Shukla paksha · Ashwin · amanta reckoning
Thu, 7 Oct
Durga Ashtami 2027 is on Thursday, 7 October. Sandhi Puja in New Delhi is 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM on 8 Oct 2027.
2028: Tuesday, 26 September 2028
Sandhi Puja
6:04 AM – 6:52 AM
Also called Maha Ashtami, Durgashtami. Those are the same observance and the same date, so they share this page rather than competing with it from a second URL.
Ask Swarn
Is this muhurat good for my chart? Ask Swarn free
Thursday, 7 October 2027
| Timing | New Delhi | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sandhi Puja | 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM | The last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 of Navami, the junction at 6:28 AM — on 8 Oct 2027. |
Durga Ashtami is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 8 of Ashwin in the amanta reckoning, and the Gregorian day it lands on moves by up to a month between years because twelve lunations fall about eleven days short of a solar year.
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 6:16 AM on that day, and that is the instant the tithi has to be running at for the day to carry the observance. It is computed for this city rather than assumed, because it is what decides the date.
The two instants above are the astronomy and are not in dispute. The day is an interpretation of them: this observance is decided at sunrise, so it belongs to the day whose sunrise the tithi carries — not simply to the day the tithi begins.
Durga Ashtami, or Maha Ashtami, is the eighth day of Sharad Navratri: Maa Mahagauri is worshipped, many North Indian homes hold Kanya Pujan, and Bengal keeps the Sandhi Puja where Ashtami turns into Navami. Durga Ashtami 2027 is on Thursday, 7 October 2027 in New Delhi. Kanya Pujan is done in the morning window (6:16 AM to 10:58 AM), and the Sandhi Puja falls at 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM.
| Muhurat | Time in New Delhi | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Kanya Pujan (morning) | 6:16 AM to 10:58 AMPratahkal and sangava — the first two fifths of the day — on Ashtami, while Ashtami runs. | The first two parts of the day, pratahkal and sangava: sunrise to late morning on Ashtami. Kanya Pujan is a morning rite — the girls come after their bath, are fed before the day grows hot, and many families end their Ashtami fast with the prasad that follows. |
| Sandhi Puja | 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AMThe last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 of Navami — one ghati either side of the moment Ashtami ends. | The 48 minutes where Ashtami ends and Navami begins: the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 of Navami. In the Devi tradition it is the moment the Goddess, as Chamunda, struck down the demons Chanda and Munda. Bengal offers 108 lotuses and lights 108 lamps in it; at home, light lamps and chant through the window. It can fall at any hour, even at night. |
| Sunrise | 6:16 AMThe upper edge of the Sun on the horizon, with refraction. | The day's puja and the Kanya Pujan preparations start after the morning bath; sunrise marks the start of the morning window. |
| Abhijit Muhurat | 11:45 AM to 12:32 PMThe 8th of the day's fifteen muhurtas, around local noon. | The midday muhurta. If the morning slipped away, many families hold the Kanya Pujan or the havan in it rather than in the afternoon. By convention there is no Abhijit Muhurat on a Wednesday. |
| Auspicious choghadiya (day) |
| The day's Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Chal choghadiyas, which some families use to time the havan or the Kanya Pujan when the morning window is short. |
| Window | Time in New Delhi | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Abhijit Muhurat | 11:45 AM to 12:32 PM | Auspicious |
| Amrit Kaal | 1:53 AM to 3:40 AM | Most Auspicious |
| Brahma Muhurat | 4:38 AM to 5:27 AM | Auspicious |
These are the spans classical muhurta sets aside for beginnings. They are descriptions of a convention, not warnings: the observance is kept on its day regardless, and nothing here needs to be bought, corrected or remedied.
| Window | Time in New Delhi |
|---|---|
| Rahu Kaal | 1:36 PM to 3:04 PM |
| Yamaganda Kaal | 6:16 AM to 7:44 AM |
| Durmuhurta First | 10:11 AM to 10:58 AM |
| Durmuhurta Second | 2:53 PM to 3:40 PM |
| Varjyam | 3:10 PM to 4:57 PM |
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Thursday, 7 October 2027, from the sunrise, sunset and the positions of the Sun and Moon for this city. The Vedic day runs sunrise to sunrise, so a window whose clock time falls after midnight still belongs to the evening before; a time on another date carries that date.
Bathe early and do the usual Navratri puja at the kalash: fresh flowers, roli and rice, a lamp and incense, and ghee for the akhand jyoti if you lit one. Mahagauri is pictured dressed in white; families who follow the Navratri colour list wear the colour of the day instead.
With water and rice in the right hand, state your name, the day and your intention: to worship Maa Mahagauri on Durga Ashtami and to honour the Goddess in the form of young girls. Pour the water down at the base of the kalash.
Offer Maa Mahagauri a red chunri, roli, rice, white and red flowers, the shringar items (bindi, sindoor, bangles, a mirror and comb), and a coconut or coconut sweet as bhog. Chant 'Om Devi Mahagauryai Namah' 108 times or recite her dhyana verse, and read the Durga Saptashati, or at least its eighth chapter, if you can.
Make halwa (suji with ghee and sugar), puris and dry black chana, without onion or garlic. Offer a little to the Goddess first. Lay out a clean mat for the girls, a plate and a jug of water to wash their feet, a towel, and the gifts.
Invite girls between about two and ten years old — nine if you can, and a boy as Langur or Bhairav where that is the custom. Wash and dry their feet, seat them on the mat, apply a roli tilak, tie mauli on their wrists and drape each with a chunri. The Devi Bhagavata calls girls of these ages forms of the Goddess, so greet each one as Devi.
Serve the halwa, puri and chana on plates or leaf plates, with a fruit, and let them eat at their own pace. Offer water and refill gently; no child should be pressed to eat more than she wants.
Give each girl a gift and some dakshina — bangles, a hair clip, a small bag, stationery or a book are all common — then touch their feet, ask their blessing and see them to the door with respect.
At the Sandhi Puja window, light 108 small ghee or oil lamps if you can (or a single large lamp), offer 108 flowers — lotus, red hibiscus or marigold — and chant the Navarna mantra or the 'Sarva mangala mangalye' verse without a break until the window ends.
Some families hold the Navratri havan on Ashtami, others on Navami. If it is today, light the havan after the Kanya Pujan and offer ghee and havan samagri with 'svaha' to the Navarna mantra or the verses of the Durga Saptashati.
Sing 'Jai Ambe Gauri' with camphor and a ghee lamp, ring the bell, offer the bhog again and share prasad with the household.
Families who fast only for Ashtami usually eat after the Kanya Pujan prasad or after the evening aarti; those fasting for all nine days carry on to Navami or Dashami. Follow your family's custom.
श्वेते वृषे समारूढा श्वेताम्बरधरा शुचिः ।
महागौरी शुभं दद्यान्महादेवप्रमोददा ॥
Shvete Vrishe Samarudha Shvetambaradhara Shuchih, Mahagauri Shubham Dadyanmahadevapramodada
Meaning: Seated on a white bull, dressed in white and pure, may Mahagauri, who delights Mahadeva, grant what is good.
When and how: The traditional meditation verse for the eighth day: recite it before the Mahagauri puja, once or eleven times.
ॐ देवी महागौर्यै नमः
Om Devi Mahagauryai Namah
Meaning: Om, salutations to the Goddess Mahagauri.
When and how: The short mantra of the day: 108 times on a mala, or with each offering.
ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे
Om Aim Hrim Klim Chamundayai Vichche
Meaning: The nine-syllable mantra of the Goddess as Chamunda, joined with the seed syllables of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali.
When and how: The mantra of the Durga Saptashati tradition; chant it through the Sandhi Puja, and in the havan with 'svaha' at the end.
सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके ।
शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
Sarvamangalamangalye Shive Sarvarthasadhike, Sharanye Tryambake Gauri Narayani Namostu Te
Meaning: O auspicious one, source of all good, who fulfils every aim, our refuge, three-eyed Gauri, Narayani — salutations to you.
When and how: Devi Mahatmya, chapter 11, verse 10. Recite it while offering flowers, at the Sandhi Puja and at the end of the aarti.
जय अम्बे गौरी, मैया जय श्यामा गौरी।
तुमको निशदिन ध्यावत, हरि ब्रह्मा शिवरी॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
मांग सिंदूर विराजत, टीको मृगमद को।
उज्ज्वल से दोउ नैना, चंद्रवदन नीको॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
कनक समान कलेवर, रक्ताम्बर राजै।
रक्तपुष्प गल माला, कंठन पर साजै॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
केहरि वाहन राजत, खड्ग खप्पर धारी।
सुर-नर-मुनिजन सेवत, तिनके दुखहारी॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
कानन कुण्डल शोभित, नासाग्रे मोती।
कोटिक चंद्र दिवाकर, सम राजत ज्योती॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
शुंभ-निशुंभ बिदारे, महिषासुर घाती।
धूम्र विलोचन नैना, निशदिन मदमाती॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
चण्ड-मुण्ड संहारे, शोणित बीज हरे।
मधु-कैटभ दोउ मारे, सुर भयहीन करे॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
ब्रह्माणी, रुद्राणी, तुम कमला रानी।
आगम निगम बखानी, तुम शिव पटरानी॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
चौंसठ योगिनी मंगल गावत, नृत्य करत भैरों।
बाजत ताल मृदंगा, अरु बाजत डमरू॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
तुम ही जग की माता, तुम ही हो भरता।
भक्तन की दुख हरता, सुख संपति करता॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
भुजा चार अति शोभित, वर मुद्रा धारी।
मनवांछित फल पावत, सेवत नर नारी॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
कंचन थाल विराजत, अगर कपूर बाती।
श्रीमालकेतु में राजत, कोटि रतन ज्योती॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
श्री अंबेजी की आरति, जो कोइ नर गावे।
कहत शिवानंद स्वामी, सुख-संपति पावे॥
ॐ जय अम्बे गौरी॥
जय अम्बे गौरी, मैया जय श्यामा गौरी।
Jai Ambe Gauri, maiya jai Shyama Gauri.
Tumko nishdin dhyavat, Hari Brahma Shivri.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Maang sindoor virajat, tiko mrigmad ko.
Ujjwal se dou naina, chandravadan neeko.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Kanak saman kalevar, raktambar rajai.
Raktapushp gal mala, kanthan par sajai.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Kehari vahan rajat, khadag khappar dhari.
Sur-nar-munijan sevat, tinke dukhhari.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Kanan kundal shobhit, nasagre moti.
Kotik chandra divakar, sam rajat jyoti.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Shumbh-Nishumbh bidare, Mahishasur ghati.
Dhoomra vilochan naina, nishdin madmati.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Chand-Mund sanhare, Shonit Beej hare.
Madhu-Kaitabh dou mare, sur bhayheen kare.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Brahmani, Rudrani, tum Kamala rani.
Agam nigam bakhani, tum Shiv patrani.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Chaunsath yogini mangal gavat, nritya karat Bhairon.
Bajat taal mridanga, aru bajat damru.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Tum hi jag ki mata, tum hi ho bharta.
Bhaktan ki dukh harta, sukh sampati karta.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Bhuja char ati shobhit, var mudra dhari.
Manvanchhit phal pavat, sevat nar nari.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Kanchan thaal virajat, agar kapoor bati.
Shri Malketu mein rajat, koti ratan jyoti.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Shri Ambe ji ki aarti, jo koi nar gave.
Kahat Shivanand Swami, sukh-sampati pave.
Om jai Ambe Gauri.
Jai Ambe Gauri, maiya jai Shyama Gauri.
Text as it is commonly sung. The Gita Press Aarti Sangrah prints 'chaunsath yogini gavat' without 'mangal', 'nritya karat Bhairun' for 'Bhairon' and 'au bajat damru' for 'aru bajat damru'; the rest is the same. Printed text
Mahagauri is the eighth of the nine forms of Durga. In the popular telling, Parvati spent years in austerity to win Shiva as her husband, out in sun, rain and dust, until her body grew dark and worn. Pleased, Shiva bathed her with the water of the Ganga, and she shone fair as a conch, the moon and white jasmine — Mahagauri, 'the greatly radiant one', pictured in white on a white bull.
The Sandhi Puja comes from the Devi Mahatmya. In its seventh chapter the demons Chanda and Munda advanced on the Goddess with their army; from her brow, dark with anger, sprang Kali, who destroyed them both, and the Goddess named her Chamunda. Tradition places that moment at the meeting of Ashtami and Navami, which is why the 48 minutes around it are kept with lamps and flowers.
Kanya Pujan rests on the Devi Bhagavata, which describes the worship of young girls during the Navratri vrat and names girls from two to ten years as forms of the Goddess, from Kumarika to Subhadra. A well-loved story from Jammu tells of a poor devotee, Shridhar, whose feast for the girls of his village was joined by the Goddess herself in the form of a little girl — the story behind the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage.
Ashtami is the height of Sharad Navratri. Mahagauri is worshipped as the Goddess who washes away what is dark and returns what is pure, and in the north the honouring of young girls as the Goddess — Kanya Pujan, or Kanjak — is for many families the most important rite of the nine days.
In Bengal, Maha Ashtami is the great day of Durga Puja: the morning anjali, the Kumari Puja, and the Sandhi Puja at the junction with Navami. Wherever it is kept, the day joins the fiercest form of the Goddess, Chamunda, with the gentlest, Mahagauri.
There is an Ashtami in every Navratri — Chaitra Navratri's falls in March or April — and every month's Shukla Ashtami is kept by some as Masik Durgashtami. The Ashtami of Ashwin, in the autumn, is the one called Maha Ashtami.
Offering the Goddess a red chunri and the shringar items on Ashtami is traditionally done for harmony in married life; the items are often given afterwards to a married woman of the family or neighbourhood.
In the popular list of daily Navratri bhog, coconut belongs to Mahagauri. Offer a coconut, or a coconut sweet, and share it as prasad.
Reading the Durga Saptashati on Ashtami — the whole of it, or the eighth chapter, or the Argala and Kilaka stotras before it — is a traditional way to ask the Goddess for protection and courage.
Lighting 108 lamps through the Sandhi Puja is believed to remove obstacles; if you light fewer, keep at least one ghee lamp burning for the whole 48 minutes.
Many families now add a gift that lasts — books, a school bag, fees for a girl who needs help — to the Kanya Pujan, in the spirit of honouring the Goddess in girls.
Giving food or clothes to those in need on Ashtami, and feeding cows or birds, is a traditional act of daan that completes the day's puja.
Two years back, this year, and two ahead. Past years are kept rather than dropped so you can check the engine against a calendar you already have.
| Year | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Friday, 11 October 2024 | past |
| 2025 | Tuesday, 30 September 2025 | past |
| 2026This year | Monday, 19 October 2026 | past |
| 2027 | Thursday, 7 October 2027 | upcoming |
| 2028 | Tuesday, 26 September 2028 | upcoming |
Every row is computed for New Delhi from the same ephemeris, not looked up. Sunrise decides which day a tithi names, and sunrise differs across India by more than an hour, so a date computed for Delhi can be a day out elsewhere.
There is no single authority that settles a Hindu festival date, and the divergence is genuine rather than sloppy. Three causes account for almost all of it.
So this page shows its working. If your pandit or your family almanac gives a different day, the instants above will usually show you exactly why — and that is more useful than a date asserted without one.
Durga Ashtami 2027 is on Thursday, 7 October 2027 in New Delhi. Ashtami tithi runs 4:13 AM to 6:28 AM (8 Oct); the morning window for Kanya Pujan is 6:16 AM to 10:58 AM, and the Sandhi Puja falls at 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM.
Three honest reasons. The tithi can be running at the deciding moment on two days or on none. North India reckons the month purnimanta and the south and west amanta, which names the same krishna fortnight differently. And almanacs differ on which moment of the day decides an observance. The instants above are the astronomy; the day is an interpretation of them.
Do the Mahagauri puja and Kanya Pujan in the morning window, 6:16 AM to 10:58 AM. If the morning slips away, the Abhijit Muhurat around noon (11:45 AM to 12:32 PM) is the usual fallback. The Sandhi Puja has its own fixed window, 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM.
The Sandhi Puja covers the last 24 minutes of Ashtami and the first 24 of Navami — 48 minutes around the tithi's turning point. In New Delhi it falls at 8 Oct, 6:04 AM to 6:52 AM. It can fall in the day or the night, because it follows the tithi, not the clock.
Both are traditional. Many Punjabi and Delhi families hold Kanjak on Ashtami, while many families in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and elsewhere keep it on Navami; some do it on both days. Follow your family's custom — the vidhi is the same, and the morning is the time on either day.
Invite girls of about two to ten years, wash and dry their feet, seat them on a clean mat, apply a roli tilak, tie mauli and drape a chunri. Serve halwa, puri and chana made without onion or garlic, give each a gift and dakshina, touch their feet for blessings and see them off with respect.
Nine girls is the traditional number, one for each form of Durga, with a boy as Langur or Bhairav in many homes; but the count is not a condition — even one girl honoured with love completes the rite. The Devi Bhagavata speaks of girls from two to ten years old.
Anything useful and joyful for a child: bangles, a hair clip, a chunri, a small bag, stationery or a storybook, with fruit and a little dakshina. Many families now give books or school supplies. There is no rule about cost; the respect shown matters more than the gift.
The classic prasad is suji halwa, puri and dry black chana, cooked fresh in the morning without onion or garlic and offered to the Goddess first. A banana or seasonal fruit is added, and some families add kheer.
Mahagauri is the eighth of the nine forms of Durga worshipped in Navratri. She is pictured fair and dressed in white, riding a white bull, with a trident and a damaru; in the popular story, Shiva washed away the dust of Parvati's long austerity with Ganga water and she shone radiant.
The short mantra is 'Om Devi Mahagauryai Namah', chanted 108 times; the meditation verse begins 'Shvete vrishe samarudha'. Both are given above in Devanagari with their meaning.
Yes. Chaitra Navratri, in March or April, has its own Ashtami, and every month's Shukla Ashtami is kept by some as Masik Durgashtami. The Ashtami of Sharad Navratri in the autumn is the one called Maha Ashtami, and this page is about it.
Yes. When Ashtami holds the sunrise and Navami begins later the same day, the morning belongs to Ashtami's rites and the afternoon to Navami's, and the Sandhi Puja falls in between. Check this year's Ashtami span above, 4:13 AM to 6:28 AM (8 Oct), before fixing the Kanya Pujan.
If you fast only for Ashtami, eat after the Kanya Pujan prasad or after the evening aarti, as your family does. If you are fasting all nine days, carry on: the fast ends after the Navami havan or, by the dharma texts, on Dashami once Navami has ended.
Yes. Many families honour girls in the neighbourhood, at a temple or at an orphanage or school with the parents' or staff's consent; others offer the prasad and gifts to the Goddess and give them away to girls later. The intention to honour the Goddess in girls is what the rite asks for.
