Festival · 2026
Sharad Navratri 2026 — Sunday, 11 October 2026
Sharad Navratri is nine nights of worship of the Goddess in the bright half of Ashvin, beginning with ghatasthapana and ending on Maha Navami, the eve of Dussehra.
In 2026
Sunday, 11 October 2026until 19 October 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Pratipada (Shukla): 10 Oct, 9:20 PM – 11 Oct, 9:31 PM
- Lunar month
- Ashvin
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:19 AM / 5:55 PM
| Ghatasthapana muhurat | 6:19 AM – 10:11 AM |
|---|---|
| Abhijit muhurat | 11:44 AM – 12:30 PM |
- Maha Navami: 19 October 2026
Rule: Begins on the Shukla Pratipada that touches the first third of the day (the ghatasthapana window); ends with Maha Navami; Dussehra follows.
In 2027
Thursday, 30 September 2027until 8 October 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Pratipada (Shukla): 30 Sep, 8:06 AM – 1 Oct, 5:35 AM
- Lunar month
- Ashvin
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:13 AM / 6:08 PM
| Ghatasthapana muhurat | 8:06 AM – 10:11 AM |
|---|---|
| Abhijit muhurat | 11:47 AM – 12:34 PM |
- Maha Navami: 8 October 2027
Rule: Begins on the Shukla Pratipada that touches the first third of the day (the ghatasthapana window); ends with Maha Navami; Dussehra follows.
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 Sharad Navratri?
Sharad Navratri is the most widely kept of the Navratris of the year. It begins on Pratipada, the first day of the waxing moon of Ashvin, and for nine nights devotees worship Durga in her nine forms, the Navadurga: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri, one on each day. The tenth day is Vijayadashami, or Dussehra.
The Devi Mahatmya tells of Mahishasura, a buffalo demon whom none of the gods could defeat. The gods pooled their powers and Durga arose from their combined radiance; she fought him for nine days and slew him on the tenth. Another tradition connects the season with Rama, who is said to have worshipped the Goddess before his battle with Ravana. In both, the story is of courage gathered and turned against wrongdoing.
Navratri arrives as the monsoon ends and the harvest nears, and it is kept in very different ways: fasting and quiet puja in one home, garba and dandiya circles in another, grand pandals and dhak drums in a third. What unites them is the idea of the Goddess as a living, protecting mother, and nine days set aside to turn towards her with discipline and devotion.
How it is observed
- On the first morning a kalash is installed in the ghatasthapana window, and barley is sown in soil beside it.
- Many devotees fast for all nine days, or on the first and last, eating fruit, milk and foods such as kuttu and singhara.
- In some homes an akhand jyoti, a lamp kept burning through the nine days, is lit.
- The Durga Saptashati is recited, and each day is dedicated to one of the nine forms of the Goddess.
- On Ashtami or Navami, kanya pujan is done: young girls are welcomed, fed and honoured as forms of the Goddess.
- In Gujarat and among Gujarati communities everywhere, garba and dandiya are danced every night.
- A havan on Navami and the immersion of the sprouted barley and the kalash close the observance.
How the date is fixed
Navratri begins on Ashvin Shukla Pratipada. Ghatasthapana is traditionally done in the first third of the day, so our engine takes as the first day the Pratipada that touches the first third of the daytime. Durga Ashtami is the day with Ashtami at sunrise. Maha Navami is the day on which Navami prevails at aparahna, the fourth of five equal parts of the day, and it closes Navratri; Dussehra follows. Because a tithi can be skipped or span two sunrises, the festival sometimes lasts eight days and sometimes ten.
Where practice differs
In Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Tripura the same days are Durga Puja, with the main celebration from Shashthi to Vijayadashami. Gujarat is known for garba, Karnataka for the Mysuru Dasara, and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for Golu, the display of dolls on tiered steps, with Saraswati Puja on Navami. Because this is the bright half, the month is Ashvin in both the amanta and purnimanta reckonings.
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
When should ghatasthapana be done?
In the morning on Pratipada, within the first third of the day. The window for this year is shown above.
Should kanya pujan be done on Ashtami or Navami?
Both are traditional, and families follow their own custom: some do it on Durga Ashtami, others on Maha Navami.
Why is Navratri sometimes eight or ten days long?
Tithis do not match calendar days exactly; one can be skipped or span two sunrises. The nine tithis stay the same, but the count of days changes.