Navratri 2026: Complete 9-Day Calendar and Puja Guide
Sharad Navratri 2026 begins on 11 October and closes with Vijayadashami on 20 October — here is the day-by-day calendar of tithis, Navadurga forms and rituals so you can plan Ghatasthapana, Sandhi Puja and Kanya Pujan without guesswork.
Sharad Navratri 2026 begins with Ghatasthapana on 11 October and runs for nine nights until Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami, both observed on 19 October, closing with Vijayadashami (Dussehra) on 20 October. This is the most widely celebrated of the four Navratris in the Hindu year — the autumn worship of Goddess Durga in her nine forms, the Navadurga, ending in the triumph of good over evil that Dussehra commemorates.
Navratri follows the lunar tithi, not a fixed solar date, so its length shifts slightly each year. In 2026, Ashtami and Navami tithi fall on the same sunrise — a routine lunisolar adjustment known as tithi kshaya — which is why both Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami rites are performed together on 19 October rather than on separate days.
Navratri 2026: Day-by-Day Calendar
Each of the nine nights is dedicated to one form of the Navadurga. Here is how the tithis fall this year:
- 11 October — Pratipada: Ghatasthapana (Kalash Sthapana) and worship of Shailaputri, the mountain-born form of Durga.
- 12 October — Dwitiya: Brahmacharini, the ascetic form representing tapasya and perseverance.
- 13 October — Tritiya: Chandraghanta, worshipped for courage and protection from negativity.
- 14 October — Chaturthi: Kushmanda, believed to be the creative energy that gave the universe its form.
- 15 October — Panchami: Skandamata, mother of Kartikeya; also observed as Lalita Panchami in some traditions.
- 16 October — Shashthi: Katyayani; in Bengal this is Saraswati Bodhon, the ceremonial awakening of the Devi.
- 17 October — Saptami: Kalaratri, the fierce protector form; Maha Saptami begins in Durga Puja pandals.
- 18–19 October — Ashtami tithi: Mahagauri puja and Sandhi Puja, the junction ritual bridging Ashtami and Navami.
- 19 October — Navami: Siddhidatri, Maha Navami, Kanya Pujan and havan — observed together with Ashtami this year.
- 20 October — Dashami: Vijayadashami / Dussehra — Durga Visarjan and Ravana Dahan.
Ghatasthapana: Starting the Nine Days Correctly
The festival opens with Ghatasthapana — installing a sacred kalash (pot) representing the Goddess, usually beside a barley-sowing tray (Jwara) watched to sprout over the nine days as a sign of growth. Classical texts require this ritual be performed during Pratipada tithi, ideally in the early morning muhurat, and avoided during Chitra nakshatra or Vaidhriti yoga if they overlap with Pratipada — in such years the midday Abhijit muhurat is used instead. Since these timings depend on your city's sunrise and local nakshatra, check the exact panchang for your location before setting up the kalash.
Durga Ashtami, Sandhi Puja and Maha Navami
The 48-minute window spanning the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 minutes of Navami is called Sandhi Puja — considered the precise moment Durga, in her Chamunda form, slew the demons Chanda and Munda. It is treated as the single most potent window of the entire festival, especially in Bengali Durga Puja tradition, where 108 lamps and 108 lotuses are offered. Since Ashtami and Navami both fall on 19 October, this timing should be taken from the local panchang rather than assumed. Navami itself closes with Kanya Pujan — nine young girls worshipped as living forms of the Devi — and a havan that formally concludes the vrat (fast) many devotees keep through the nine days.
Vijayadashami — 20 October
Dashami marks Durga's victory over Mahishasura and Lord Rama's over Ravana, which is why effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad are burned across North India on this evening. It is also the day of Shami puja — exchanging leaves of the Shami tree as a symbol of gold, recalling the Pandavas retrieving their hidden weapons from a Shami tree at the end of their exile — and of Ayudha Puja, where tools, vehicles and instruments of one's trade are cleaned and worshipped. Vijayadashami is classically considered one of the most auspicious dates on the entire calendar for starting something new: Vidya Arambha (a child's first formal lessons), a new business, or the first stroke of a new skill, since it falls on a day without the need to separately calculate a muhurat.
What Navratri Means for Your Chart
Astrologically, Navratri sits at a point where the Moon's tithis move through a complete cycle from the new moon toward the full moon (Sharad Purnima follows just days after Dussehra), making it a naturally strong period for remedial work tied to the Moon, Venus and Rahu-Ketu. Many astrologers recommend this window specifically for reciting the Durga Saptashati or the Navarna mantra — "Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundaye Vichche" — to pacify afflictions from a weak Moon, Chandra dosha, or an unfavourable Rahu-Ketu axis in the birth chart, since the nine nights correspond symbolically to the nine grahas as well as the nine forms of the Devi. If your kundli shows a dasha period or transit that has felt heavy this year, Navratri is a genuinely good window to begin a remedy rather than wait for it to end on its own — you can check which planetary period you are currently running with a free detailed Kundli analysis.
If you would like the Sandhi Puja or Kanya Pujan performed on your behalf with proper Vedic rites, or want to understand which specific remedy your chart calls for this Navratri, you can book a consultation with our astrologers or arrange a guided ritual through our puja services.