Durga Ashtami illustration

Annual festival

Durga Ashtami 2035दुर्गा 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)

Tuesday, 9 October 2035

Tradition harmony

All regional traditions Chakra tracks agree on this date:

North (Purnimanta)
9 Oct 2035
South (Amanta)
9 Oct 2035
Tamil
9 Oct 2035
Bengali
9 Oct 2035
ISKCON
9 Oct 2035
Smarta
9 Oct 2035

Tithi window

Begins 9 Oct, 2:04 am

Ends 10 Oct, 4:34 am

October 2035

S
M
T
W
T
F
S
3
4
6
7
8
9
12
15
19
21
22
24
25
26
  • 2 TueSharad Navratri →Sharad Navratri is the nine-night autumn festival of the goddess Durga, culminating in Dussehra.
  • 9 TueDurga Ashtami(this page)Durga Ashtami is the eighth day of Sharad Navratri, held to be the most powerful for worship of the goddess.
  • 10 WedMaha Navami →Maha Navami marks the climactic ninth day of Navratri, venerating Goddess Durga as Mahishasuramardini and celebrating Ayudha Puja.
  • 11 ThuDussehra →Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, marks the victory of Rama over Ravana and of Durga over Mahishasura.
  • 16 TueSharad 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.
  • 18 ThuTula 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 SatKarva 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.
  • 23 TueAhoi Ashtami →Ahoi Ashtami is a traditional fasting day observed by mothers for the long life and wellbeing of their children on Kartika Krishna Ashtami.
  • 28 SunDhanteras →Dhanteras opens the Diwali period and is considered auspicious for buying metal, and for honouring Dhanvantari and Lakshmi.
  • 29 MonNaraka Chaturdashi →Naraka Chaturdashi commemorates the triumph of Lord Krishna and Satyabhama over the tyrant demon Narakasura on Kartika Krishna Chaturdashi.
  • 30 TueDiwali →Diwali is the festival of lights marking the victory of light over darkness and the return of Rama to Ayodhya.

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

Local horizon calculations

City-wise timings

CityLocal dateTithi window (local)vs. New Delhi
New Delhi9 Oct 20352:04 am – 10 Oct, 4:34 amSame day
Varanasi9 Oct 20352:04 am – 10 Oct, 4:34 amSame day
Mumbai9 Oct 20352:04 am – 10 Oct, 4:34 amSame day
Bengaluru9 Oct 20352:04 am – 10 Oct, 4:34 amSame day
Kolkata9 Oct 20352:04 am – 10 Oct, 4:34 amSame day
Chennai9 Oct 20352:04 am – 10 Oct, 4:34 amSame day
London9 Oct 20359:34 pm – 10 Oct, 12:04 amSame day
San Francisco9 Oct 20351:34 pm – 9 Oct, 4:04 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