Dussehra / Vijayadashami in Abu Dhabi

Date and timing in this city

In Abu Dhabi, Dussehra / Vijayadashami falls on Tuesday 20 October 2026 and on Saturday 9 October 2027. The observance rests on Ashwin Shukla Dashami — the tenth tithi of the waxing fortnight of Ashwin — and the deity honoured is Rama, with Durga also worshipped on this day. The day is observed as the victory of good, and it is kept widely across India and by Hindu communities abroad.

Abu Dhabi (अबु धाबी), in the United Arab Emirates, runs on the Asia/Dubai time zone. Because the tithi is reckoned from the local sunrise, the date given above is the one computed for Abu Dhabi's own sunrise — not borrowed from an Indian calendar. Readers who follow a panchang from India should note that the two can agree or differ by a day.

Why the date can differ from India

The tithi is a span of the Moon's movement measured from the Sun, and it does not begin or end at the same clock time everywhere. A panchang fixes the day by the tithi prevailing at sunrise at a given place. Abu Dhabi's sunrise comes at a different moment from sunrise in India, and the city also sits in a different time zone. So a tithi that is current at sunrise in India may have already ended, or may not yet have begun, at sunrise in Abu Dhabi.

This is why a festival can be listed on one date in India and on the adjacent date in the Gulf. It is not an error in either calendar; each is calculated for its own location. Families that keep a particular family or regional panchang may therefore observe on a slightly different day from a neighbour, and both can be following a valid method.

Where and how the community celebrates

Observance in the diaspora follows the same broad shape as in India. The day is associated with Rama and with Durga, and it is marked as the victory of good. Households may keep a fast or a simple vrat, recite from the Ramayana or Durga Saptashati, and gather in the evening for prayer and readings.

Where communities organise programmes, they are typically arranged by residents themselves rather than by any single body, and they vary from year to year. Traditions also differ: some communities follow an amanta reckoning and others a purnimanta one, and North Indian, South Indian, Smarta and Vaishnava households may each emphasise different texts, deities or customs on the same tithi. This article does not name any venue, temple, event or organiser in Abu Dhabi.

Practical tips

• Confirm the date with your own family panchang, since observance can differ by a day.
• Match your timing to Abu Dhabi's sunrise, not to Indian timings, if you keep a sunrise-based observance.
• For personal questions about your own chart and how to observe, consult a qualified jyotishi.
• Keep the day simple: prayer, reading and time with family are the heart of it.