Āyudha Pūjā falls on Mahānavamī, the ninth day of Śāradā Navarātri, when the tools, vehicles, machinery and books that sustain a livelihood are cleaned, garlanded and worshipped in gratitude. South Indian custom holds that the goddess's śakti pervades every implement by which a living is earned, from a farmer's plough and a carpenter's plane to a driver's vehicle and a student's laptop. The tools rest and receive pūjā before work resumes after Navarātri. Vijayadaśamī follows the next day. How the day is fixed: Āyudha Pūjā is kept on the day when Āśvina Śukla Navamī prevails at local sunrise. That day is Mahānavamī, the ninth day of Śāradā Navarātri. Keep in mind: Keep the pūjā itself in the Aparāhṇa, the early afternoon, and avoid Rāhu kālam, Yamagaṇḍam and Guḷikai. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Cleaning and decorating: Homes, shops and workshops are washed, and tools, vehicles and machines are cleaned and garlanded. Vehicles receive turmeric and kumkum, and shop scales and factory machines are decked with flowers. The pūjā: A brief pūjā and āratī is offered to the cleaned tools and vehicles. The Durgā nāmāvali is a fitting recitation during the pūjā. At work and school: Offices, workshops and schools often keep a collective pūjā, and many trades set their tools aside for the day. Worth remembering: Mahā Navamī is the wider ninth-day observance, with Kanyā Pūjan in the North and the last full day of Durgā Pūjā in Bengal. Sarasvatī Pūjā on the same Navamī honours books and musical instruments, and Vijayadaśamī the next day is a separate festival. Āyudha Pūjā is strongest in the South, and each region reaches it through its own custom. Tamil, Telugu and Kannada streets fill with washed vehicles and garlanded tools, Malayali homes keep the tools and books in pūjavaippu until Vijayadaśamī morning, and Maharashtra knows the day as Khaṇḍenavamī. Which tools are laid out and how the pūjā is done varies from house to house, so follow the way the elders of your own family have kept it.
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