Sharad Navratri: the Goddess's nine nights

What Navratri is

Navratri means ‘nine nights’, a time of worshipping the Goddess Durga. There are two main ones a year: Chaitra Navratri in spring (ending on Ram Navami) and Sharad Navratri in autumn, Ashvina Shukla Pratipada to Navami, the most widely kept. Dharmasindhu says Navaratra is the name of the observance across the nine tithis from Pratipada to Navami, and that worship is its core; fasting and chanting rules vary between families.

How the date is decided

Shastra (Dharmasindhu): begin Navratri on the Pratipada that lasts three muhurtas after sunrise (about 2 h 24 min); failing that, even two. By many texts, it is not begun on a Pratipada joined to Amavasya. But if the Pratipada lasts under one muhurta at sunrise, or doesn't touch sunrise at all, the Amavasya-joined day is taken.

Why nine days are sometimes eight or ten: Navratri is counted in tithis, not dates. Sometimes a tithi passes without touching a sunrise (kshaya), sometimes it touches two (vriddhi). Dharmasindhu says that when days drop or repeat this way, the worship is adjusted.

Our calendar shows the ghatasthapana day by this rule; we don't compute muhurta yet.

The story: tradition / Purana story

Mahishasuramardini: tradition tells that the asura Mahishasura had a boon that no god or man could defeat him. From the radiance of the gods the Goddess Durga arose; each gave her a weapon, and after nine days of battle she defeated Mahishasura on the tenth. The story is held to be in the Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati), widely recited in Navratri.

Rama: in another tradition Rama worshipped the Goddess before battling Ravana and won on the tenth day; that is Vijayadashami. Worshipping nine forms of the Goddess on nine days (Shailaputri to Siddhidatri) is also a tradition.

How families celebrate

Gujarat: garba and dandiya every night. Bengal, Odisha, Assam: Durga puja from Shashthi to Dashami, pandals, the dhunuchi dance. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra: the ‘golu’/‘bommai kolu’ doll steps at home; the Mysuru Dasara. North India: ghatasthapana, sowing barley, Ramlila, kanya pujan on Ashtami or Navami. Maharashtra: ghatasthapana and ghagar phunkane; Himachal: Kullu Dussehra from Dashami. Kerala: Saraswati puja in the last three days and first letters on Vijayadashami.

A simple puja

1. Ghatasthapana: on the Pratipada morning, sow barley in a clay pot and set on it a water-filled kalasha with mango leaves and a coconut.
2. A picture or image of the Goddess and a lamp (daily or constant, as convenient).
3. Each day flowers, roli, rice, and chanting her name or the Durga Saptashati or another hymn.
4. Aarti in the evening.
5. Ashtami or Navami: feed young girls with respect (kanya pujan), as is the family custom.
6. On Dashami, sprinkle the kalasha water around the home; put the barley shoots in flowing water or plants.

Safety and health

Fasting and health: keep the fast as your health allows. With diabetes, blood pressure, pregnancy, breastfeeding, older age or regular medicine, a lighter form (fruit, milk, or one simple meal) is also part of the tradition. Don't change medicine timings. For health, the doctor comes first; no vrat replaces that. A nine-day fast is long; keep up water, coconut water, fruit and curd. A full nine-day fast is not required: Dharmasindhu itself gives options of seven, five, three, two or one day.

Don't leave a constant lamp unattended; keep it on a metal plate away from curtains. In garba venues and pandals, keep drinking water, hold children's hands, and travel back late at night with company.

In ePandit

In ePandit: our calendar shows the festival day with your city's sunrise and sunset. The day is decided once, for Ujjain; your city's times are shown separately. We don't compute muhurta yet, and we never call a festival good or bad for anyone.

Frequently asked questions