bagbazar to Babughat, are crowded from before dawn.
The voice on the radio
Mahishasuramardini is a ninety-minute programme of hymns, songs and narration that tells how the gods made Durga from their combined power to defeat the buffalo demon Mahishasura. All India Radio in Calcutta first put it on air in 1931, live. The script was by Bani Kumar, the music by Pankaj Kumar Mullick, and the narration and Chandipath by Birendra Krishna Bhadra. The version that plays today was recorded in 1966 and has been broadcast at daybreak on Mahalaya ever since, with songs by singers such as Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Supriti Ghosh and Pratima Bandopadhyay.
In 1976 All India Radio replaced it with a new programme, Durga Durgatiharini, narrated by Uttam Kumar, the biggest film star in Bengal. Listeners rejected it so firmly that All India Radio apologised and brought the old recording back. Bhadra died in 1991. His recording is now older than most of the people who wake up for it, and television channels now stage their own Mahalaya dance-dramas alongside it.
Mahalaya is also chokkhudaan in the idol-makers' workshops of Kumartuli, when the eyes are painted on the Durga images. Many potters wait for this morning before they do it.
Mahalaya outside Bengal
The tithi is the same across India, but what people do with it differs.
| Where | What the day is called | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Odisha, Bangladesh | Mahalaya | Tarpan at dawn, the radio programme, and the start of the Pujo season |
| Tamil Nadu | Mahalaya Amavasai | Tarpanam by the sea and rivers; Rameswaram's Agni Theertham draws some of the largest crowds |
| North India | Sarva Pitru Amavasya | Shraddha at home, food set out for crows, cows and Brahmins; pilgrims offer pind daan at Gaya |
| Telangana | Engili Pula Bathukamma | Women build the first flower stack of Bathukamma, the nine-day flower festival |
| Gujarat and the west | The eve of Navratri | Garba grounds are readied for the first night, which begins the next evening |
Should you say "Subho Mahalaya"?
This is a real argument in Bengali families, and both sides have a point.
One side says Mahalaya is a day of rites for the dead, part of a fortnight in which many families avoid new purchases and celebrations, so "subho", auspicious, is the wrong word. The other side says the day also marks the goddess setting out for her parents' home, that remembering ancestors is itself a blessing, and that "Subho Mahalaya" has been everyday Bengali usage for decades. Newspapers have noted the paradox and left it at that.
If you know the person says it, say it back. If you are unsure, "Shubho Sharodiya" (greetings of the autumn festival) or a line about the dawn broadcast is never wrong. If they lost someone this year, skip "subho" entirely and say you are thinking of the person they are offering tarpan for.
Subho Mahalaya. Bhorbela radio-te Birendra Krishna Bhadra-r gola shune mone holo, Maa ashchhen. (Subho Mahalaya. Hearing Birendra Krishna Bhadra on the radio at dawn, it felt as if Maa is on her way.)
Aaj tarpaner dine tomader poribarer sokol purbopurush-ke amar shroddha janai. (On this day of tarpan, my respects to all of your family's ancestors.)
Did you wake up at four for the radio? I did, here, alone with my phone. It is not the same without Baba turning the volume up too far.
Wishing you a peaceful Mahalaya. Pujo is a week away; I hope you get some of it off.
Mahalayar xubhechha. Maa Durgar agomonot apunaloi aru apunar poriyalloi xukh-xanti kamona korilo. (Mahalaya greetings. As Maa Durga arrives, I wish you and your family happiness and peace.)
Mahalaya ra subhechha. Maa Durga nka agamana re aapana ghare sukha santi bhari rahu. (Mahalaya greetings. May Maa Durga's arrival fill your home with happiness and peace.)
Pitru Paksha ke is antim din aapke purvajon ko shraddhanjali, aur Maa Durga ka aagman aapke ghar sukh-shanti laaye. (On this last day of Pitru Paksha, respects to your ancestors, and may Maa Durga's arrival bring your home happiness and peace.)
Thinking of you at the ghat this morning, and of your father. He would have been proud that you did it yourself.
Do
- Ask before photographing people offering tarpan. It is a private rite done in a public place.
- Mention the radio programme or the start of Pujo if you want a light, safe greeting.
- Keep a message to a recently bereaved family short and plain.
Avoid
- Don't send party-style "Happy Mahalaya" graphics to a family that is observing a death this year.
- Don't call Mahalaya "the first day of Durga Puja". The puja itself begins on Shashthi; Mahalaya opens the season.
- Don't joke about the early alarm to someone who keeps the radio ritual for a parent who has died.
How to wish someone on Mahalaya
Mahalaya is two things at once, a morning for remembering the dead and the first day of the Pujo season. Many Bengalis say Subho Mahalaya; others feel "subho" sits badly on a day of tarpan. If you are unsure, Shubho Sharodiya or a line about the dawn broadcast suits everyone. For a family that lost someone this year, write about remembering, not celebrating.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Bengali + Odia or Assamese.
When is Mahalaya in 2026 and 2027?
Mahalaya is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Mahalaya in 2026?
Mahalaya 2026 falls on Saturday, 10 October 2026.
Is it right to say Subho Mahalaya?
It is common and most Bengalis will not mind, but some feel "subho", auspicious, does not suit a day of rites for the dead. If you are unsure, say Shubho Sharodiya, the greeting for the autumn festival, and keep "subho" out of messages to a family in mourning.
What is tarpan and who performs it?
Tarpan is the offering of water mixed with black sesame to one's ancestors, usually standing in a river at dawn and naming three generations on the father's and mother's sides. Tradition gives the rite to sons and male relatives, though some families now have daughters perform it.
Who recites Mahishasuramardini on Mahalaya morning?
The narration and Chandipath are by Birendra Krishna Bhadra, with music by Pankaj Kumar Mullick and script by Bani Kumar. All India Radio first broadcast it live in 1931 and has played the 1966 recording at daybreak on Mahalaya ever since.
Why is Mahalaya linked to Durga Puja if the puja starts later?
Mahalaya ends Pitru Paksha and begins Devi Paksha, the fortnight of the goddess, so it is treated as the day Durga sets out for her parents' home. The puja itself starts on Shashthi, about a week later, and the image's eyes are often painted on Mahalaya morning.
What if you don't know the date an ancestor died?
That is what Mahalaya, also called Sarva Pitru Amavasya, is for. Shraddha and tarpan on this new-moon day are meant for every ancestor, including those whose death dates are not known and those who had no one to perform rites for them.
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