Navratri 2027: Dates, Ghatasthapana Muhurat, 9 Colours & Kanya Pujan (Sep 30-Oct 8)

Navratri 2027 at a glance

Sharadiya Navratri 2027 runs Thursday 30 September to Friday 8 October, nine calendar days. Ghatasthapana muhurat: 08:05 AM to 10:12 AM on 30 September (New Delhi). Durga Ashtami falls on Thursday 7 October; Sandhi Puja and Maha Navami on Friday 8 October. Parana and Vijayadashami are on Saturday 9 October.

For shopping and booking choices, compare the Navratri items and Ayodhya puja options below.

Read this first: 2027 is not a normal Navratri year

Two things happen this year that break the usual nine-day pattern, and most calendars circulating on WhatsApp get them wrong.

Pratipada is dropped. Ashwin Shukla Pratipada begins at 08:05 AM on 30 September and ends at 05:34 AM on 1 October — so it is present at sunrise on no morning at all. The morning of 30 September is still Amavasya, which is why Ghatasthapana waits until 08:05 AM.

Ashtami is doubled. Ashtami runs 04:13 AM on 7 October to 06:27 AM on 8 October, so it holds sunrise on both days. Navami begins the instant Ashtami ends. Durga Ashtami is therefore on Thursday 7 October 2027, and the Sandhi Puja, at dawn, and Maha Navami on Friday 8 October.

The two anomalies cancel out, which is why the festival still spans nine days. If you have seen a calendar placing Maha Navami on 9 October, it is following the tithi at sunrise, as Bengal, Karnataka and Kerala do; Navami ends at 09:01 AM that morning. Kanya Pujan in 2027 is on 7 October for Ashtami households and on 8 October for Navami households.

Why Navratri Is the Most Powerful Devi-Sadhana of the Year

Navratri — literally "nine nights" — is the festival when the formless Adishakti manifests in nine distinct forms across nine consecutive lunar days. Of the four Navratris in the Hindu year, Sharadiya Navratri in the bright fortnight of Ashwin is the largest, observed across India from Bengal's Durga Puja pandals to Gujarat's Garba grounds to the Kanjak kitchens of North India.

The vrat, the daily colour, the specific mantra, the prescribed naivedyam — these are not arbitrary. Each is a tuning fork, calibrated to align the sadhaka with that day's Devi-frequency.

This guide covers all nine days with date, Devi form, colour, mantra and naivedyam, followed by the Ghatasthapana muhurat, the Sandhi Puja window, the Kanjak vidhi with its timing cut-off, the fasting rules, the Bengal calendar, and the regional variations.

Ghatasthapana Muhurat — Thursday 30 September 2027

Ghatasthapana, also called Kalash Sthapana, opens the festival. The rule is that it should be performed in the first one-third of the day while Pratipada prevails; it is prohibited during Amavasya, in the afternoon, and at night.

The tithi behind it: Pratipada runs from 08:05 AM on 30 September to 05:34 AM on 1 October, so it holds no sunrise at all. Amavasya runs until 08:05 AM on 30 September, which is why the window opens at that moment and not at sunrise.

One honest caveat. Chitra Nakshatra and Vaidhriti Yoga, both traditionally advised against for Ghatasthapana, do not touch 30 September 2027: the nakshatra is Hasta until 02:11 AM on 1 October and the yoga is Brahma until 09:08 PM. The prohibition that actually binds this year is Amavasya, which lasts until 08:05 AM — so nothing should be installed before then. Afternoon, night and beyond sixteen ghatis after sunrise remain prohibited as usual. Families following the standard rule use the morning window; others use Abhijit. Either is defensible, and your kul purohit is the right person to settle it.

Timings shift with local sunrise. If your city is not listed, the morning window will be within about twenty minutes of the Delhi figure across most of North and Central India.

Navratri 2027 — The Complete Day-by-Day Table

This is the table to save. Dates are calendar days; the tithi column shows what is actually running, which is what determines the puja.

About 8 October. Because Ashtami repeats at sunrise, panchangs differ on how they name that day. Drik Panchang and Prokerala keep Maha Navami on 8 October, because Navami begins at 06:27 AM; calendars that go by the tithi at sunrise, as in Bengal, Karnataka and Kerala, keep Maha Navami on 9 October. There is no single correct answer. Follow your family practice; the colour for the day is Purple in Drik Panchang's 2027 sequence.

Note: the colour sequence changes every year, because the first colour is fixed by the weekday Navratri begins on and the remaining eight follow a set cycle. The sequence above is the 2027-specific one. Colour customs are strongest in Gujarat and Maharashtra; family traditions differ.

Day 1 — Thursday, 30 September: Maa Shailputri (Yellow)

Devi: Daughter of the mountain (Himavan). Rides Nandi the bull, holds a trishul and a lotus. She is the first manifestation — the rooted-ness on which all later forms stand. In yogic anatomy she presides over the Muladhara chakra.

Mantra: ॐ देवी शैलपुत्र्यै नमः (108 times).

Naivedyam: Pure cow's ghee, offered with the prayer for freedom from disease. Wear: yellow. Also today: Ghatasthapana, sowing the jau, and lighting the akhand jyoti.

Day 2 — Friday, 1 October: Maa Brahmacharini (Green)

Devi: Parvati in her tapasya form — barefoot, holding a rudraksha mala and a kamandalu, performing the thousand-year penance to win Lord Shiva. She is the embodiment of disciplined longing, of sankalpa held against time.

Mantra: ॐ देवी ब्रह्मचारिण्यै नमः (108 times). She blesses students, sadhakas, and anyone holding to a vow.

Naivedyam: Sugar or mishri, offered for longevity of family members. Wear: green.

Day 3 — Saturday, 2 October: Maa Chandraghanta (Grey)

Devi: The warrior bride — her forehead bears a half-moon shaped like a bell. Ten arms, riding a tiger, mounted for battle. Grace and ferocity in the same body.

Mantra: ॐ देवी चन्द्रघण्टायै नमः (108 times). Recite while ringing the puja bell.

Naivedyam: Kheer, offered for relief from worldly sorrows. Wear: grey.

Day 4 — Sunday, 3 October: Maa Kushmanda (Orange)

Devi: The cosmic creator — the Puranas say she produced this universe simply by smiling. Eight-armed, radiant as the sun, residing within the solar disc itself.

Mantra: ॐ देवी कूष्माण्डायै नमः (108 times). Especially invoked for healing and low vitality.

Naivedyam: Malpua. Wear: orange.

Day 5 — Monday, 4 October: Maa Skandamata (White)

Devi: The mother of Skanda (Kartikeya, Murugan), seated on a lion with the infant on her lap — fierce protector and tender mother in a single image.

Mantra: ॐ देवी स्कन्दमातायै नमः (108 times). Mothers invoke her for their children's health and dharma.

Naivedyam: Bananas. Wear: white. Also today: Lalita Panchami / Upang Lalita Vrat, kept especially in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Day 6 — Tuesday, 5 October: Maa Katyayani (Red)

Devi: Born of the combined tejas of all the gods to slay Mahishasura — four-armed, riding a lion, blazing gold. Unmarried girls traditionally fast on this day; the Bhagavata Purana mentions the gopis worshipping her for Krishna's love.

Mantra: ॐ देवी कात्यायन्यै नमः (108 times). Recited for long-pending obstacles, particularly in marriage.

Naivedyam: Honey. Wear: red. Also today: Bilva Nimantran, in the window 03:41 PM to 06:03 PM (New Delhi).

Day 7 — Wednesday, 6 October: Maa Kalaratri (Royal Blue)

Devi: The most fearsome form — dark as a moonless night, riding a donkey, the destroyer of darkness, ignorance and time itself. And yet she is called Shubhankari, the bestower of auspiciousness, because what she destroys was never yours to keep.

Mantra: ॐ देवी कालरात्र्यै नमः (108 times). Potent against persistent negative influence and drishti.

Naivedyam: Jaggery. Wear: royal blue. Also today: Saraswati Avahan, 08:48 AM to 03:21 PM, and Navapatrika in the all-India reckoning.

Day 8 — Thursday, 7 October: Durga Ashtami, Maa Mahagauri (Pink)

Ashtami tithi begins at 04:13 AM on 7 October and does not end until 06:27 AM on 8 October — which means Ashtami is present at sunrise on both days. It is a tithi vriddhi, an extra day, and it is the reason Navratri still runs nine days although Pratipada was dropped. Durga Ashtami is kept today.

Maa Mahagauri presides over Ashtami. After her fierce Kalaratri penance the same Devi emerges purified, luminous, conch-white — sixteen years old, four-armed, riding a white bull. Her worship is said to dissolve the sins of past lifetimes. ॐ देवी महागौर्यै नमः (108 times).

What to do: keep the Ashtami worship, maintain the akhand jyoti and the vrat, and prepare for the following dawn, when the Sandhi Puja falls. Many households use this day for the Durga Saptashati paath. Also today: Saraswati Pradhan Puja, 11:09 AM to 05:51 PM.

Kanya Pujan: today, for families that keep it on Ashtami. Wear: pink.

Day 9 — Friday, 8 October: Sandhi Puja and Maha Navami (Purple)

The heaviest day of the 2027 festival. It opens at dawn with the Sandhi Puja.

Maa Siddhidatri presides over Navami, which begins at 06:27 AM. She is the bestower of the eight siddhis, seated on a lotus; the Devi Purana says Shiva himself attained his siddhis by her grace. ॐ देवी सिद्धिदात्र्यै नमः (108 times). Naivedyam: sesame seeds.

Wear: purple.

Sandhi Puja — What Happens in Those Forty-Eight Minutes

Sandhi Puja sits exactly on the seam between Ashtami and Navami. The name means the puja of the juncture, and it is performed at that moment because tradition holds this is when Durga assumed the Chamunda form to slay Chanda and Munda. In 2027 that window is 06:03 AM to 06:51 AM on Friday 8 October.

The ritual is built around the number 108 — 108 lamps lit together, 108 lotuses offered, 108 bel leaves. In pandal worship the priest begins with the lighting of the lamps at the opening instant, and the offering must be completed before the window closes. In a home puja the same window is used for the main Ashtami-Navami sankalp, the Durga Saptashati paath, and the offering of the naivedyam.

If you keep only one timing from this page, keep this one. Forty-eight minutes is not long, and in 2027 it arrives at dawn on a Friday.

Day 10 — Saturday, 9 October: Vijayadashami, Parana and Shastra Puja

The tenth day is Vijayadashami — the day of victory. Rama slew Ravana; Durga slew Mahishasura.

• Navratri Parana — the fast is broken after 09:01 AM, the instant Navami tithi ends.
• Vijay Muhurat — 02:05 PM to 02:52 PM.
• Aparahna Puja — 01:18 PM to 03:38 PM. Durga Visarjan follows on the morning of Sunday 10 October, 06:19 AM to 08:38 AM.
• Shastra Puja — North India worships weapons, tools and vehicles on Vijayadashami, in the Vijay Muhurat. The South keeps Ayudha Puja on Mahanavami instead: Friday 8 October in Tamil Nadu and the Telugu states, Saturday 9 October in Karnataka and Kerala, where Vijayadashami follows on Sunday 10 October. Our Ayudha Puja 2027 guide gives the dates state by state.
• Vidyarambham — Kerala observes it on 10 October, Tamil Nadu on 9 October.

For the full Dussehra observance and the Ravan Dahan tradition, see our Dussehra (Vijayadashami) 2027 guide. For the festival year as a whole, see the Hindu Festival Calendar 2026.

The Bengal Calendar Is Different — Durga Puja 2027 Dates

If you follow the Bengali tradition, two of the dates above do not apply to you. Ashtami tithi ends at 06:27 AM on 8 October — almost an hour after sunrise in Kolkata but only nine minutes after sunrise in Delhi — which shifts the last two days of Durga Puja by a day.

Kumari Puja is held on Ashtami tithi, Thursday 7 October in 2027, at Belur Math, where the Ramakrishna Mission has performed it since 1901. The Math announces the time nearer the date.

Navratri begins the day after Mahalaya Amavasya; see our Mahalaya Amavasya 2026 guide for the tithi timings.

The full Bengali sequence — Bodhon, Adhibas, the Nabapatrika snan, Sandhi Puja, Darpan Bisorjon and Sindoor Khela — is set out in our Durga Puja 2027 guide.

One caution worth stating plainly: Bengali households following the Gupta Press or Benimadhab Sil panjika will find timings that differ from the Vishuddha Siddhanta school used at Belur Math — including a materially different Sandhi Puja window. These are two legitimate calendrical schools, not an error in either. Follow the panjika your family has always followed, and do not blend the two.

Kanya Pujan / Kanjak 2027 — And the Timing Nobody Mentions

In most years households split: some keep Kanjak on Ashtami, some on Navami. In 2027 the two fall on consecutive days — Ashtami on Thursday 7 October and Navami on Friday 8 October, so each family keeps its usual day.

The timing question this year is at the edges. Ashtami ends at 06:27 AM on 8 October. A household keeping a strictly Ashtami kanjak should complete the feeding on Thursday. A household keeping it on Navami has a wide window — any time after 06:27 AM on 8 October, or before 09:01 AM on 9 October.

The vidhi, simplified: Invite nine girls, traditionally aged between two and ten, and in North Indian practice one young boy called Langoor, representing Batuk Bhairav. Wash their feet with clean water. Apply a tilak of kumkum and akshat. Tie a red mauli on the right wrist. Seat them on a clean cloth or chowki. Serve the Kanjak thali — kala chana, sooji halwa and poori. Offer a small dakshina, a red chunari, and a gift. Touch their feet as they leave.

Tradition allows for capacity: nine girls if you can, otherwise seven, five, three, or even one. The scale is not the point. For that one morning the girls are not symbolic — they are the Devi receiving your bhog.

Navratri Fasting Rules — What You Can and Cannot Eat

Vrat rules vary from family to family, and that variation is itself traditional. What follows is the common ground.

Flours and grains permitted: kuttu (buckwheat), singhara (water chestnut), rajgira (amaranth), samak or sama ke chawal (barnyard millet), sabudana, and arrowroot as a thickener.

Vegetables permitted: potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, arbi, suran or yam, raw banana, unripe papaya. Bottle gourd and cucumber are allowed in many households. Tomato, spinach and carrot are contested — ask your elders. Brinjal, cauliflower and mushrooms are commonly excluded.

Dairy: milk, curd, buttermilk, mawa, butter and ghee are permitted. Paneer is where traditions part — many families allow it; the stricter view treats it as deformed milk and avoids it, along with chhena sweets.

Fats: ghee, groundnut, coconut and sesame oil. Mustard, sunflower and flaxseed oils are avoided.

Spices permitted: jeera, black pepper, sendha namak, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh ginger, green chilli, lemon, ajwain, anardana.

Avoided: rice and rice flour, wheat, maida, sooji, besan, corn and cornflour, oats; all pulses and legumes including green peas; onion and garlic; turmeric, hing, mustard, methi dana, garam masala and coriander powder; non-vegetarian food, eggs, alcohol and tobacco.

Why sendha namak? Rock salt is unprocessed and free of the chemical refining and additives used in table salt, and it is not made from sea water. The reasoning is about purity of processing, not scripture.

Which fast to keep. The classical scheme offers four levels, chosen at the sankalp according to your strength: Jalahar (water only), Ksheerbhoji (milk and milk products), Phalahari (fruit), and Naktabhoji (a single meal just before sunset). The full nine-day fast from Pratipada to Navami is the scriptural baseline. A great many North Indian households instead fast on the first day and on Ashtami or Navami, breaking it after Kanya Pujan.

Health comes first. Anyone with diabetes, hypertension or a heart condition should take medical advice before fasting; complete fasting is not advised for uncontrolled diabetes. Strict fasting is not safe during pregnancy or while nursing. Young children and older adults should adjust rather than abstain. No tradition asks you to harm your body for the Devi.

If the fast breaks by accident, the remedy is simple and forgiving: ask the Devi's forgiveness, recite the Kshama Prarthana Stotra, give what charity you can, and take the sankalp again.

Ghatasthapana Samagri and Method

Use this as a planning checklist and confirm the items required by your household's tradition. Fresh offerings need their own arrangements; a shopping collection is not a complete nine-day supply kit.

The method, in three steps. First the grain bed: soil, then the seed, then a second layer of soil and seed near the edges, a third and final layer of soil, and a little water to set it. Second the kalash: tie the kalava around the neck, fill with water to the neck, drop in supari, scent, durva, akshat and a coin, set five leaves at the rim, cover with the lid and place akshat on it. Third the coconut: wrap it in red cloth, fasten with thread, and set it on the kalash with the face of the coconut turned toward the person performing the puja. Place the kalash in the centre of the grain pot, invoke the Devi to reside in it for nine days, and perform Panchopachara Puja.

Two small things most guides get wrong. Keep the jau pot in the north-east and give it light — barley needs sun, not a dark corner. And on the sprouts: dense green growth is the auspicious sign, yellow or withered is not, and white shoots are auspicious rather than a bad omen.

For the mala to wear during daily japa, see our Mala Comparison Guide.

How Navratri Is Observed Across India

Gujarat — Garba and Dandiya Raas every night of the nine, danced in a circle around the garbo lamp. The garba is inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage list.

West Bengal, Assam and Odisha — Durga Puja, from Mahalaya on 29 September to Bijoya Dashami on 10 October, with the pandal calendar set out in the table above. Durga Puja in Kolkata is itself UNESCO-inscribed.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra — Golu, Bommai Kolu or Bommala Koluvu: tiered displays of dolls, usually on an odd number of steps, with the deities on the highest. The first three days honour Durga, the next three Lakshmi, the last three Saraswati.

Karnataka — Mysuru Dasara, 30 September to 10 October 2027, with the Jamboo Savari procession and the torchlight parade at Bannimantap on 10 October. The palace announces the exact times nearer the date.

Himachal Pradesh — Kullu Dussehra, from 10 October in 2027, begins the day after the rest of North India finishes, because Kullu reckons Dashami by the sunrise rule. No effigies are burnt there.

Telangana — Bathukamma, the flower-stack festival, running up to Saddula Bathukamma on 7 October.

Maharashtra — Ghatasthapana, the daily माळ garland added to the ghat, Lalita Panchami on 4 October, and Dasara on 9 October.

Punjab, Delhi and the Hindi belt — the nine-day vrat, Ramlila performances through the fortnight, Kanjak on 7 or 8 October, and Ravan Dahan on the evening of 9 October.

The Four Navratris of the Year

Sharadiya is the largest of four. Chaitra or Vasant Navratri falls in March or April and ends with Rama Navami — in 2027 it runs 7 to 15 April. Magha Gupt Navratri falls in January or February; in 2027 Ghatasthapana is on 7 February. Ashadha Gupt Navratri falls in June or July; in 2027 it begins on 4 July. The two Gupt Navratris are private sadhana rather than public festival, and are associated with the worship of the ten Mahavidyas.

Choosing a Rashi Stone or Idol This Navratri

Many devotees use the shift in energy across Navratri to begin wearing a rashi-appropriate gemstone or to bring home a new Devi idol — both are traditionally considered auspicious to start during Navadurga worship. If you are unsure which stone matches your sign, our Rashi Stone Chart for All 12 Signs explains the traditional gemstone-to-rashi pairing. Browse the designs in our Rashi Bracelet collection and Idols collection.

What Comes After Navratri

Navratri opens the most concentrated festival stretch of the Hindu year. In order: Dussehra on 9 October, Sharad Purnima on 14 October, Kartik month from 16 October, Karwa Chauth on 18 October, Ahoi Ashtami on 22 October, Dhanteras on 27 October, Diwali and Lakshmi Puja on 29 October, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj on 30 and 31 October, Chhath Puja from 2 to 5 November, and Tulsi Vivah on 11 November.

Immediately before Navratri comes Pitru Paksha, which ends with Sarva Pitru Amavasya on 29 September — the day before Ghatasthapana. For fasting dates through the year, see the Ekadashi 2026 list and the Purnima and Amavasya calendar.

Choose your Navratri items and puja booking

Compare what each option includes. A single Rudraksha bead, a thali set and an online puja are separate purchases.

Maa Durga Brass Idol₹2,151 Akhand Jyot Oil Diya₹1,499 · burns all nine days Brass Pooja Thaal · Set of 5₹2,101 Natural Chandan Agarbatti₹179

• Nepali 9 Mukhi Rudraksha — a single nine-faced bead traditionally associated with Maa Durga. The product also offers an Indonesian option at a different price; check the selected origin.
• Brass pooja thali sets — compare the five-piece and six-piece sets, their tray sizes and the articles included.
• Shri Sukt & Durga Chalisa Puja in Ayodhya — view individual, partner and family packages through Divine Hindu × Ayodhyatra. Check available scheduling and the selected package's stated deliverables.

Browse the full Navratri selection →

Choose according to your household's practice. Product and booking pages show current prices; check delivery availability or the ritual schedule before ordering for a particular date.

Explore the Navratri buying guide: Durga idols, thalis, lamps and Rudraksha.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the dates of Navratri 2027?

Sharadiya Navratri 2027 begins with Ghatasthapana on Thursday 30 September 2027 and the nine-night observance ends with Maha Navami on Friday 8 October 2027. Navratri parana and Vijayadashami both fall on Saturday 9 October 2027.

What is the Ghatasthapana muhurat on 30 September 2027?

The Ghatasthapana muhurat for New Delhi is 08:05 AM to 10:12 AM on Thursday 30 September 2027, a window of 2 hours 7 minutes, with an alternative Abhijit muhurat from 11:47 AM to 12:35 PM. Timings shift with local sunrise — Ujjain is 08:05 to 10:17 AM and the Mumbai Abhijit window is 12:04 to 12:52 PM.

Why is Ashtami counted on two mornings in 2027?

Ashtami tithi runs from 04:13 AM on 7 October to 06:27 AM on 8 October, and Navami begins the same instant Ashtami ends. Because Ashtami is present at sunrise on both days, Durga Ashtami is kept on Thursday 7 October, while the Sandhi Puja falls at dawn on Friday 8 October 2027 and Maha Navami is kept that day.

How many days is Navratri in 2027 — eight, nine or ten?

Nine calendar days, 30 September to 8 October 2027. Ashwin Shukla Pratipada is dropped this year, present at no sunrise, while Ashtami is doubled, falling at sunrise on both 7 and 8 October — the two anomalies cancel out, so the count stays at nine.

Is Kanya Pujan on Ashtami or Navami in 2027?

In 2027 the two fall on consecutive days: families that keep Kanjak on Ashtami observe it on Thursday 7 October, and those that keep it on Navami on Friday 8 October. Ashtami ends at 06:27 AM on 8 October, so a strictly Ashtami kanjak belongs to Thursday.

When is the Sandhi Puja in 2027?

Sandhi Puja falls from 06:03 AM to 06:51 AM on Friday 8 October 2027 — forty-eight minutes spanning the last twenty-four minutes of Ashtami and the first twenty-four minutes of Navami. It is the most sacred window of the festival.

When can I break my Navratri fast in 2027?

Navratri parana falls on Saturday 9 October 2027, after 09:01 AM, the moment Navami tithi ends. Those who keep the shorter Ashtami fast break it on 7 October after their Kanya Pujan.

What can I eat during a Navratri fast?

Vrat food uses non-grain flours — kuttu, singhara, rajgira, samak and sabudana — with potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, arbi and yam, fruit, milk and curd, cooked in ghee or peanut oil and seasoned only with sendha namak, jeera, black pepper, ajwain and green cardamom. Wheat, rice, maida, besan, all pulses, onion, garlic, common salt, turmeric, hing and non-vegetarian food are avoided.

What are the nine Navratri colours for 2027?

For 2027 the sequence is Yellow on 30 September, Green on 1 October, Grey on the 2nd, Orange on the 3rd, White on the 4th, Red on the 5th, Royal Blue on the 6th, Pink on the 7th and Purple on the 8th. The sequence changes every year because the first colour is set by the weekday on which Navratri begins, and the remaining eight follow a fixed cycle.

Are the Durga Puja dates in Bengal different in 2027?

Yes, by one day at the end. Bengal observes Maha Shashthi on 5 October, Maha Saptami with Nabapatrika on 6 October and Maha Ashtami on 7 October, as in the all-India reckoning, but keeps Maha Navami on 9 October and Bijoya Dashami with visarjan on 10 October, against 8 and 9 October elsewhere.