Navratri at a glance
The meaning: nine nights, for the goddess in her nine forms.
- When
- Sharad Navratri, Ashvin, late September or October
- Spring
- Chaitra Navratri, March or April
- Where
- Deshnoke, Jodhpur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Banswara
- Lasts
- Nine nights, then Dussehra on the tenth day
- Book by
- Three to four months ahead
- Good for
- Curious travellers, dancers, families
- How it ends: with Dussehra in autumn, and Ram Navami in spring.
- Pairs with: Dussehra, the Karni Mata Fair and Kota's fair.
- On this page: Navratri means the autumn festival, unless we say otherwise.
The goddess who could not be defeated
In their anger, the story goes, a great light poured out of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and all the other gods, and from it took shape a goddess, Durga. She rode out on a lion, fought the demon for nine days and nine nights, and on the tenth day she killed him.
The demon: Mahishasura, granted a boon that no man or god could kill him. Drunk on that promise, he drove the gods out of heaven.
The weapons: each god gave Durga one: Shiva his trident, Vishnu his discus, Indra his thunderbolt.
- Nine nights, one victory: the nine nights of Navratri are those nights of battle, and the tenth day is the day of victory.
- The Navadurga: each night belongs to one of the goddess's nine forms, from Shailaputri, the daughter of the mountain, to Siddhidatri, the giver of perfection, on the ninth.
- All nine, in order: Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri.
- Colours: many families wear a colour for each day, and temples dress the goddess differently each evening.
- Rama joins the story: in autumn, Rama is said to have worshipped the goddess before his battle with Ravana, which is why Navratri ends with Dussehra.
- Four Navratris: there are four in the Hindu year, but two are celebrated by everyone.
- Sharad Navratri: in Ashvin, the grander, simply called Navratri in most of India.
- Chaitra Navratri: in spring, beginning the Hindu new year in many regions and ending with Ram Navami, Rama's birthday.
- The Gupt Navratris: the two hidden ones of winter and the monsoon, kept quietly by devotees and tantric practitioners.
- A land of kuldevis: every warrior clan has its family goddess, usually enthroned in a fort or on a hill above the old capital.
- The Rathores: Chamunda at Mehrangarh and Karni Mata at Deshnoke.
- The Kachwahas and Chauhans: Shila Devi in Amber Fort for Jaipur's rulers, Shakambhari at Sambhar for the Chauhans.
- Going home: at Navratri the descendants of those clans return to their goddess, and the forts become temples again. Our guide to faith and temples in Rajasthan explains more.
When Navratri falls
Autumn timing: nine nights from the day after the new moon of Ashvin, which in most years means late September or October.
The season opens: with Diwali twenty days after Dussehra, the autumn Navratri opens the whole festival season, and the travel season too.
Spring timing: Chaitra Navratri usually falls in late March or April, and ends with Ram Navami.
- Autumn start
- First day of the bright half of Ashvin
- Tenth day
- Dussehra, or Vijayadashami
- Diwali
- Twenty days after Dussehra
- Spring start
- First day of the bright half of Chaitra
- Weather
- Warm days, pleasant nights
- Spring fairs: it is the season of the larger Karni Mata Fair at Deshnoke and the Kaila Devi fair at Karauli.
- Overlap with Gangaur: in some years it overlaps with Gangaur, which runs for eighteen days from the morning after Holi.
- Confirmed each year: the dates change, so we confirm them before we plan anything.
- After the rains: the monsoon has usually ended, and the countryside is still green.
- Gentle rates: hotels are open and often cheaper than in November, because the high season is only beginning.
- Fasting food: many families fast, so restaurants in pilgrim towns may serve only fasting food, some with no onion or garlic.
- Dussehra evening: a public holiday, crowded wherever an effigy is burned.
- Month guides: Rajasthan in October and Rajasthan in September describe the weather and crowds.
How a Rajasthani family keeps the nine nights
Ghatasthapana, the first morning
The ghat: a clay or copper pot filled with water and set on a bed of earth sown with barley or wheat.
The seat of the goddess: crowned with mango leaves and a coconut, it holds her for nine days.
- The lamp: lit beside it, and in devout homes kept burning day and night until the festival ends.
- Jawara: the sprouting grain, watered every morning, stands several inches high by the ninth day.
- The end: families carry it to a lake or river and immerse it.
Fasting, and the food it brings
Who fasts: many people, for all nine days or for the first and last.
Not hunger: a Navratri fast means no ordinary grains, no onion or garlic, and rock salt in place of table salt.
- The flours: buckwheat called kuttu, water chestnut called singhara, and amaranth called rajgira.
- Other foods: sago pearls, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yoghurt and fruit.
- Our favourites: sabudana khichdi, sago fried with peanuts, cumin and green chilli, and a warm kuttu puri with potatoes cooked in yoghurt.
- Ask for it: our guides will ask, and the palace kitchens will happily cook you a fasting thali.
Evening aarti and the songs
Aarti: every evening the family gathers in front of the pot, and the women sing the songs of the goddess.
- The jagran: in many neighbourhoods, an all-night singing of devotional songs under a canopy, with harmonium, dholak and microphones that reach several streets.
- In an old city: you will hear them late into the night.
- Join them: joyful rather than solemn, and visitors are almost always welcome to sit at the back.
Kanya puja, the eighth or ninth day
When: on Ashtami or Navami.
- The guests: young girls from the neighbourhood, each seen as a form of the goddess.
- The ritual: their feet are washed, a red thread is tied on their wrists, and they are fed halwa, puri and spiced black chickpeas, then sent home with small gifts.
- Why it moves people: a row of solemn eight-year-olds served like queens is one of the sweetest sights of the year.
Where to see Navratri in Rajasthan
Mehrangarh and the Chamunda temple, Jodhpur
The goddess: Chamunda Mata, brought by Rao Jodha from Mandore to his new fort in 1460, kuldevi of many Jodhpur families.
- Where: the southern end of Mehrangarh. At Navratri the path to her shrine fills with devotees from before dawn.
- Remembered: in 2008 a crush on that path on the first morning of Navratri cost more than two hundred lives, and the city has never forgotten it.
- Our way: crowd management is far stricter now, but we still visit on a quieter day and let our guide choose the hour.
Karni Mata at Deshnoke, near Bikaner
The walk: during both Navratris, pilgrims walk the thirty kilometres from Bikaner to Deshnoke through the night.
- The road: full of singing families and roadside stalls offering tea and water.
- The temple: Karni Mata, goddess of the Rathores of Jodhpur and Bikaner, at the heart of one of the great fairs of the desert.
- Read more: our page on the Karni Mata Fair explains how we see it.
Kalika Mata, Chittorgarh
The temple: on the great fort of Chittorgarh, originally built for the sun and later rededicated to the goddess.
- At Navratri: full of worshippers and lamps, so the whole fort feels like a living place of worship rather than a ruin.
- Why come now: to see Chittor as its own families do.
Udaipur and the royal household
Royal rites: in Udaipur, the Mewar royal household keeps its own Navratri rituals in the City Palace.
- Ashwa Poojan: in the autumn festival the household's horses are worshipped, and on Dussehra the arms of the house are honoured.
- Private, but: these ceremonies are private, while the city around them is joyful.
- Garba: Udaipur is close enough to Gujarat that garba circles spring up in its squares and gardens every night.
Tripura Sundari, near Banswara
Where: the green tribal country of the far south, near Banswara.
- Why: one of the most revered goddess shrines in southern Rajasthan, drawing pilgrims from the region and from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
- Pair it: with a night at a palace in Dungarpur.
Shila Devi at Amber Fort, Jaipur
The shrine: a small temple with silver doors inside Amber Fort, holding the goddess of the Kachwaha rulers.
- The image: tradition says Raja Man Singh I brought it from Bengal.
- At Navratri: the queue reaches out into the courtyard. Visit early, and pause at the silver doors even if you don't go in.
Osian, Sambhar and the desert goddesses
Sachiya Mata: the hilltop temple at Osian, above its old carved temples.
- Shakambhari: goddess of the Chauhans, near Sambhar Lake. Both are busiest during the two Navratris.
- Further west: families around Jaisalmer go to the goddess temples of the Bhati clans, among them Tanot Mata near the border.
Garba and dandiya, the dances of the nine nights
The circle: dancers move in rings around a lamp or an image of the goddess, clapping and turning, each circle spinning inside another.
The womb: the word is linked to garbha, the womb, and the lamp in its clay pot stands for life itself.
The dress: women in mirror-worked skirts called chaniya choli, men in short embroidered jackets.
- Garba
- Gujarat's circle dance around a lamp
- Dandiya raas
- Partner dance with decorated sticks
- UNESCO
- Garba of Gujarat listed in 2023
- Ghoomar
- Rajasthan's own, more for Gangaur and Teej
- Nearest big garba
- Ahmedabad, a day's drive
- Dandiya raas: pairs of decorated sticks click together in rhythm.
- Southern Rajasthan dances: it shares a border and much culture with Gujarat, so Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and Mount Abu all dance garba at Navratri.
- In Jaipur and Jodhpur: dandiya nights are now held in hotels, clubs and big grounds, often with live singers. Cheerful, well organised and very loud.
- The real thing: in Ahmedabad, the old pols and the city's great grounds dance until the small hours, and the neighbourhood circles are the most moving.
- Join a community garba: a family friend can take you, and newcomers are pulled into the outer circle and taught the first steps with great patience.
- Durga Puja: Bengali families in Jaipur and other cities hold their own in the same days, with clay images of Durga in decorated pavilions and evenings of food and music.
A Navratri day with us, hour by hour
Before dawn, the climb to the goddess
The walk: we meet in the dark below Mehrangarh and walk up with local families carrying coconuts, red cloth and marigolds.
- The hour: the fort is quiet, the city below still blue, and the Chamunda temple bells carry long before you reach it.
- Timing: on a calm day of the festival, our guide takes you to the shrine and back before the main crowds arrive.
Morning, the old city
Breakfast: down through the old city's lanes. Many sweet shops add fasting snacks to their counters.
- Clock Tower market: full of red and gold cloth for offerings.
- A neighbourhood shrine: where the goddess has been dressed in a different colour for the day.
Midday, a fasting thali
- The thali: kuttu puri, potatoes in yoghurt, sabudana khichdi, a fruit raita and a sweet of water chestnut flour.
- Why: lighter than a usual Rajasthani meal, and perfect before a long rest through the warm afternoon.
Late afternoon, Mandore or the stepwells
Mandore: the gardens and cenotaphs of Mandore in the cooler hours.
- Ravana's in-laws: local tradition says Mandodari, Ravana's wife, was born here, and some families regard Ravana as a son-in-law of the town.
- A good conversation: which makes the end of the festival interesting.
Evening, aarti and the jagran
Aarti: lamps and drums fill the neighbourhood temples of the old city.
- The jagran: later the canopies light up and the singing begins. We listen for an hour.
- Dinner: on a terrace with Mehrangarh lit above you.
Night, garba if you wish
- Where: a garba or dandiya night in one of the city's grounds, until well after midnight.
- Our guides: they know which are friendly to visitors, and how to leave before the car parks jam.
Etiquette and respect during Navratri
Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered for temples. A scarf over your head is a kind gesture in a goddess shrine. Our temple etiquette guide has more.
Shoes and leather: remove shoes before any shrine, and leave leather belts and bags in the car where you can.
- No meat or alcohol: not in or near the temples, and be discreet in pilgrim towns. Many hosts will be fasting.
- Photography: never photograph people at prayer without permission, and never use flash in a shrine. Some temples forbid photography altogether.
- Queues: follow them at big temples and let your guide choose the time. The first morning and the eighth day are the busiest.
- In a garba circle: join the outer ring, follow the dancers' direction and don't stop suddenly in the middle of the floor.
- Prasad: accept blessed food with your right hand, and don't put it on the floor.
- Invitations: for kanya puja or an evening aarti, bring a box of sweets and leave your shoes at the door.
How we plan a journey around Navratri
Easier booking: the autumn Navratri usually falls before the peak, so palace hotels are easier than in November and December.
The Jodhpur exception: the week of the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, around the Sharad Purnima full moon a few days after Dussehra.
- Lead time
- Three to four months, earlier for Jodhpur and Bikaner
- Busiest days
- First morning, Ashtami and Navami
- Temple visits
- Early morning
- Afternoons
- Rest, early October can be warm
- Classic pattern
- Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur
- Bikaner: for the Karni Mata Fair, palace hotels fill with pilgrims' families and wedding parties, so book early there too.
- Two or three places: rather than every temple. Three nights in Jodhpur, two in Bikaner for Deshnoke, and two or three in Udaipur for garba and the royal city.
- Add-ons: fort lovers add Chittorgarh, and those who want the full sweep end in Kota for the three-week Kota Dussehra fair.
- Ask us: for a Navratri thali at your hotel, and a family visit for kanya puja if you would like one.
Where to stay
Jodhpur: Umaid Bhawan Palace or RAAS Jodhpur, the second right below the fort and best placed for the Chamunda walk.
Bikaner: Laxmi Niwas Palace.
- Near Chittorgarh: Castle Bijaipur.
- Udaipur: the Taj Lake Palace or the Shiv Niwas Palace inside the City Palace complex.
- The far south: Udai Bilas Palace in Dungarpur makes a calm base for Banswara.
What to combine with Navratri
Dussehra, the tenth day
- Vijayadashami: the day after the ninth night, when effigies of Ravana are burned across Rajasthan.
- Read more: our page on Dussehra in Rajasthan explains the Ramlila, the royal rites and the best places to watch.
The folk festival at Mehrangarh
- When: a few days after Dussehra, around the full moon of Sharad Purnima.
- What: the Rajasthan International Folk Festival and the Marwar Festival. Stay on in Jodhpur for both.
Diwali, three weeks later
- When: Diwali comes twenty days after Dussehra.
- The whole season: some guests move from the goddess temples to the lamps of Jaipur. Our Diwali in Jaipur journey is the classic ending.
Sacred Rajasthan
- The route: our Sacred Rajasthan journey links Pushkar, Ajmer, Nathdwara and Ranakpur.
- At Navratri: it can be extended to the goddess temples of Mewar and Marwar.
Spring Navratri and Gangaur
- The pairing: Chaitra Navratri with the end of Gangaur and the Mewar Festival in Udaipur, and the larger Karni Mata Fair at Deshnoke.
- The trade-off: it is warmer, but the processions are worth it.
Who will love Navratri
Lived faith: you will love it if you want to see faith lived in homes, lanes and fort temples, rather than performed.
Early risers: it suits travellers who enjoy early mornings, music and food.
- Ahead of the crowds: anyone who wants to start the season before the crowds of November.
- Dancers and the curious: they will love a night of garba.
- Families: those with children often find the kanya puja and the evening aartis unexpectedly moving.
- Not for you if: crowds trouble you, you want monuments without worshippers, or you would rather not plan around temple hours.
- The alternative: travel a week after Dussehra, when the season has opened and the temples are calm again. Our best time to visit Rajasthan guide will help you choose.