Durga Ashtami 2026 falls on Sunday 18 October, with Maha Navami following on Monday 19 October. These are the two final days of Sharad Navratri before Dussehra, and in the calendar of nine nights they carry the most weight. The goddess on Ashtami is Mahagauri — fierce, radiant, the form that defeated Mahishasura. Navami is the day of completion. Between them, the Kanya Pujan takes place: nine little girls invited into the home, their feet washed, puri and chana and halwa offered, because the goddess is present in each of them.
Most households either observe Kanya Pujan on Ashtami morning or on Navami morning, depending on the family tradition and the panchang. Either is correct. The music that fits the day is devotional rather than celebratory, and slower rather than high-energy — this is the culmination of nine nights of prayer, not a festival launch.
Here is how I would sequence devotional music across the two days, drawing from the Marathi and Hindi bhakti songs I have written and recorded as Married Moonda and Bhajanwala Moonda.
Before the puja begins: invoking Ganesh
Before any puja in the Marathi tradition, Ganesh is invoked. This is not decoration — it is the rule. Nothing starts before his blessing is asked.
Ganpati Bappa Morya is a devotional track addressed to Ganesh as Mangal Murti Morya — the auspicious idol. It calls him the support of devotees and protector of all, and carries the traditional Ganesh Visarjan phrase: Pudhchya varshi lavkar ya — come back soon next year. The tone is the confident, warm call of a household that does this every year and means it every time. It is the right note before anything else begins.
Kanya Pujan morning
The Kanya Pujan ritual itself is quiet and concentrated. The girls sit, the feet are washed, the puja is performed, the prasad is offered. There is singing during parts of it, but the singing here is the aarti and stotram that the household already knows — the Jai Ambe Gauri aarti and Durge Durghat Bhari, with their Devanagari text and line meanings, are both on this site.
What plays in the background as the preparations are made — as the thali is arranged, the puja room is set — is a different question. Majha Vitthu Mauli Re is a Marathi devotional track addressed to Vitthal — the form of Vishnu worshipped at Pandharpur, and Mauli (mother) is the intimate name the warkari tradition uses for him. The pairing "Vitthu Mauli" is the everyday address, the way a devotee calls the deity as family rather than as a distant power. The audio is upbeat and carries the energy of a dindi procession — movement and devotion together, which is right for a morning of purposeful preparation.
The havan
The havan or homam in the late morning is fire, mantra, and the steady work of the priest. The smoke settles over the whole house by noon. This is the ritual core of Navratri's final days, and the music during it is the priest's chanting — everything else steps back.
Between the havan ending and the afternoon aarti, Majha Krishna Re sits well. It is a Marathi bhajan addressed to Krishna — the same intimate vocative, the same Bhajanwala Moonda alias used for the devotional material in this catalogue — and at 4:50 it has the length to fill a quiet post-havan hour. Modern production, not traditional acoustic, but the sentiment is classical: the personal address to a deity as someone you actually know.
Afternoon: Bhakti Wala Love and the road to Pandharpur
The Navratri calendar across Maharashtra has always carried the warkari tradition alongside the Navadurga one — the same nine days that Shakta households dedicate to the goddess are the same season when warkaris complete their vari, their pilgrimage to Pandharpur. The two traditions occupy the same calendar without conflict.
Bhakti Wala Love is a Hindi devotional track about a state of spiritual devotion that finds you rather than the other way around. The narrator describes a single melody heard everywhere, compared to a bansuri sound that has captivated the heart. The road to Pandharpur. The heart beating on arrival, as if intoxicated. It is a bhakti song about losing yourself in something that turns out to be what you needed — which is not a bad description of what nine nights of Navratri are supposed to accomplish.
Evening aarti: the closing of Navratri
On Navami evening, the period of Navratri draws to a close. The goddess is not going anywhere — she is not immersed the way Ganesh is — but the nine-night vigil completes. The final aarti of the year feels different from the first eight.
This is the Durge Durghat Bhari hour. The Marathi aarti addresses the goddess as the one who makes the impossible possible — the impossible war won, the crossing made. It is not a gentle aarti. It is a statement about power, and the evening of Navami, which is about to turn into Dussehra, is the right time for it. The text and romanisation are at mygeetaibeat.com/aarti/.
On choosing devotional music for these days
The Navratri canon is large and well-known — the Durga ashtami bhajans of Anuradha Paudwal have played in North Indian households for thirty years, and Lata Mangeshkar's recordings of the Marathi aartis are the version most families know. These are not things to replace.
The songs above serve a different function: they are written for the quiet hours between rituals, for the car ride to the temple, for the background as prasad is made, for the devotional part of the day that does not have a specific slot in the calendar. They are not trying to be aartis. They are songs built from the same soil.
The full list in order
For Durga Ashtami and Kanya Pujan 2026:
- Ganpati Bappa Morya — before the puja, invocation
- Majha Vitthu Mauli Re — morning preparation
- Majha Krishna Re — post-havan, afternoon
- Bhakti Wala Love — afternoon quiet
- Durge Durghat Bhari aarti — Navami evening
The devotional and bhakti catalogue is at mygeetaibeat.com/collections/devotional-bhakti-songs.
Frequently asked questions
When is Durga Ashtami 2026? Durga Ashtami 2026 is on Sunday 18 October, with Maha Navami following on Monday 19 October. In some North Indian panchangs the Ashtami tithi transitions to Navami before noon on the 19th, so some households observe both on the same day. Check your local panchang or family calendar for the timing.
What is Kanya Pujan? Kanya Pujan is a ritual performed on Ashtami or Navami in which nine little girls — representing the nine forms of Devi — are invited into the home, their feet washed, and puri-chana-halwa offered as prasad. Both Ashtami and Navami are considered correct for this ritual; the choice depends on the household tradition.
What is the difference between Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami? Ashtami (the eighth day) is dedicated to Mahagauri, the most serene and powerful of the Navadurgas. Navami (the ninth day) is Maha Navami, the day of completing the nine nights, and the main havan typically falls here. In many households both days run together, with Ashtami puja followed by Navami havan before Dussehra on the tenth.
Written by Anup Karanjkar — Married Moonda.
Sources: Durga Ashtami or Maha Navami 2026: which day? — Hindutone · Kanya Pujan 2026 date for Ashtami and Navami — Hindutone · Navratri 2026 dates — Sharad Navratri calendar
