Navratri begins 2029
नवरात्रि
Navratri begins falls on Monday, 8 October 2029 in New Delhi, on Shukla Pratipada.
Navratri is nine nights of worship of the goddess, followed by a tenth day of victory. Each region marks it differently, from Bengal's Durga Puja to Gujarat's garba and the display of dolls in Tamil homes.
Why this date
CalculatedThe autumn Navratri begins on Ashvin Shukla Pratipada, the first lunar day of the bright fortnight of Ashvin, and runs for nine nights. A spring Navratri, in Chaitra, does the same. Because tithis can repeat or be skipped, Navratri can sometimes run eight or ten calendar days, even though it's always called nine nights.
That’s 19 days later than 19 September 2028 last year. Why it jumped
- Pratipada begins
- 8 Oct, 12:45 AM
- It ends
- 8 Oct, 8:56 PM
2029 date by city
| New Delhi | Mon, 8 Oct |
|---|---|
| Mumbai | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Kolkata | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Chennai | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Bengaluru | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Hyderabad | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Ahmedabad | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Pune | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Jaipur | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Lucknow | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Patna | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Varanasi | Mon, 8 Oct |
| London | Mon, 8 Oct |
| New York | Mon, 8 Oct |
| San Francisco | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Toronto | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Sydney | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Singapore | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Dubai | Mon, 8 Oct |
| Port Louis | Mon, 8 Oct |
Dates in bold differ from New Delhi’s. Calculated by rule; local practice can differ.
One festival, many stories
Pan-IndianDurga and the buffalo demon
The Devi Mahatmya, in the Markandeya Purana, tells how the gods, unable to defeat Mahishasura, pool their energies into a goddess, who kills him. It's the main text recited at this time, and its verses are what most temples mean when they recite the Chandi or Durga Saptashati.
BengalRama's untimely invocation
Why worship in autumn, when this tradition treats spring as the proper time? Bengal's Krittivasi Ramayana answers with akal bodhan, “untimely awakening”: Rama invokes Durga before fighting Ravana. It's not in Valmiki, and this is a good example of a story explaining a festival date. Kolkata's Durga Puja, on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list since 2021, grew out of this tradition.
GujaratGarba
People dance in circles around a lamp or a pot, with dandiya raas alongside. The pot's clay is often explained as the womb, and the flame as life within it. UNESCO listed the Garba of Gujarat in 2023.
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra PradeshGolu, and the last day's tools
Homes in the south set up tiered displays of dolls, called Golu or Bombe Habba, and friends come round for songs and snacks. Later on, Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja honour books and tools.
Common questions
What people do
- Fasting or eating a restricted diet for the nine days
- Sowing barley or grain in a pot in many north Indian homes
- Reciting the Devi Mahatmya or Durga Saptashati
- Honouring young girls as the goddess on the eighth or ninth day
Why are there two Navratris each year?
The two main ones fall at the turn of the seasons, in spring (Chaitra) and autumn (Ashvin). We haven't found one agreed origin for having two. Most people mean the autumn one, as it's much more widely celebrated. Some traditions also mark two less public ones in other months.
Why are there sometimes eight or ten days of Navratri?
Because lunar days don't match solar days exactly. A tithi can be skipped at sunrise, leaving eight calendar days, or repeat, leaving ten. This is ordinary astronomy, not a mistake in the almanac.
Do the nine colours of Navratri come from scripture?
We found nothing in the texts we checked that sets a colour for each day. The lists you see are a much more recent custom, spread largely through media and advertising, as far as we can tell.
Ask your elders
“Ask your family what they gave up for nine days, and which day was the hardest. Ask what was the first thing they ate on the tenth. If you're Bengali, ask which pandal they'd walk across town to see.”
Sources
- Devi Mahatmya (Markandeya Purana 81–93)
- James G. Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Rosen, 2002), entries “Navaratri” and “Dussehra”
- Krittivasi Ramayana
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage lists: “Durga Puja in Kolkata” (2021) and “Garba of Gujarat” (2023)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Navratri”