Sarasvatī Pūjā honours the goddess of learning and the arts on Āśvina Śukla Navamī, the Mahānavamī of Śāradā Navarātri. Books, pens, writing tools and musical instruments are cleaned, marked with turmeric and kumkum, and placed before her for blessing. The same Navamī is also Āyudha Pūjā, but this observance centres on śruti, study and the arts rather than on livelihood tools. The blessed books rest with the goddess until Vijayadaśamī, when study begins again under her grace. How the day is fixed: The pañcāṅga takes the day on which Āśvina Śukla Navamī prevails at local sunrise. In some regions the pūjā is kept on Aṣṭamī instead. Keep in mind: Many Telugu, Kannada and Marathi households follow the Mūla nakṣatra within Navarātri rather than the tithi, so their pūjā may fall on a different day from the Navamī. In Kerala the books are laid down on the evening of Durgāṣṭamī and taken up on Vijayadaśamī morning. This year: The 2027 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. Books before the goddess: A white cloth is spread on a low seat before a picture of Sarasvatī, and books, pens, the veena, the mridangam and other instruments are arranged on it. White flowers are offered, and the Sarasvatī namastubhyam verse is recited in almost every home. Fast and rest from study: Some households keep a light fast until the evening pūjā. The blessed books are not opened until they are taken up with pūjā on Vijayadaśamī morning, though custom varies from house to house. Worth remembering: Āyudha Pūjā falls on the same Navamī but honours tools and vehicles, and Mahā Navamī names the wider ninth day, when North India keeps Kanyā Pūjan and Bengal its Durgā Pūjā Navamī. Bengal and Odisha keep their own Sarasvatī Pūjā on Vasanta Pañcamī, and Gujarat worships Śāradā with the new account books at Diwali. Whether the pūjā follows the Navamī tithi or the Mūla nakṣatra, how many days the books rest and what is offered all follow family and regional custom. Tamil homes keep both pūjās on Mahānavamī, Kerala joins them in one pūjavaippu, and Marathi homes invoke Sarasvatī on Mūla and bid her farewell on Śravaṇa. Temples such as Basara, Śṛṅgerī, Kūttanūr, Panachikkad and Kollūr draw great crowds in these days. Beyond these differences, the surest guide is the way the elders of one's own house have kept the day.
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