Durga Ashtami Puja Vidhi: Its Date And Day In 2020

Durga puja is an auspicious festival of Hindus. People of all walks of life celebrate the festival with zeal and enthusiasm. The nine days long celebration begins with great euphoria and end on ashtami after durga ashtami puja. On this page, we have tried to give insight into ashtami puja 2020, which we believe you would like. 

Durga Ashtami Puja Vidhi And Its Date And Day On 2020

The nine day long navratri festival begins on the first day of ashwin lunar month. Different states of India celebrate the festival in diverse manners. However, by and large, navratri is known for three pivotal reasons worldwide.

Garba – State like Gujrat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra organizes garba programs for all nine nights of Navratri in which people dance with dandiya and perform the puja of Ma Durga. Now, garba has become popular in many other parts of the country as well. It has gained world level popularity. Indians living in other countries celebrate gabha there also.

Ramlilla – The states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi organizes ramlilla for nine days that play the story of Ramayan in brief. The ramlilla concludes on 10th day with Dusshera, burning the effigy of Rawan, Meghnath and Kubhkaran.

Durga Puja – In the states like Westbengal and all 7 sister states, people celebrate navratri by worshipping goddess Durga for nine days. They have a different ritual of worship there. One can see pandals, fate and events all over these states during nine days of navratri. Even their main festival begins from sixth day of navratri i.e. shashthi, Katyayani Puja.

This is the glamours side of navratri festival, which people is famous all over the world. But, if talk about the spiritual side of navratri, for nine days people worship the nine avtars of Ma Druga. And people according to their devotion and beliefs perform the puja. Most people observe nine days fast to worship nine manifestations of Ma Durga. They are:

• Shailaputri
• Brahmacharini
• Chandraghanta
• Kushmanda
• Skandamata
• Katyayani
• Kalaratri
• Mahagauri
• Siddhidatri

Durga ashtami is an important day in these nine days worship as many people who observe fast, break their fast after ashtami puja. Some break their fast on navmi after performing the puja. Here is the durga ashtami pooja vidhi. But before you start, it is important to note its date and day in 2020.

Durga ashtami puja 2020 is on 23rd Oct. The ashtami tithi will begin at 6:57 am and end at 6:58 am on 24th October. 

Ashtami Puja Process – The ashtami puja starts with worship goddess Durga at home with flowers, sindoor and Prasad. A lamp is lit in front of Ma Durga that should be lit till the next day. In Hindi, it is called as akahnd jyot. After making Prasad and offering it to Ma Durga, nine girls (all girls should be between the age of 1-12) are called at home to take the Prasad and give blessings. The nine girls are considered as the manifestation of Ma Durga. The person who has observes the fast has to do all these rituals after taking the bath.

In addition to offering Prasad, people also give gifts to these girls as a good gesture. It depends entirely on the person’s will and wishes. 

After this, the person who has observed the fast breaks his/her fast eating the same Prasad. 

Navratri 2020 Calendar

Day 1, October 17 – Pratipada, Ghatasthapana, Shailputri Puja

Day 2, October 18 – Dwitiya, Chandra Darshana, Brahmacharini Puja

Day 3, October 19 – Tritiya, Sindoor Tritiya, Chandraghanta Puja

Day 4, October 20 – Chaturthi, Kushmanda Puja, Vinayaka Chaturthi, Upang Lalita Vrat

Day 5, October 21 – Panchami, Skandamata Puja, Saraswati Avahan

Day 6, October 22 – Shashthi, Katyayani Puja, Saraswati Puja

Day 7, October 23 – Saptami, Kalaratri Puja

Day 8, October 24 – Ashtami, Durga Ashtami, Mahagauri Puja, Sandhi Puja, Maha Navami

Day 9, October 25 – Navami, Ayudha Puja, Navami Homa, Navratri Parana, Vijayadashami

Day 10, October 26 – Dashami, Durga Visarjan