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Durga Ashtami illustration

Annual festival

Durga Ashtami 2034दुर्गा अष्टमी

Durga Ashtami is the eighth day of Sharad Navratri, held to be the most powerful for worship of the goddess.

Date · New Delhi (28.6139° N, 77.2090° E)

Friday, 20 October 2034

Tradition harmony

All regional traditions Chakra tracks agree on this date:

North (Purnimanta)
20 Oct 2034
South (Amanta)
20 Oct 2034
Tamil
20 Oct 2034
Bengali
20 Oct 2034
ISKCON
20 Oct 2034
Smarta
20 Oct 2034

Tithi window

Begins 20 Oct, 4:51 am

Ends 21 Oct, 6:05 am

Month view

See the full calendar →

October 2034

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  • 13 FriSharad Navratri →Sharad Navratri is the nine-night autumn festival of the goddess Durga, culminating in Dussehra.
  • 17 TueTula Sankranti →Tula Sankranti is the moment the Sun enters the sidereal sign of Libra, marking the start of the harvest month in several regions.
  • 20 FriDurga Ashtami(this page)Durga Ashtami is the eighth day of Sharad Navratri, held to be the most powerful for worship of the goddess.
  • 21 SatMaha Navami →Maha Navami marks the climactic ninth day of Navratri, venerating Goddess Durga as Mahishasuramardini and celebrating Ayudha Puja.
  • 22 SunDussehra →Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, marks the victory of Rama over Ravana and of Durga over Mahishasura.
  • 27 FriSharad Purnima →Sharad Purnima marks the harvest full moon of autumn when the moon radiates nectar-like rays and Lord Krishna danced the divine Raas Leela.
  • 30 MonKarva Chauth →Karva Chauth is a day-long fast kept without food or water for the well-being of a husband, broken after sighting the moon.

Also this month: Sankashti Chaturthi (2), Ekadashi (2), Pradosh Vrat (2), Masik Shivratri (1), Amavasya (1), Vinayaka Chaturthi (1), Masik Durga Ashtami (1), Purnima (1), Satyanarayan Puja (1).

Local horizon calculations

City-wise timings

CityLocal dateTithi window (local)vs. New Delhi
New Delhi20 Oct 20344:51 am – 21 Oct, 6:05 amSame day
Varanasi21 Oct 20344:51 am – 21 Oct, 6:05 amDiffers
Mumbai20 Oct 20344:51 am – 21 Oct, 6:05 amSame day
Bengaluru20 Oct 20344:51 am – 21 Oct, 6:05 amSame day
Kolkata21 Oct 20344:51 am – 21 Oct, 6:05 amDiffers
Chennai21 Oct 20344:51 am – 21 Oct, 6:05 amDiffers
London20 Oct 203412:21 am – 21 Oct, 1:35 amSame day
San Francisco20 Oct 20344:21 pm – 20 Oct, 5:35 pmSame day

Tithi window shown in each city’s own local time — the underlying instant is the same worldwide.

Durga Ashtami, also called Maha Ashtami, is regarded by many as the high point of the autumn Navratri. Weapons and tools are placed before the goddess in the Ayudha Puja, the Kanya Puja honours pre-adolescent girls with food and gifts, and in the Durga Puja tradition the day includes the intense Sandhi Puja that straddles the junction of the eighth and ninth tithis.

The day is the eighth tithi (Ashtami) of the waxing fortnight of Ashwina. Where a household breaks its Navratri fast on this day rather than the ninth, the timing follows the end of Ashtami at sunrise for the city.

Practice varies: in much of the north the fast is concluded on Ashtami with a havan and the feeding of girls, while in Bengal, Odisha and Assam the day is one stage of the larger Durga Puja and the fast, where kept, ends only after the tenth day.

Multi-year archive

Durga Ashtami in other years