Mahā Navamī, Āśvina Śukla Navamī, is the ninth and closing night of Śāradā Navarātri and the eve of Vijayadaśamī. Across India the same tithi wears different faces. The North keeps it as Kanyā Pūjan, much of the South as Āyudha Pūjā, and Bengal as the last full day of Durgā Pūjā before immersion. Each form honours the goddess's śakti where people meet it, in young girls, in the tools of a livelihood and in the image that is about to leave. How the day is fixed: The pañcāṅga marks Mahā Navamī on the day when Āśvina Śukla Navamī prevails at local sunrise. Vijayadaśamī follows the next day. Keep in mind: Some households perform Kanyā Pūjan on Aṣṭamī instead, or split the honour across both days. Durgāṣṭamī and Vijayadaśamī are separate days with their own observances. 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. Āyudha Pūjā: Tools, vehicles, machinery and the instruments of one's trade, from the farmer's plough to the office computer, are cleaned, garlanded and worshipped in gratitude. The reasoning is that the goddess's śakti pervades the very implements by which a livelihood is earned. Kanyā Pūjan: Nine young girls, seen as the nine forms of Navadurgā, are invited into the home. Their feet are washed, tilaka is applied, and they are fed pūrī, kālā chana and halwā before receiving gifts. The last full day of Durgā Pūjā: Bengal keeps the last full day of pūjā before the Sindūr Khelā and immersion of Vijayadaśamī. The paṇḍals see their heaviest crowds of the festival as devotees make a final round before the goddess departs. Worth remembering: Āyudha Pūjā is most closely associated with Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra the same day is called Khaṇḍenavamī, and in Gujarat it is the last night of garbā. Which of these customs a family keeps depends on where it comes from, and many homes keep more than one. Some fold Kanyā Pūjan into Aṣṭamī, and some lay out books as well as tools on this day. In the end it is best to follow the way the elders of one's own house have kept it.
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