Navratri 2026 Begins Today: All 9 Days, Colours, Ghatasthapana Muhurat, and When Ashtami Falls

Sharad Navratri, the nine-night festival dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine forms, begins today, Sunday, October 11, 2026. It is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India, marked by fasting and prayer in homes, garba and dandiya nights in Gujarat and beyond, and Durga Puja pandals in Bengal and across eastern India. The festival ends on Monday, October 19, and is followed by Vijayadashami, or Dussehra, on Tuesday, October 20.

Ghatasthapana muhurat today

Navratri begins with Ghatasthapana, the ritual installation of a sacred pot (kalash) that invokes the goddess for the nine days. This year the Pratipada tithi runs from around 9:19 PM on October 10 to around 9:30 PM on October 11, so Ghatasthapana is performed on the morning of October 11.

In New Delhi, the auspicious window is from about 6:20 AM to 10:12 AM. Panchang sources differ by a few minutes on the start time. If you miss it, the Abhijit muhurat, from 11:44 AM to 12:31 PM, is the accepted alternative; traditionally Ghatasthapana isn't performed after midday. Because muhurat timings follow local sunrise, they shift from city to city:

All nine days: dates, goddesses, and colours

Each day of Navratri is dedicated to one of the Navdurga, the nine forms of the goddess, and many devotees, especially in Gujarat and Maharashtra, wear a specific colour each day. The colours aren't scriptural; they're a popular custom. The first colour is decided by the weekday on which Navratri begins, and the rest follow a fixed sequence. Because Navratri 2026 starts on a Sunday, the first colour is orange.

You may see a different colour list shared online. One widely circulated list, starting with yellow and including pink, is actually the colour sequence for Chaitra Navratri in March 2026, which began on a Thursday. For this October's Sharad Navratri, the list above is the one published by Drik Panchang.

When is Ashtami this year?

This is the date most people get confused about in 2026. Because of how the lunar tithis fall, the Ashtami tithi begins at about 8:27 AM on October 18 and ends at about 10:51 AM on October 19. Since Ashtami is present at sunrise on October 19, Drik Panchang and most panchangs observe Durga Ashtami on Monday, October 19, with Sandhi Puja, the ritual at the junction of Ashtami and Navami, at around 10:27 AM to 11:15 AM. Navami begins as Ashtami ends that morning, so Maha Navami is also observed on October 19.

Some regional and Bengali Durga Puja calendars instead mark Ashtami on October 18 and Navami on October 20. If you follow a particular family or temple tradition, it's worth checking their calendar. Kanya Puja, the worship of young girls as forms of the goddess, is performed on Ashtami or Navami depending on family custom.

Dussehra on October 20

Navratri leads into Vijayadashami, or Dussehra, on Tuesday, October 20, which all traditions agree on. It celebrates the victory of good over evil, marked by Ravana effigy burnings across north India and the immersion of Durga idols in Bengal and eastern India.

Wherever you celebrate, the nine nights are as much about community as ritual: families coming together, neighbourhoods filling with music, and, for many, a reason to dust off the brightest outfit in the wardrobe. Today, that means orange.