Photo: Mithun Kunwar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dashain 2083 starts with Ghatasthapana on Sunday, October 11, 2026 (Ashwin 25) and the main tika day, Vijaya Dashami, is on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 (Kartik 4). Tika can be received until Kojagrat Purnima on October 25 (Kartik 8). Dashain is Nepal's biggest festival: fifteen days of family visits, kites, swings, goat markets, card games and blessings from elders, based on the story of the goddess Durga's victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura. The full list of dates, with every public holiday in between, is on the holidays calendar. Below is what happens on each day and how to plan around it.
| Day | BS date | AD date |
|---|---|---|
| Ghatasthapana | Ashwin 25 | Sunday, October 11, 2026 |
| Fulpati | Ashwin 31 | Saturday, October 17, 2026 |
| Maha Ashtami (ashtami vrata) | Kartik 1 | Sunday, October 18, 2026 |
| Maha Nawami | Kartik 3 | Tuesday, October 20, 2026 |
| Vijaya Dashami (tika) | Kartik 4 | Wednesday, October 21, 2026 |
| Kojagrat Purnima | Kartik 8 | Sunday, October 25, 2026 |
Ghatasthapana: Sunday, October 11 (Ashwin 25)
On the first day, a kalash (pot) of holy water is installed in the puja room, and barley seeds are sown in a bed of sand and cow dung. The name of the day comes from this: ghata means pot and sthapana means installing. The seeds are kept away from sunlight and watered every day, and they grow into jamara, the pale yellow shoots placed behind the ears on tika day ten days later. Navaratri, the nine nights of the goddess, starts on this day, and each night has its own form of Durga and its own puja. Households that follow the full rituals read the Durga Saptashati every day from this morning.
The middle days: Fulpati to Nawami
Fulpati falls on Saturday, October 17 (Ashwin 31), four days before tika this year. On Fulpati, a bundle of flowers, leaves and sugarcane is brought into homes. In the old royal ritual, the fulpati is carried in procession from Gorkha to Kathmandu.
Maha Ashtami comes next. This year the ashtami vrata (fast) is on Sunday, October 18 (Kartik 1). Ashtami is the night of the goddess in her fiercest form. Animal sacrifices are offered at Durga temples, and the night of Kalratri is observed.
Maha Nawami, on Tuesday, October 20 (Kartik 3), is the last day of Navaratri. On this day tools and vehicles are worshipped: cars, motorbikes, machines and the tools of each trade get tika, flowers and incense. Taxis and buses drive around with marigold garlands on their mirrors, and many workshops and vehicle owners offer a sacrifice.
Vijaya Dashami: Wednesday, October 21 (Kartik 4)
The tenth day is the main day of the festival. Elders put tika, a mix of rice, yogurt and red vermilion (abir), on the foreheads of younger family members. They place jamara behind their ears, give dakshina (money) and say blessings. Families visit relatives in order of seniority, starting with the eldest, and the visits continue for several days. By tradition, tika can be received until Kojagrat Purnima (the full moon), which this year is on October 25 (Kartik 8). Family members living abroad or in other cities often receive blessings by phone or video call on this day. If you receive tika from only one person all year, it is on this day and from your eldest relative.
Planning around Dashain 2083
- Holidays: the main public holiday block runs from Fulpati through the days after Dashami. Schools close for much longer, usually two weeks or more.
- Travel: long-distance bus and flight tickets out of Kathmandu are hardest to get in the week before Fulpati. People usually book a month ahead, which for Dashain 2083 means by about mid-September (early Ashwin).
- Banks and money: banks work short hours before the festival and remittance counters are at their busiest of the year. Withdraw cash for dakshina and shopping early.
- Shopping: goat markets set up on open ground in towns. Buy new clothes and groceries before Fulpati.
- Official work: finish anything with government offices before Fulpati, or plan it for early Mangsir.
- At home: keep barley seeds ready for Ghatasthapana morning, and agree in advance on the order of tika visits within the family.
Why the dates move each year
Dashain follows the lunar calendar. Ghatasthapana is the first day (pratipada) of the bright fortnight of lunar Ashwin, and Dashami is the tenth tithi. Twelve lunar months are about eleven days shorter than a solar year, so Dashain moves against both the AD calendar and the solar BS months, falling anywhere from late September to late October. That is why tika in Dashain 2083 is on October 21, while in other years it comes weeks earlier. The daily panchang shows the tithi for each festival day, and the holidays page lists the resolved dates for the current year.