✍️ By Rahul Goyal · Chandigarh Life
Quick answer: Dussehra (Vijayadashami) 2026 falls on Tuesday, 20 October. It’s marked across the whole tricity — Ramlila performances and effigy burnings happen at nearly 60 locations in Chandigarh alone, with Panchkula’s Shalimar Ground hosting the region’s biggest and tallest effigy. The festival also lines up with the start of the pre-Diwali shopping season, headlined by the CII Chandigarh Fair.
Dussehra in the tricity isn’t one single event — it’s dozens of neighbourhood Ramlila committees each building to their own effigy burning on the same night, plus one genuinely massive, headline-grabbing celebration in Panchkula. Here’s the full picture, pulling together what’s happening where.
Dussehra 2026 Date
Vijayadashami — the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin — falls on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, the day after Sharad Navratri’s Maha Navami. It marks Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana, and in many traditions also Goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura.
Chandigarh: Nearly 60 Ramlila Grounds
Chandigarh doesn’t have one central Dussehra ground — it has close to 60 of them, run by community Ramlila committees across the city and coordinated by the Chandigarh Kendriya Ramleela Mahasabha. Sector 17’s Parade Ground (Shri Ramlila Committee, staging since 1953), Sector 7 (Navyug Ramlila and Dussehra Committee, since 1979), Sector 28 (Garhwal Ramleela Mandal) and Sector 22-B (Chandigarh Ramleela Committee) are among the longest-running. Each stages its own Ramlila through Navratri and burns its own Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhkaran effigies on Dussehra night. See our full Ram Leela in Chandigarh Tricity guide for the complete list of committees.
Panchkula: The Region’s Biggest Effigy
Shalimar Ground, Sector 5, Panchkula, is where the tricity’s single biggest Dussehra event happens — organised by the Shri Mata Mansa Devi Dussehra Committee and Shri Adarsh Ramlila Dramatic Club, with a Ravana effigy that has run as tall as 221 feet in recent years, burnt alongside Meghnath and Kumbhkaran. Full details, timings and budget in our dedicated Dussehra in Panchkula guide.
Mohali & Zirakpur
Mohali and Zirakpur mark Dussehra through neighbourhood-level Ramlila and effigy-burning events at local grounds, following the same Navratri-to-Vijayadashami pattern as the rest of the tricity — on a smaller scale than Chandigarh’s registered committees or Panchkula’s headline event, and typically organised by local resident welfare associations and community groups rather than named citywide bodies.
Dussehra & the Pre-Diwali Shopping Season
Dussehra also marks the unofficial start of Chandigarh’s festive shopping season, running right up to Diwali on 8 November. The 29th CII Chandigarh Fair at Parade Ground, Sector 17 (30 October – 2 November 2026) is the biggest of these — see our Diwali Events in Chandigarh calendar for the full pre-Diwali exhibition line-up.
FAQ’s
When is Dussehra 2026 in Chandigarh?
Tuesday, 20 October 2026 — Vijayadashami, the day after Maha Navami.
Where is the biggest Dussehra celebration in the tricity?
Shalimar Ground, Sector 5, Panchkula, home to the region’s tallest Ravana effigy, run by the Shri Mata Mansa Devi Dussehra Committee.
How many Dussehra/Ramlila venues does Chandigarh have?
Close to 60 locations citywide, around 40 of them officially registered, coordinated by the Chandigarh Kendriya Ramleela Mahasabha.
Is Dussehra celebrated in Mohali and Zirakpur too?
Yes — through neighbourhood-level Ramlila and effigy-burning events, generally organised by local resident welfare associations and community groups, on a smaller scale than Chandigarh’s registered committees or Panchkula’s headline event.
