Navratri 2026: Which Durga Mantras to Chant — Nine Nights, Dates & Method
Sharad Navratri 2026 begins with Ghatasthapana on Sunday, 11 October and runs nine nights to 19 October, with Vijayadashami (Dussehra) on 20 October. The mantra most commonly kept as daily japa through the nine nights is Om Dum Durgayei Namaha, 108 times — and from the Devi Mahatmya come the two most traditional Devi invocations, Sarva Mangala Mangalye and Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu. Here are this year's dates, the mantras tradition prescribes, and a simple nightly method.
Chant through Navratri with the Mantras App
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Navratri 2026 dates — Ghatasthapana to Vijayadashami
| Observance | Date (2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ghatasthapana / Navratri begins | Sunday, 11 October | Pratipada of Ashwin Shukla Paksha; kalash sthapana in the morning muhurat |
| Nine nights of the Navadurga | 11–19 October | One form of the Devi honoured each night, Shailaputri to Siddhidatri |
| Durga Ashtami | Sunday, 18 October | Kanya puja in many households |
| Maha Navami | Monday, 19 October | The final night |
| Vijayadashami / Dussehra | Tuesday, 20 October | The day of victory |
Tithi timings vary by city and panchang — when in doubt, follow your local panchang for the exact muhurat. In some years a tithi is repeated or dropped, which can shift a night by one day in your local reckoning.
Sharad Navratri, Durga Puja and Navaratri — the same nine nights
These October nights are Sharad Navratri — the autumn Navratri, the principal one of the four in the year. The same days are kept as Durga Puja in Bengal, Assam and Odisha (observed mainly over Shashthi to Dashami, 16–20 October 2026), as Golu or Bommai Golu in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and as Navaratri or Navratra in other spellings of the same word (नवरात्रि, "nine nights"). Vijayadashami and Dussehra are two names for the tenth day. The mantras below are chanted at all of them.
Which mantra to chant in Navratri
Om Dum Durgayei Namaha — the japa mantra of the nine nights
ॐ दुं दुर्गायै नमः — Om Dum Durgayei Namaha — is built on dum (दुं), the beej syllable of Durga carried by the tantric and devotional tradition, and salutes the goddess who is durga — the one hard to overcome, the protector through difficulty. It is short enough to keep as daily japa: 108 repetitions each night of the festival.
Sarva Mangala Mangalye — the Devi Mahatmya's salutation
सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके ।
शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
Sarva Mangala Mangalye Shive Sarvartha Sadhike, Sharanye Tryambake Gauri Narayani Namostute — "O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious… O Narayani, salutations to you." From the Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati, within the Markandeya Purana), and recited at aarti and puja across India through Navratri.
Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu — the Devi in all beings
Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu Shakti Rupena Samsthita, Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah — "To the Devi who abides in all beings as power — salutations to her, again and again." Also from the Devi Mahatmya, where the verse repeats for the Devi's many forms; it is traditionally recited rather than counted on a mala.
One mantra kept nightly beats three attempted occasionally. If you are new, choose Om Dum Durgayei Namaha alone for these nine nights.
Which Devi to chant on each night — the nine Navadurga mantras
Each of the nine nights honours one form of the Devi. The nine names are listed together in the Devi Kavacham of the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya, within the Markandeya Purana): "prathamam Shailaputri cha dvitiyam Brahmacharini… navamam Siddhidatri cha navadurgah prakirtitah" — "the first is Shailaputri, the second Brahmacharini… the ninth Siddhidatri: these are proclaimed the Navadurga." The simple salutation form below — Om Devi <name>yai Namah — is what most households chant on the night itself, traditionally 108 times.
If nine mantras is too much to hold, keep Om Dum Durgayei Namaha as your 108 every night and recite that night's Devi salutation once. One mantra kept nightly is worth more than nine attempted.
Night 1 (Sunday, 11 October) — Shailaputri
ॐ देवी शैलपुत्र्यै नमः — Om Devi Shailaputryai Namah. The daughter of the mountain — Himavan's child, riding Nandi with trident and lotus. The first night sets the vow; tradition pairs her with the Ghatasthapana itself.
Night 2 (Monday, 12 October) — Brahmacharini
ॐ देवी ब्रह्मचारिण्यै नमः — Om Devi Brahmacharinyai Namah. The Devi as ascetic, holding japa mala and kamandalu — the form honoured for austerity and steadiness of resolve.
Night 3 (Tuesday, 13 October) — Chandraghanta
ॐ देवी चन्द्रघण्टायै नमः — Om Devi Chandraghantayai Namah. She who wears the crescent moon shaped like a bell upon her brow — the form tradition invokes for courage.
Night 4 (Wednesday, 14 October) — Kushmanda
ॐ देवी कूष्माण्डायै नमः — Om Devi Kushmandayai Namah. She whose smile is said to have brought forth the cosmic egg — the creative form, honoured on the fourth night.
Night 5 (Thursday, 15 October) — Skandamata
ॐ देवी स्कन्दमातायै नमः — Om Devi Skandamatayai Namah. The mother of Skanda (Kartikeya), seated with the child on her lap — the maternal form.
Night 6 (Friday, 16 October) — Katyayani
ॐ देवी कात्यायन्यै नमः — Om Devi Katyayanyai Namah. Born, tradition holds, in the hermitage of the sage Katyayana — the warrior form of the Devi.
Night 7 (Saturday, 17 October) — Kalaratri
ॐ देवी कालरात्र्यै नमः — Om Devi Kalaratryai Namah. The dark night — the fierce form traditionally invoked against fear. The seventh night is kept with particular attention.
Night 8 (Sunday, 18 October) — Mahagauri
ॐ देवी महागौर्यै नमः — Om Devi Mahagauryai Namah. The radiant white one, serenity after the fierce night. Durga Ashtami — kanya puja is done in many households.
Night 9 (Monday, 19 October) — Siddhidatri
ॐ देवी सिद्धिदात्र्यै नमः — Om Devi Siddhidatryai Namah. The giver of siddhis, the attainments of practice. Maha Navami closes the nine nights; Vijayadashami follows on 20 October.
Dates follow the tithi, not the calendar date: if your panchang merges or repeats a tithi this year, the night moves with it.
How to chant each night of Navratri
- Bathe or wash, and sit facing east or north in a quiet spot, spine upright.
- Take three slow breaths and, if you like, state your sankalpa for the nine nights.
- Listen first — play the mantra audio once and absorb the rhythm and pronunciation.
- Chant Om Dum Durgayei Namaha 108 times — count on a mala or the app's 108 japa counter.
- Close with Sarva Mangala Mangalye once, and sit in silence for a minute.
Chanting and the Navratri vrat (fast) are separate observances — you can chant without fasting. New to japa? Start with the complete chanting method and the traditional rules.
Navratri sankalpam and the Ghatasthapana kalash mantra
The sankalpam (सङ्कल्प, also sankalpa or sankalp) is the spoken intention that opens the vow. It is made on Ghatasthapana morning, Sunday 11 October 2026, holding water, rice and a flower in the right palm; the water is released at the end. Searched for as Navratri sankalpam, Ghatasthapana sankalp and Durga puja sankalpa mantra, it is one formula, not three.
The traditional Navratri sankalpa
Navratri's sankalpa differs from an ordinary puja sankalpa in one respect: it declares a vrata, a vow held over nine nights, not a single day's worship — which is why it closes with navaratra vratam karishye, "I undertake the nine-night vow". The rest follows the standard Vedic shape: invocation, calendrical position, gotra and name, then the intention. The calendrical middle is yours to fill, which is why no single written text is universal.
ॐ विष्णुर्विष्णुर्विष्णुः ॥
Om Vishnur Vishnur Vishnuh — the opening invocation.
… आश्विन मासे शुक्ल पक्षे प्रतिपदि तिथौ … गोत्रः … नामाहम् ।
मम सकुटुम्बस्य क्षेम-स्थैर्य-आयुर्-आरोग्य-ऐश्वर्याभिवृद्ध्यर्थं
श्री दुर्गा प्रीत्यर्थं नवरात्र व्रतं करिष्ये ॥
… Ashwina mase, shukla pakshe, pratipadi tithau … gotrah … namaham; mama sakutumbasya kshema-sthairya-ayur-arogya-aishvarya-abhivriddhyartham Shri Durga prityartham navaratra vratam karishye — "in the month of Ashwin, in the bright fortnight, on the Pratipada tithi … of such-and-such gotra, I, named so … for the wellbeing, steadiness, long life, health and prosperity of myself and my family, and for the pleasure of Shri Durga, undertake the nine-night vow." Fill the gaps from your local panchang and your family's gotra; if you do not know your gotra, tradition allows Kashyapa gotra to be named in its place.
A simple sankalpa if you do not recite Sanskrit
Nothing is lost by saying the vow in the language you think in. With water in your right palm: "Today, on the first day of Navratri, I begin nine nights of chanting Om Dum Durgayei Namaha one hundred and eight times each night, for the wellbeing of my family." Release the water, and begin. What makes it a vrata is that you keep it for all nine nights — so promise a count you can hold on night seven, not one that sounds impressive on night one.
Ghatasthapana — the kalash sthapana mantra
Ghatasthapana is the installing of the ghata or kalash: a clay pot of soil sown with barley, a water pot set upon it, and the Devi invited to be present for the nine nights. The verse recited as the kalash is placed honours the deities tradition holds to dwell in it:
कलशस्य मुखे विष्णुः कण्ठे रुद्रः समाश्रितः ।
मूले तत्र स्थितो ब्रह्मा मध्ये मातृगणाः स्मृताः ॥
Kalashasya mukhe Vishnuh kanthe Rudrah samashritah, mule tatra sthito Brahma madhye matriganah smritah — "At the mouth of the kalash is Vishnu, at its neck Rudra abides, at its base stands Brahma, and in its middle are held the host of Mother goddesses." Like the sankalpa itself, this verse belongs to the puja paddhati — the received manuals of ritual practice — rather than to a numbered chapter of any Veda or Purana, so no verse reference can honestly be given for it. Follow it with the sankalpa above and the first 108 of Om Dum Durgayei Namaha. The barley is left to sprout through the nine nights and is offered on Vijayadashami.
Ghatasthapana is done in the morning muhurat of Pratipada; where the tithi falls awkwardly, panchangs prescribe the Abhijit muhurat around midday instead. Follow your local panchang. Japa needs none of this — you can keep the nine nights of chanting without installing a kalash at all.
Why Navratri is nine nights
Tradition devotes the nine nights to the Navadurga — the Devi's nine forms, from Shailaputri on the first night to Siddhidatri on the ninth — and the Devi Mahatmya recounts through them the goddess's battle with Mahishasura, ending in the victory the tenth day celebrates as Vijayadashami. The same day carries the Ramayana's victory of Rama over Ravana — Dussehra — so the festival closes on triumph in both tellings. Garba and Dandiya in the west, Durga Puja in the east, Golu in the south: the observances differ, the nine nights of the Devi are one.
A simple nine-night practice plan
- Nightly (11–19 October): Om Dum Durgayei Namaha × 108 — same time every night.
- After the japa: that night's Devi salutation once — Om Devi Shailaputryai Namah on night 1, and so on — then Sarva Mangala Mangalye or the night's aarti.
- Ghatasthapana morning (11 October): kalash sthapana verse, then the sankalpa, then the first 108.
- Ashtami & Navami (18–19 October): add a second mala if you can.
- Through the day: let the mantra run silently — manasik japa counts.
Benefits in the tradition's own framing: courage, protection through difficulty, and the quiet strength of nine nights kept well — fruits of consistent practice, not instant results.