నవరాత్రి 2026 గైడ్: దేవి యొక్క తొమ్మిది రూపాలు, ఉపవాస నియమాలు మరియు జ్యోతిష్య సమయం

Navratri 2026 Dates: When Does Sharad Navratri Begin and End?

Sharad Navratri 2026, the most widely celebrated of the four annual Navratri periods, begins on the Pratipada tithi of Ashwin Shukla Paksha, which falls in late September 2026. The exact start date should be confirmed via a regional panchang as the Pratipada tithi may begin in the afternoon of one day and carry into the next, with Ghatasthapana — the inaugural ritual of establishing the sacred clay pot — being performed only during the Pratipada window and not on Dwitiya. The festival spans nine nights and ten days, concluding with Mahanavami and followed by Vijayadashami (Dussehra) on the tenth day. In 2026, the festival will see the usual convergence of millions of devotees across India at Shakti Pithas and Devi temples, with Vaishno Devi, Kolkata Durga Puja, Mysore Dasara, and Gujarat Garba being the most prominent regional expressions. Ghatasthapana, the most auspicious moment to begin Navratri worship, occurs in the morning hours of the first day within the first one-third of the daytime, ideally during the Abhijit muhurat. Families setting up a home altar should perform Ghatasthapana with barley seeds sown in soil as a symbol of growth and divine blessing throughout the nine days.