Pan-India · September–October
Also known as Sharad Navratri · Nine Nights · Durga Navratri
When it’s celebrated
The exact date shifts each year — it’s fixed from the panchang. Cast your free kundli or check the calendar for this year’s muhurat.
Significance
Navratri, meaning 'nine nights', is dedicated to the worship of the Divine Mother in her nine forms (Navadurga), celebrating the victory of the goddess Durga over the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. It is a period of devotion, fasting, dance and purification, honouring Shakti — the feminine cosmic energy — and culminating in Vijayadashami.
The story
The buffalo-demon Mahishasura, granted a boon that no man or god could slay him, terrorised the heavens. The combined energies of the gods gave rise to Goddess Durga, a radiant warrior mounted on a lion and armed by every deity. She battled Mahishasura for nine nights and on the tenth day, Vijayadashami, slew him — each of the nine nights of Navratri honouring her relentless fight and her nine manifestations.
Rituals
Across India
Navratri is celebrated differently across regions: in Gujarat it is famed for nights of Garba and Dandiya, in Bengal and the East the latter days merge into Durga Puja, in the South homes display the Golu/Bommai Kolu of dolls and figurines, and in the North it includes Ramlila performances and Kanya Pujan. There are four Navratris in the year, of which the autumn Sharad Navratri is the most prominent.
Questions
Navratri honours the Divine Mother Durga and celebrates her victory over the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. Across nine nights, devotees worship the goddess in her nine forms (Navadurga) as the embodiment of Shakti, the cosmic feminine energy.
Goddess Durga and her nine manifestations (Navadurga) are worshipped, with the forms of Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati venerated across the nine nights as aspects of the Divine Mother.
Sharad Navratri runs for nine nights from the first tithi of the bright fortnight of Ashwin, usually in September or October. The dates change yearly as they follow the Hindu lunar calendar.
Devotees fast, invoke the goddess through ghatasthapana, worship a different form of Durga each day, recite the Durga Saptashati, perform Garba and Dandiya dances, and honour young girls in Kanya Pujan.
The nine nights represent the nine nights of battle in which Goddess Durga fought the demon Mahishasura, slaying him on the tenth day. Each night is also dedicated to one of her nine forms, the Navadurga.
Book a pooja in your name, find the muhurat, or read the day’s panchang — bring the festival into your own practice.
