Festival · Ahoi Mata (Parvati)
Ahoi Ashtami
Mothers keep a fast from dawn for their children’s long and happy lives, eight days before Diwali, and worship Ahoi Mata at dusk. The fast ends when the first stars are seen; some wait for the moon.
- Ahoi Ashtami 2026
- Sunday 1 November 2026
- New Delhi
For New Delhi, Sunday 1 November 2026
Krishna Ashtami tithi
- Begins
- 2:52 pm
- Ends
- 1:11 pm, 2 Nov
- Sunrise
- 6:33 am
- Sunset
- 5:36 pm
- Moonrise
- 11:40 pm
- Moonset
- 12:42 pm
Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.
Full panchang for this day →Puja times
For New Delhi, Sunday 1 November 2026
Stars seen (the fast ends)
6:00 pm
- Ahoi Ashtami puja
- 5:36 pm to 6:54 pm
- Moonrise (for those who wait for the moon)
- 11:40 pm
- Ashtami begins
- 2:52 pm
- Ashtami ends
- 1:11 pm, 2 Nov
Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.
How it is kept
Customs vary by region and family
- Fast from dawn, many without water
- Draw or set up the picture of Ahoi Mata and worship her at dusk
- Offer water to the stars, then break the fast
What it remembers
Ahoi Ashtami is the eighth day of the dark fortnight of Kartika by the northern calendar (Ashvina in the southern), about eight days before Diwali. Mothers fast for their children from dawn, most without even water, and worship Ahoi Mata, the mother who guards children, at dusk. The fast is broken on seeing the first stars, or the moon in some families. The same night, couples who long for a child bathe in Radha Kund in Braj.
Keeping Ahoi Ashtami
The fast runs from dawn until the stars come out, and the puja is done at dusk, often by the women of the family together. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.
- Bathe early and take the vow (sankalpa) to fast for your children. Many keep it without food or water; keep it as your health allows.
- Before sunset, draw Ahoi Mata on the wall in geru, in a frame of eight corners, with the porcupine and her young beside her, or set up a printed picture.
- Spread a little wheat on a stool, set a kalash of water on it, and on that a karwa (spouted clay pot) of water, its spout stopped with a sarai reed or a little cotton.
- Make eight puris, eight puas and halwa. Offer them, with seven shoots of grass, to Ahoi Mata and the porcupine.
- At dusk, worship Ahoi Mata with roli, rice, flowers and a lamp, tell her story together, and sing her aarti. Where the family keeps a syau, a small silver Ahoi, worship it too, and wear it on a thread round the neck.
- When the first stars appear, offer them water from the karwa (arghya), or wait for the moon if that is your family’s way, and then break the fast.
- Give the puris, puas and halwa, with a little money, to an elder of the family or a brahmin, and touch the elders’ feet.
What you need
- Geru or paint for the picture, or a printed Ahoi Mata
- A kalash and a karwa, wheat, and a sarai reed or cotton
- Eight puris, eight puas and halwa
- Roli, rice, flowers, grass shoots and a lamp
- A silver syau, if your family keeps one
Across India
North India
A fast of the north above all, kept four days after Karwa Chauth. The women of a family draw Ahoi Mata together, tell her story at dusk and wait for the stars.
Radha Kund, Braj
Thousands of couples come to Radha Kund near Govardhan for the midnight bath, standing in the water to pray to Goddess Radha and offering a white pumpkin (kushmanda) wrapped in red cloth.
Gujarat, Maharashtra and the south
By the southern calendar, whose months end at the new moon, the day falls in the dark fortnight of Ashvina, not Kartika. It is the same day: only the month’s name differs.
When it falls
Krishna Ashtami of Ashvina (Kartika in North India). Kept on the day this tithi holds in the evening.
These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.
Ahoi Ashtami in the coming years
New Delhi, India time
- 2026Sunday 1 November 2026
- 2027Friday 22 October 2027
- 2028Wednesday 11 October 2028
Questions
When is Ahoi Ashtami in 2026?
Sunday 1 November 2026, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.
When does Ahoi Ashtami fall?
Krishna Ashtami of Ashvina (Kartika in North India). Kept on the day this tithi holds in the evening.
How is Ahoi Ashtami kept?
Families fast from dawn, many without water, draw or set up the picture of Ahoi Mata and worship her at dusk and offer water to the stars, then break the fast. Customs vary by region and family.
Who is honoured on Ahoi Ashtami?
Ahoi Mata (Parvati). Mothers keep a fast from dawn for their children’s long and happy lives, eight days before Diwali, and worship Ahoi Mata at dusk. The fast ends when the first stars are seen; some wait for the moon.
Why is Ahoi Ashtami kept?
For the long life, health and safety of children. It remembers the mother in the story who lost her seven sons after killing a porcupine’s young by mistake, and won them back by fasting and worshipping Ahoi Mata.
When to break the Ahoi Ashtami fast?
In the evening, after the first stars are seen and water from the karwa is offered to them. Some families wait for the moon instead, but on this night it rises late, so most break the fast at the stars. The time the stars are due is shown at the top of this page.
Can Ahoi Ashtami be kept for a daughter?
Yes. The fast was once kept mostly for sons, but today mothers keep it for all their children, daughters and sons alike.
What is the Radha Kund snan on Ahoi Ashtami?
A bath in Radha Kund, the sacred pool near Govardhan in Braj, on Ahoi Ashtami night. It begins at midnight, the hour Radha Kund is said to have appeared, and goes on through the night. Couples hoping for a child bathe together, holding that Goddess Radha will bless them.
What is the syahu in the Ahoi Mata picture?
The porcupine whose young the woman in the story killed by mistake. She is drawn beside Ahoi Mata with her young, so that the fast asks forgiveness for harm done, even without meaning it.