Festival · 2027
Ganga Dussehra 2027 — Sunday, 13 June 2027
Ganga Dussehra is the tenth day of the bright half of Jyeshtha, remembered as the day the river Ganga came down from heaven to earth.
In 2026
Monday, 25 May 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Dashami: 25 May, 4:31 AM – 26 May, 5:11 AM
- Lunar month
- Adhik Jyeshtha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:25 AM / 7:10 PM
Rule: Jyeshtha Shukla Dashami at sunrise; if it touches no sunrise, the day it begins. When Jyeshtha is doubled, it is kept in the adhik (first) Jyeshtha.
In 2027
Sunday, 13 June 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Dashami: 13 Jun, 2:44 AM – 14 Jun, 2:12 AM
- Lunar month
- Jyeshtha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:22 AM / 7:19 PM
Rule: Jyeshtha Shukla Dashami at sunrise; if it touches no sunrise, the day it begins. When Jyeshtha is doubled, it is kept in the adhik (first) Jyeshtha.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Ganga Dussehra?
Ganga Dussehra, also written Ganga Dashahara, celebrates the descent of the Ganga to earth, called Gangavatarana. It falls on Jyeshtha Shukla Dashami, at the height of the north Indian summer, when bathing in the river is both a religious act and a relief. Its name is usually explained as dasha-hara, the one that takes away ten, because a bath in the Ganga on this day is said to wash away ten kinds of wrongdoing.
The story is told in the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, where the sage Vishvamitra tells it to the young Rama, and again in the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The sixty thousand sons of King Sagara were burned to ashes by the sage Kapila, and only the waters of the heavenly Ganga could bring them peace. Generations later their descendant Bhagiratha performed long austerities until the Ganga agreed to descend. So that her force would not split the earth, Shiva caught her in his matted hair and let her flow out gently. She followed Bhagiratha across the plains to the sea, and there her waters reached the ashes of his ancestors.
The ten wrongs are listed in the tradition as three of the body, four of speech and three of the mind: taking what is not given, harming living beings and unlawful relations; harsh words, lies, slander and idle talk; and coveting what belongs to others, wishing them ill and holding false views. The Skanda Purana and other texts praise the day and describe ten auspicious conditions, among them Hasta nakshatra, that make it rarer still when they come together.
Because of the number ten, many observers give things in tens on this day: ten lamps, ten kinds of flowers or fruit, or ten items to people in need. Water pots, fans, sattu and seasonal fruit are common gifts in the heat. Ganga Dussehra is followed closely by Nirjala Ekadashi, which usually falls the next day, so for many families the two days form a single stretch of bathing, fasting and giving.
How it is observed
- Bathing in the Ganga at dawn, or in any river, tank or at home with a little Ganga water added to the bath.
- Offering flowers, lamps and prayers to the river, and reciting the Ganga stotra or the Ganga Lahari.
- Joining the evening Ganga aarti at the ghats of Haridwar, Rishikesh, Varanasi or Prayagraj.
- Floating small leaf-cup lamps on the water after dusk.
- Giving in tens: ten items, ten fruits or ten measures of grain to people in need.
- Giving water pots, fans, sattu, umbrellas and seasonal fruit, suited to the summer heat.
How the date is fixed
Ganga Dussehra is kept on Jyeshtha Shukla Dashami, the tenth tithi of the bright half of Jyeshtha, which tradition holds to be the tithi of the Ganga’s descent. Our calendar takes the day on which Dashami is current at sunrise; if Dashami touches no sunrise, the day it begins. In a year with two Jyeshthas (an adhik month), Ganga Dussehra is kept in the first, adhik Jyeshtha, as the published almanacs do, since acts of bathing and giving in the extra month are held to bring greater merit. The texts add further conditions, such as Hasta nakshatra and a set of ten yogas, that make the day especially praised; we show these only when they are actually present, and most years they are not all present together. Nirjala Ekadashi usually falls the next day, except in an adhik year, when it stays in the regular Jyeshtha a month later.
Where practice differs
The biggest gatherings are at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar, at Rishikesh, at Dashashwamedh Ghat and the other ghats of Varanasi, at Prayagraj and at Garhmukteshwar, and the day is widely kept across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. In some places observances begin on Jyeshtha Shukla Pratipada and run for ten days to Dashami. In parts of Bengal the goddess Manasa is also worshipped on this day. Ganga Dussehra should not be confused with Ganga Saptami in Vaishakha, which remembers the Ganga’s release from the ear of the sage Jahnu.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
Why is it called Ganga Dussehra?
Dussehra here means dasha-hara, the remover of ten. A bath in the Ganga on this day is said to take away ten kinds of wrongdoing of body, speech and mind. It has no connection with the autumn Dussehra of Rama’s victory apart from the word.
What if I cannot bathe in the Ganga?
Many people add a little Ganga water to their bath at home, or bathe in a nearby river or tank while remembering the Ganga. Giving to people in need and quiet prayer are part of the day wherever one is.
Is Nirjala Ekadashi the day after Ganga Dussehra?
Usually, yes. Nirjala Ekadashi is on Jyeshtha Shukla Ekadashi, the tithi after Dashami, so it normally falls the next day. When tithis shorten or lengthen, the gap can be different; see the Nirjala Ekadashi page for its own date.
What is the difference between Ganga Dussehra and Ganga Saptami?
Ganga Dussehra, in Jyeshtha, marks the Ganga’s descent from heaven to earth. Ganga Saptami, in Vaishakha, remembers her release by the sage Jahnu, who had drunk her waters when she flooded his hermitage.