Ashwin Shukla Pratipada (nine nights)
Sharad Navratri
Also known as Navratri · Durga Puja season
Sharad Navratri, the autumn “nine nights”, is the most widely celebrated Navratri: nine nights honouring the nine forms of Durga, beginning on the first day of bright Ashwin and culminating in Dussehra.
2026
Sunday, 11 October 2026
2027
Thursday, 30 September 2027
The day at a glance
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Significance
It celebrates the Goddess’s victory over the buffalo-demon Mahishasura: the triumph of divine feminine power (shakti) over evil. Each night is given to a different form of Durga.
How Sharad Navratri is observed
Devotees plant barley (Ghatasthapana), fast, and worship the Goddess for nine nights; Gujarat dances garba and dandiya, Bengal mounts grand Durga Puja pandals, and the eighth and ninth days bring Kanya Pujan.
Puja Muhurat
Ghatasthapana (Kalash sthapana) opens Navratri in the first third of the day while Pratipada prevails, never past the sixteenth ghati; Abhijit Muhurat is the fallback.
Timings for Ujjain
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FAQ
What do the nine nights represent?
The nine forms of Durga (Nava Durga), worshipped one per night, celebrating the Goddess’s power and her victory over Mahishasura.
How is Navratri celebrated regionally?
With garba and dandiya in Gujarat, grand Durga Puja in Bengal, and fasting and Devi worship across the north.
What is Ghatasthapana?
The ritual establishing of a sacred pot and the sowing of barley on the first day, which sets the nine-night observance in motion.
Around the same season
Plan around Sharad Navratri
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