Chaitra Navratri Begins: Wednesday, 7 April 2027. Pratipada tithi in New Delhi: 7 Apr, 05:21 – 8 Apr, 04:29 IST.
Timings in New Delhi
- Pratipada tithi
- 7 Apr, 05:21 – 8 Apr, 04:29
How we calculate this
- Computed with Swiss Ephemeris (Lahiri) from each city's own sunrise and sunset. Other almanacs can differ by a minute or two.
Chaitra Navratri Begins (चैत्र नवरात्रि आरंभ) is a festival falling in the Hindu lunar month of चैत्र. Its position is fixed by tithi rather than by the Gregorian calendar, so the date moves every year and is computed from the panchang. Tradition keeps a fast on the day. The observance itself, and its puja vidhi, stay the same each year.
Chaitra Navratri Begins
चैत्र नवरात्रि आरंभ
Hindu month: चैत्र
Panchang Basis (Tithi Rule)
Chaitra Shukla Pratipada fixes the day, so the English date moves each year.
About This Festival
The first day of the spring Navratri — Ghatasthapana of the kalash, sowing of the jau (barley) khetri, and the start of nine nights of Devi worship that culminate in Ram Navami.
वासंतिक नवरात्रि का प्रथम दिन — कलश की घटस्थापना, जौ की खेतरी बोना और नौ रात्रियों की देवी-आराधना का आरंभ, जिसका समापन राम नवमी पर होता है।
Significance
Opens the Vasant Navratri on the same pratipada that begins the Vikram Samvat new year — nine nights in which the nine forms of Durga are worshipped from Shailputri onward. The sown barley khetri acts as the household's oracle: thick green growth by navami is read as the Devi's blessing on the year. Falling at the turn of season, the vrat is traditionally framed as inner cleansing — sattvik food, japa, and restraint — before the year's work begins, and its nights are prized for Devi mantra siddhi, culminating in Ram's birth on the ninth day.
Puja Vidhi (How to Observe)
In the morning muhurat, perform Ghatasthapana: set a kalash of water topped with mango leaves and coconut on a bed of soil sown with jau, in the home mandir's north-east. Light the akhand jyoti if the family keeps one. Worship Maa Shailputri with flowers, roli, and gau-ghrit bhog, reciting the Durga Saptashati or at minimum the kavach. Through the nine days keep the vrat's niyam — sattvik phalahar, daily Devi puja morning and evening, and watering the khetri — concluding with kanya pujan on ashtami or navami.
Regional Names
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Chaitra Navratri Begins celebrated?
Chaitra Navratri Begins falls on Friday, 20 March 2026 and on Wednesday, 7 April 2027.
Is Chaitra Navratri Begins a fasting (vrat) day?
Yes, Chaitra Navratri Begins is a vrat.
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