Durgashtami 2026

Durgashtami is the eighth day of Devi Navaratri and belongs to Durga in her fiercest form, the one who rode out against the buffalo demon Mahishasura. For Telugu families the day's centre of gravity is Indrakeeladri, the hill above the Krishna at Vijayawada where Kanaka Durga is worshipped.

The story

The Devi Mahatmyam tells how the gods, beaten by Mahishasura, poured their powers together into a single goddess and armed her with a weapon from each of them. The battle ran for nine nights. Ashtami is remembered as the night it turned.

At Vijayawada the goddess is dressed in a different form on each day of the festival, and on Ashtami she is shown as Sri Durga Devi. The queue of pilgrims climbs the hill through the night.

సర్వమంగళ మాంగళ్యే శివే సర్వార్థ సాధికే

Auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, consort of Shiva, fulfiller of every aim

From the Devi Mahatmyam, recited throughout Navaratri

How it is kept

• Fasting and pujaMany keep a fast through the day and break it after the evening puja. Lalitha Sahasranamam and Durga Saptashati are read at home and in temples.
• Kumari pujaIn some households young girls are honoured as forms of the goddess, their feet washed and a meal and new bangles given.
• Bommala KoluvuIn coastal Andhra the stepped display of dolls set up for Navaratri is at its fullest, and neighbours visit one another to see it.
• In TelanganaThe day usually coincides with Saddula Bathukamma, so the evening belongs to the flowers and the tanks.

Why this date

Durgashtami in other years

More from this season

• 19 OctoberMaha Navamiమహర్నవమి
• 20 OctoberVijayadasamiవిజయదశమి
• 18 OctoberSaddula Bathukammaసద్దుల బతుకమ్మ
• 10 OctoberBathukammaబతుకమ్మ
• 8 NovemberNaraka Chaturdasiనరక చతుర్దశి
• 8 NovemberDeepavaliదీపావళి

Further reading

• Kanaka Durga Temple, official siteSri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam
• Kanaka Durga TempleWikipedia
• Durga AshtamiWikipedia
• NavratriEncyclopaedia Britannica