Durga Ashtami
Also called Maha Ashtami, Ashtami, Sandhi Puja
When
Monday, 19 October 2026 in 39 days
New Delhi Β· change location
at sunrise. This observance is governed by udaya, not by the sunrise tithi β which is why the tithi named here is often not the one the festival is named for.
See the complete panchang for that day β
Governed by udaya
Why this date?
Ashwin Shukla Ashtami, taken at sunrise. The day's most exact moment is not the tithi's own, though: the Sandhi Puja runs the last twenty-four minutes of Ashtami and the first twenty-four of Navami, and that forty-eight-minute junction is fixed by the tithi's end instant rather than by the civil day.
- Computed by the panchanga engine for your location
- Follows a written selection rule, not a copied list
- The governing period is stated, and the rule is applied to it
- The written guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar
Dates come from the calculation engine and are independent of the written guide. How we calculate β
Dates in the coming years
Published to 2030. Later years appear as the dataset is extended and validated.
What In short
The great eighth day, and for many households the one day of Navaratri they keep if they keep only one. The Sandhi Puja at the AshtamiβNavami junction is the puja's ritual centre, with 108 lamps and 108 lotuses.
- Deity: Durga; Chamunda
Why The reason behind it
The junction is when Durga is said to have taken the Chamunda form to kill Chanda and Munda. That is why the Sandhi Puja is timed to the seam between two tithis rather than to a convenient hour: the moment is the point, and a puja moved for convenience is a different act.
Traditional basis
Devi Mahatmya, Chanda-Munda vadha β The episode the Sandhi Puja commemorates, and the source of the Chamunda name.
Durga Puja paddhati on sandhi-kshana β Fixes the forty-eight-minute window across the Ashtami-Navami junction.
How At home, step by step
- Where the Kumari Puja is performed, a young girl is worshipped as the Goddess in the morning.
- The Sandhi Puja is performed at the junction β 108 lamps, 108 lotuses, and in some pandals a bali of fruit or gourd.
- In northern households the Ashtami kanya pujan is done, with nine girls fed and given gifts.
What you'll need
- 108 earthen lamps and 108 lotuses, where the full Sandhi Puja is done
- Red hibiscus
- Halwa, puri and chana for the kanya pujan
- A ghee lamp
Fasting and breaking the fast
Widely kept, and commonly broken only after the kanya pujan or the Sandhi Puja. It is one of the two most-kept fasting days of Navaratri.
Fasting guidance here describes traditional practice. It is not medical advice β if you are pregnant, diabetic, on medication or unwell, ask a doctor about your own circumstances.
Personal In your region
- North India yours
Ashtami kanya pujan β nine girls fed as the nine forms β is the household observance, and many break the nine-day fast here rather than on Navami. - Bengal (Bengali)
The Sandhi Puja is the puja's climax and draws the largest crowds of the five days. - Gujarat (Gujarati)
Kept within the garba season; the fast is common.
For children
The eighth day, when nine young girls are fed and given presents because they are the Goddess for the day. In Bengal there is a special puja at the exact minute the eighth day turns into the ninth.
Common questions
- Is this the same as the monthly Masik Durgashtami?
- No. Masik Durgashtami is the recurring monthly Shukla Ashtami; Durga Ashtami is the single Ashwin occurrence inside Navaratri. Both can appear on the same day on this site, and they are listed separately because they are separate observances.
- Should I break my fast on Ashtami or Navami?
- Both are kept. Northern households commonly break it after the Ashtami kanya pujan; others continue to Navami. It is a family practice, not a correctness question.
Not the same day
These fall nearby or share the tithi, and are often confused with this observance. They are separate, and this site dates them separately.
- Masik Durgashtami
This guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar or practising priest. The dates and times on this page come from the calculation engine and are independent of it; the explanatory text is editorial and may not reflect your family's practice. Tell us if something is wrong.