Odia Calendar 2026: October Festivals, Rituals and Important Dates

October 2026 runs from Kanya (Ashwina) 15 to Tula (Kartika) 15 in the Odia calendar. Its big days are Mahalaya Amavasya (10 October), Durga Puja: Maha Saptami (17 October) and Kumar Purnima (26 October). Below is every important date of the month, with its rituals.

Odia months

Ashwina and Kartika

Sankranti

Tula Sankranti, 17 October

Purnima

26 October

Amavasya

10 October

Important dates in October 2026

Rituals, date by date

2 October: Gandhi Jayanti; Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti

Prayer meetings, spinning and cleanliness drives at schools and offices remember Gandhi and Shastri.

3 October: Jiuntia (Dwitibahana Osha)

Mothers fast, often without water, and worship Jimutavahana for their children's long life. At Durga shrines, a sixteen-day puja begins.

6 October: Indira Ekadashi

Kept in Pitru Paksha for the peace of the ancestors. Families fast from rice and other grains, worship Vishnu, and break the fast after sunrise the next day.

10 October: Mahalaya Amavasya

Families make offerings of water and sesame (tarpana) to their ancestors at rivers and ponds.

Why it matters: The end of Pitru Paksha and the start of the Durga Puja season.

11 October: Navaratri begins; Maa Biraja's Rath Yatra

Nine nights of worship of Durga begin, with fasting in many homes. At Jajpur, Goddess Biraja rides her chariot.

17 October: Durga Puja: Maha Saptami; Tula Sankranti

Towns open their pandals of clay Durga images; Cuttack's silver filigree pandals are the most famous. Farmers keep Garbhana Sankranti, worshipping the paddy in their fields, now filling with grain.

Why it matters: Durga's victory over Mahishasura, and Odisha's biggest public festival.

18 October: Durga Puja: Maha Ashtami

The main day of worship, with fasting, the evening Sandhi Puja and crowds at the pandals.

19 October: Durga Puja: Maha Navami

The last day of worship; tools, books and vehicles are also worshipped (Ayudha Puja).

20 October: Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami)

The goddess is given a farewell worship, families visit their elders for blessings, and many towns burn effigies of Ravana (Ravana Podi).

21 October: Dussehra at Puri; Bhasani; Somanatha Brata closes

The clay images are carried in processions to rivers and ponds for immersion (Bhasani). Families close Somanatha Brata with a fast, a puja and pitha.

22 October: Papankusha Ekadashi

Families fast from rice and other grains, worship Vishnu, and break the fast after sunrise the next day.

25 October: Gaja Laxmi Puja

Lakshmi is worshipped seated on an elephant, through the night, with pandals and fairs; Dhenkanal's is the best known.

26 October: Kumar Purnima

Unmarried girls wear new clothes, worship the Sun in the morning and the moon at night by the tulsi chaura, make chanda chakata, a sweet of puffed rice, coconut and jaggery, and play games and sing together. Kartika month's vows begin.

Why it matters: The festival of Kumar (Kartikeya), the most handsome of the gods, and of the brightest moon of the year.

Koraput in October

The rains end early in October and the cool, dry season begins: Deomali's clear-view months run from October to February. Nights start to turn cold.

September 2026 · November 2026 · How the Odia calendar works, and every month

Dates from the Kohinoor Press Sankhyepa Panjika 2026, Cuttack.