Festival · Vishnu, in the amla tree

Amla Navami

Also called Akshaya Navami: the amla tree is worshipped as Lord Vishnu’s home. On this bright ninth of Kartika families eat a meal in its shade; the Satya Yuga is said to have begun today, and what is given today is held never to wane.

Amla Navami 2026
Wednesday 18 November 2026
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Wednesday 18 November 2026

Shukla Navami tithi

Begins
6:06 am
Ends
7:07 am, 19 Nov
Sunrise
6:46 am
Sunset
5:26 pm
Moonrise
1:23 pm
Moonset
1:02 am, 19 Nov

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Worship the amla tree in the morning with water, milk and a lamp
  • Wind cotton thread round its trunk as you walk round it
  • Eat a meal under the tree, and give food, clothes or money
Read the Vishnu Sahasranama →

What it remembers

Amla Navami, also called Akshaya Navami, is the ninth day of the bright half of Kartika, the day after Gopashtami and two days before Dev Uthani Ekadashi. The amla tree, the Indian gooseberry, is worshipped as a home of Lord Vishnu, and families cook and share a meal in its shade. Tradition holds that the Satya Yuga, the first of the four ages, began on this day, and that what is given or done today is akshaya: its merit never wanes.

Lakshmi’s puja under the amla

Goddess Lakshmi, it is told, once came to earth wishing to worship Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva together. Tulsi is dear to Vishnu and the bel leaf to Shiva, and she saw that the amla tree holds the virtues of both. So she worshipped the amla as the two of them, and both appeared before her, pleased. She cooked a meal beneath the tree, served it to them first and then ate herself. It was the bright Navami of Kartika, and families have eaten under the amla on this day ever since.

The tree of Vishnu

The amla is worshipped as a form of Lord Vishnu, who is said to live in the tree through the month of Kartika. So on this day the tree itself is given water and milk, wound with thread and circled like a temple, and the meal cooked beside it is offered to him before the family eats.

The first age

By tradition the Satya Yuga, the age of truth and the first of the four, began on this Navami, and so the day is also called Satya Yugadi. Whatever begins on it is held to last: charity, worship and service done today are akshaya, their merit never waning.

Kushmanda and the pumpkin

Another story tells that Lord Vishnu slew a demon named Kushmanda on this day, and that from the demon grew the gourd that bears his name, kushmanda, the pumpkin. So a pumpkin is one of the gifts given away on Akshaya Navami.

Keeping Amla Navami

The amla tree is worshipped in the morning, wherever one grows, often in a temple’s grounds, and the meal follows under it. Many, women especially, fast or eat simply until the puja is done. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. Bathe early. Fast until the puja, or eat simply, as your health allows.
  2. Go to an amla tree, clean the ground round its foot, and pour water and a little milk at its root.
  3. Offer flowers, rice and incense, and light a ghee lamp before the tree.
  4. Wind raw cotton thread round the trunk as you walk round it, seven times or 108, as your family does.
  5. Pray to Lord Vishnu for the family’s health and happiness: chant Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya or read the Vishnu Sahasranama.
  6. Cook or bring a simple meal, offer it to him under the tree, and eat it there together.
  7. Give what you can: food, warm clothes, amla fruit or money, and in some families a pumpkin.

What you need

  • Water and a little milk for the root
  • Raw cotton thread
  • Flowers, rice, incense and a ghee lamp
  • A simple meal to share under the tree
  • Amla fruit, and something to give

Across India

North India

Families gather under the amla trees of temple grounds for the puja and a meal beneath them, and women keep it for the well-being of their children.

Mathura and Vrindavan

Pilgrims walk the parikrama of the two towns together on Akshaya Navami, a long circuit on foot through Lord Krishna’s Braj.

Sakshigopal, Odisha

Here it is Anla Navami. At the Gopinath temple of Sakshigopal (Satyabadi), in Puri district, Goddess Radha’s feet are uncovered on this one day of the year, and thousands come for the Radha Pada Darshan. Across Odisha, the amla trees of temple grounds are worshipped and circled seven times.

West Bengal

The same day is Jagaddhatri Puja, when Jagaddhatri, a form of Goddess Durga, is worshipped.

When it falls

Shukla Navami of Kartika. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Amla Navami in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2026Wednesday 18 November 2026
  2. 2027Sunday 7 November 2027
  3. 2028Thursday 26 October 2028

Questions

When is Amla Navami in 2026?

Wednesday 18 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 Amla Navami fall?

Shukla Navami of Kartika. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Amla Navami kept?

Families worship the amla tree in the morning with water, milk and a lamp, wind cotton thread round its trunk as you walk round it and eat a meal under the tree, and give food, clothes or money. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Amla Navami?

Vishnu, in the amla tree. Also called Akshaya Navami: the amla tree is worshipped as Lord Vishnu’s home. On this bright ninth of Kartika families eat a meal in its shade; the Satya Yuga is said to have begun today, and what is given today is held never to wane.

Are Amla Navami and Akshaya Navami the same?

Yes. It is one day, the bright Navami of Kartika, with several names: Amla, Anla or Aanla Navami for the amla tree worshipped on it, Akshaya Navami for the merit that never wanes, and Satya Yugadi for the age said to begin on it.

Why do people eat under the amla tree on Amla Navami?

Because Goddess Lakshmi did. In the story, she worshipped the amla as Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva together, cooked a meal beneath it and served them before eating herself. Families do the same: the food is offered under the tree, then shared there.

What does akshaya mean in Akshaya Navami?

Akshaya means that which never wanes. Charity, worship and service done on this day are held to bring merit that does not diminish, as on Akshaya Tritiya in spring.

What is given in charity on Amla Navami?

Whatever you can: food, warm clothes for the coming winter, amla fruit or money. In some families a pumpkin is given too, from the story of the demon Kushmanda.

Is Amla Navami the same day as Jagaddhatri Puja?

Yes. The bright Navami of Kartika is Amla Navami in most of India and Jagaddhatri Puja in West Bengal, where Jagaddhatri, a form of Goddess Durga, is worshipped.

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