Why does Navaratri sometimes start a day later than the tithi suggests?

Because the start is a muhurta question, not just a tithi question. Ghatasthapana has its own governed conditions — the first third of the day, Pratipada holding at sunrise, and specific exclusions. When those fail, the commencement moves.

Is Durga Puja the same festival as Navratri?

Same nine nights, genuinely different observance. Bengal's Durga Puja is a five-day public darshan festival centred on the pandal image; the north Indian Navratri is a nine-day household fast. Calling either the 'correct' version misdescribes both.

Sharada Navaratri

Also called Navratri, Durga Puja, Golu, Bommai Kolu, Dasara

When

Sunday, 11 October 2026 in 45 days

New Delhi · change location

Sunrise6:23 AM

Sunset5:52 PM

Pratipada until 9:31 PM
at sunrise. This observance is governed by ghatasthapana / pratipada-sunrise, not by the sunrise tithi — which is why the tithi named here is often not the one the festival is named for.

Chitra until 10:32 PM

4:26 PM – 5:52 PM

See the complete panchang for that day →

Governed by ghatasthapana / pratipada-sunrise

Why this date?

Nine nights from the Pratipada of the Shukla Paksha of Ashvina. The commencement is set by the GHATASTHAPANA rule — the pot is installed in the first third of the day when Pratipada holds at sunrise, and the rule specifically excludes the Chitra nakshatra and Vaidhriti yoga window and the Amavasya-overlap case. It is not simply 'the day Pratipada falls'.

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 →

Dates in the coming years

Published to 2030. Later years appear as the dataset is extended and validated.

What In short

Nine nights of worship of the Goddess, concluding in Vijayadashami. What is actually done varies more by region than almost any other festival: a fast and a pot in the north, a five-day public Durga Puja in Bengal, a doll display in the south, garba in Gujarat.

Deity: Durga in her nine forms

Why The reason behind it

The nine nights recall Durga's battle with Mahishasura, concluded on the tenth day. Read another way, they move through three sets of three — Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati — as a sequence of clearing, gathering and knowing.

Traditional basis

Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati), within the Markandeya Purana — The central text; recited over the nine nights.

Dharmashastra nibandhas on ghatasthapana — Establish the muhurta rules that decide the commencing day.

How At home, step by step

On the first morning, install the ghata (kalasha) within the prescribed muhurta and sow barley in the earth around it.
Light the akhanda deep if the household keeps an unbroken lamp for the nine nights.
Recite or hear the Devi Mahatmya, or the household's chosen stotra, daily.
Keep the day's fast according to the family's rule — nine days, or the first and eighth, or the first and last.
On Ashtami or Navami perform the kanya pujan: young girls are fed and honoured as forms of the Goddess.
On the tenth day, immerse or conclude, and take up the year's new learning or work.

ॐ दुं दुर्गायै नमः

oṁ duṁ durgāyai namaḥ

Salutations to Durga.

Short bija-namah form in common household use.

What you'll need

A clay or metal kalasha, with a coconut and mango leaves
Barley seed and clean earth
Red cloth, bangles, sindoor for the Goddess
Ghee for the akhanda deep
A copy of the Durga Saptashati, if reciting

Fasting and breaking the fast

Household rules differ widely and all are traditional: the full nine days on phalahara, or the first and eighth days only, or only the abstentions from grain, onion, garlic and non-vegetarian food without a formal fast. Choose one and keep it rather than switching mid-way.

Fasting guidance here describes traditional practice. It is not medical advice — if you are pregnant, diabetic, on medication or unwell, ask a doctor about your own circumstances.

Personal In your region

North India yours
Ghatasthapana, the fast, Ramlila performances through the nine nights, and the Ravana effigy on the tenth.
Bengal (Bengali)
Durga Puja proper runs Shashthi to Dashami with the community pandal and the Mahalaya invocation preceding it. The fast is not the frame here; the darshan is.
Gujarat (Gujarati)
Nine nights of garba around the garbo lamp; the fast is common and the dancing is the observance.
Tamil Nadu (Tamil)
Golu — a stepped display of dolls — with women invited daily and sundal distributed; Sarasvati Puja and Ayudha Pooja fall at the end.
Karnataka (Kannada)
Nada Habba; the Mysuru Dasara procession on Vijayadashami is the reference observance.

For children

For nine nights we celebrate the Goddess, who fought a demon no one else could beat and won on the tenth day. Different parts of India celebrate it completely differently — dolls, dancing, or a big statue.

Common questions

Why does Navaratri sometimes start a day later than the tithi suggests?: Because the start is a muhurta question, not just a tithi question. Ghatasthapana has its own governed conditions — the first third of the day, Pratipada holding at sunrise, and specific exclusions. When those fail, the commencement moves.
Is Durga Puja the same festival as Navratri?: Same nine nights, genuinely different observance. Bengal's Durga Puja is a five-day public darshan festival centred on the pandal image; the north Indian Navratri is a nine-day household fast. Calling either the 'correct' version misdescribes both.

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.

Durga Puja Begins (Maha Shashthi)
Chaitra Navratri Begins

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.