Ganga Dussehra 2027

About Ganga Dussehra

Ganga Dussehra is the tenth day of the bright half of Jyeshtha, and in 2027 it falls on Sunday, 13 June 2027. Hindus mark it as the day the river Ganga came down from heaven to earth, and lakhs bathe at Haridwar, Varanasi, Prayagraj and other ghats. It has nothing to do with the autumn Dussehra of Navratri; it is also called Ganga Dashahara or Gangavataran.

Dashahara is a Sanskrit compound: dasha, ten, and hara, that which takes away. The name carries the day's central belief. A bath in the Ganga on Jyeshtha Shukla Dashami, or during the ten days that lead up to it, is said to remove ten kinds of sin. Over centuries the spoken form became Dussehra, which is why a summer river festival shares its name with the autumn festival of Ram's victory.

Not the Navratri Dussehra

The two days are easy to confuse in a search box, and in a greeting.

If you are writing to someone on the summer date, leave Ravana out. For the autumn festival, see Dussehra.

The story of the descent

As the Hindi Wikipedia retells the puranic story, King Sagara's 60,000 sons were burnt to ash by the anger of the sage Kapila. Only the waters of the Ganga, then flowing in heaven, could free their souls. Sagara's grandson Anshuman and his son Dilip did penance for it and failed. Bhagiratha, the next in line, finally won the river's consent.

Her fall would have split the earth, so Shiva agreed to catch her in his matted locks and let her down gently. Bhagiratha then led her across the plains to the ashes of his ancestors. That is why the river is called Bhagirathi at its source near Gangotri, and why a great effort is still called a Bhagirath prayas in Hindi. Drik Panchang cites the Brahma Purana for the belief that she reached earth on this day.

The ten sins are listed in the tradition as three of the body (taking what is not given, violence and adultery), four of speech (harsh words, lies, slander and idle talk) and three of the mind (coveting what others own, wishing harm and holding false beliefs).

How the date is worked out

The festival falls on the day Dashami tithi of Jyeshtha's bright half is running at sunrise. The day is thought most powerful when it coincides with ten old markers, among them a Wednesday, Hasta nakshatra and Vyatipata yoga, but these rarely all line up. The ten-day observance runs from Jyeshtha Shukla Pratipada to Dashami, and Drik Panchang says the Dashahara stotra should be recited on each of those days.

Years with an extra month can split calendars. Drik Panchang's rule is that when Jyeshtha is doubled, Ganga Dussehra is kept in the extra month. In 2026, with an Adhik Jyeshtha, Drik gave 25 May, and ETV Bharat reported about 43 lakh people bathing at Haridwar over 24 and 25 May. Some other panchangs listed 24 June, in the regular month. Families follow their own calendar.

The fast of Nirjala Ekadashi usually comes the next day.

On the ghats

At Haridwar the crowd fills Har Ki Pauri and the ghats around it from before dawn, and extra police are posted to manage it. At Gangotri, near the source, the day opens with Vedic chants, conch shells and temple bells, and pilgrims bathe in the Bhagirathi while SDRF teams stand by. Rishikesh, Garhmukteshwar in Uttar Pradesh and the Sangam at Prayagraj draw their own crowds.

In Varanasi the focus is Dashashwamedh Ghat, where the evening maha aarti is followed by deep daan, small leaf boats with lamps set afloat on the river. In Patna priests perform an evening aarti at Gandhi Ghat. In Kolkata, images of Ganga seated on her makara, a crocodile-like creature, are set up and worshipped.

Mathura, Vrindavan and Bateshwar worship the Yamuna alongside the Ganga, and devotees offer watermelon and cucumber to the river. Along the roads, stalls hand out lassi, sharbat and shikanji to people walking back from the ghats in the June heat. Some towns hold kite-flying contests the same afternoon.

Keeping the day away from the river

Most people cannot get to the Ganga. The day is still kept at home.

1. Bathe earlyAdd a few drops of Ganga jal to the bucket and say "Har Har Gange" before pouring
2. Offer to the river or to Ganga jalFlowers, a lamp, and in Drik Panchang's list ten fruits, ten diyas and sesame seeds
3. ReciteThe Ganga Dashahara stotra or the Ganga Chalisa; many read it ten times
4. GiveWater, sharbat, fruit or grain to people who need it, in tens where possible
5. EveningLight a diya, or watch the aarti from Haridwar or Varanasi on television

The number ten runs through the offerings because of the name. Drik Panchang also describes offering balls of sattu mixed with ghee and jaggery into the water.

What to write

A good message names the river. For someone who has gone to bathe, wish them a safe dip and a good darshan of the aarti. For someone at home, the blessing of Maa Ganga is enough. Kartik Purnima in November is the other great Ganga snan of the year, and wishes for it run on the same lines.

How to wish someone on Ganga Dussehra

A Ganga Dussehra wish is about the river and what a dip in it means to the person you are writing to. Mention the snan, the evening aarti, Maa Ganga's blessing or the old belief that the day washes away ten kinds of wrongdoing. Keep it devotional rather than festive. Don't mix it up with Vijayadashami: no Ravana, no victory of good over evil. "Har Har Gange" is the greeting heard on the ghats.

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, Hindi.

When is Ganga Dussehra in each year?

Ganga Dussehra is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 19 days later than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions