Festival · Durga

Durga Ashtami

The eighth day of Navratri, one of its most important. In many homes young girls are honoured as forms of the Goddess.

Durga Ashtami 2027
Thursday 7 October 2027
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Thursday 7 October 2027

Shukla Ashtami tithi

Begins
4:14 am
Ends
6:28 am, 8 Oct
Sunrise
6:17 am
Sunset
6:01 pm
Moonrise
1:16 pm
Moonset
11:30 pm

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

Full panchang for this day →

Puja times

For New Delhi, Thursday 7 October 2027

Sandhi Puja

6:04 am to 6:52 am, 8 Oct

Ashtami begins
4:14 am
Ashtami ends
6:28 am, 8 Oct

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

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Worship Durga
  • Honour young girls with food and gifts (kanya puja)
  • Fast until the puja is done

What it remembers

Durga Ashtami, Maha Ashtami, is the eighth day of Sharad Navratri and its most powerful. Durga is worshipped as Mahagauri; in Bengal the day holds the Kumari Puja and, at the very moment Ashtami gives way to Navami, Sandhi Puja, when the Goddess took the form of Chamunda. In much of the north, young girls are honoured as the Goddess with halwa, puri and chana.

Chamunda at the junction

In the battle with Mahishasura’s army, the demons Chanda and Munda attacked the Goddess at the meeting of Ashtami and Navami. From her brow sprang Chamunda, fierce and dark, who slew them both. Sandhi Puja is kept for those forty-eight minutes, twenty-four on each side of the junction, with 108 lamps and 108 lotuses.

Mahagauri

The eighth form of Durga is Mahagauri, the very fair: Parvati, darkened by years of tapas in the forest to win Shiva, was bathed by him in the Ganga and shone white as the moon. She is worshipped on Ashtami for purity and peace.

The girls who are the Goddess

The Devi Mahatmya holds that the Goddess is present in every girl. On Ashtami or Navami, nine girls, sometimes with a boy for Bhairava, are invited home, their feet washed, and fed as the nine Durgas: kanya puja.

Rama’s missing lotus

Bengal’s story of Ashtami is Rama’s: on the night of the junction he offered 108 blue lotuses to Durga and found one missing, taken by the Goddess to test him. He moved to offer his own lotus eye, and she appeared and blessed him. The 108 lotuses of Sandhi Puja remember it.

Ashtami puja and kanya puja

The Ashtami puja is kept in the morning; Sandhi Puja at the junction of Ashtami and Navami, whenever it falls. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. Fast from the morning, as through Navratri, or keep the Ashtami fast alone.
  2. Worship Durga as Mahagauri with white flowers, coconut and sweets, and read from the Durga Saptashati.
  3. Invite nine girls (and a boy, for Bhairava) to the home. Wash their feet, apply kumkum, tie a red thread on the wrist.
  4. Feed them halwa, puri and black chana, and give each a small gift and a coin; touch their feet for their blessing.
  5. In Bengal, the Kumari Puja: a young girl is worshipped as the Goddess herself at the pandal or the math.
  6. At the Sandhi Puja time, light 108 lamps and offer 108 lotuses, and say the Chamunda mantra; the drums of the pandal reach their height.
  7. Break the fast after the kanya puja, or after Navami, as your family keeps it.

What you need

  • An image of Durga, white flowers and a coconut
  • Halwa, puri and black chana for the girls
  • Kumkum, red threads, small gifts and coins
  • For Sandhi Puja: 108 lamps and 108 lotuses
  • The Durga Saptashati to read from

Across India

Bengal and Assam

Maha Ashtami: anjali (flower offering) in the morning, Kumari Puja at Belur Math, Sandhi Puja at the junction, and the pandals full all night.

Punjab, Haryana and Delhi

Kanjak: girls go from house to house for halwa-puri-chana, and homes end their Navratri fast.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Kanya pujan on Ashtami or Navami, and the night of Maha Ashtami at the Durga pandals of Varanasi and Patna.

Odisha

Durga Puja with the Bhagavati shrines; in villages the night of Mahashtami holds the jatra.

Gujarat

Havan on Ashtami at many homes and temples, and the garba at its height.

Nepal

Maha Ashtami of Dashain, with sacrifices at the Kali and Durga temples and the night of Kal Ratri.

When it falls

Shukla Ashtami of Ashvina. 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.

Durga Ashtami in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2027Thursday 7 October 2027
  2. 2028Tuesday 26 September 2028

Questions

When is Durga Ashtami in 2027?

Thursday 7 October 2027, 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 Durga Ashtami fall?

Shukla Ashtami of Ashvina. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Durga Ashtami kept?

Families worship Durga, honour young girls with food and gifts (kanya puja) and fast until the puja is done. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Durga Ashtami?

Durga. The eighth day of Navratri, one of its most important. In many homes young girls are honoured as forms of the Goddess.

What is Sandhi Puja?

The puja of the junction, kept in the forty-eight minutes around the moment Ashtami ends and Navami begins: twenty-four minutes before and twenty-four after. The Goddess is worshipped as Chamunda with 108 lamps and 108 lotuses. The page shows the time for your city, which can fall at any hour.

Should kanya puja be on Ashtami or Navami?

Either, by family custom: many in the north keep it on Ashtami, others on Navami. Nine girls (and often a boy) are honoured as the Goddess and fed, and the Navratri fast ends with it.

Why is Sandhi Puja sometimes on the day after Durga Ashtami?

Ashtami is set by the tithi at sunrise, but Sandhi Puja is kept at the moment Ashtami ends, which can be the next morning. In 2027, Ashtami begins before sunrise on 7 October and ends early on the 8th, so Sandhi Puja is on the 8th.

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