Durga Ashtami 1985
Mahashtami — Kanya Puja and Sandhi Puja of Navratri.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)05:59
- Sunset17:25
- Fasting window (tithi)1985-10-20 · 14:06 → 13:16
- Parana (tithi ends)13:16
Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.
Read the Durga Ashtami puja vidhi, vrat rules and kathaDurga Ashtami — Frequently Asked Questions
When is Durga Ashtami celebrated?
On the Ashtami of the Shukla Paksha of Ashvina — the eighth day of Sharad Navratri, in autumn, two days before Vijayadashami. For this year's date, see the date shown above.
What is Sandhi Puja?
The worship performed across the joining of Ashtami and Navami — the last ghati of the eighth tithi and the first of the ninth. It marks the moment Durga took the Chamunda form to slay Chanda and Munda, and is the high point of Durga Puja.
Is Kanya Puja done on Ashtami or Navami?
It is done on either, and many families keep it on Mahashtami. Young girls are worshipped as living forms of the goddess, their feet washed, fed bhog, and given a gift and dakshina.
How is Durga Ashtami different from Maha Navami?
Ashtami invokes the goddess's fiercest forms and carries the Sandhi Puja; Navami, the following day, completes the worship with the homa and Ayudha Puja before the victory of Dussehra.
Other major festivals in 1985
- Makar Sankranti — 14 January 1985
- Vasant Panchami — 26 January 1985
- Maha Shivaratri — 17 February 1985
- Holika Dahan — 6 March 1985
- Holi — 7 March 1985
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 22 March 1985
- Ram Navami — 30 March 1985
- Akshaya Tritiya — 23 April 1985
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 20 June 1985
- Guru Purnima — 2 July 1985
- Nag Panchami — 20 August 1985
- Raksha Bandhan — 30 August 1985
- Krishna Janmashtami — 7 September 1985
- Hartalika Teej — 17 September 1985
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 18 September 1985
- Anant Chaturdashi — 27 September 1985
- Pitru Paksha begins — 29 September 1985
- Sharad Navratri begins — 15 October 1985
- Maha Navami — 22 October 1985
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 22 October 1985
- Karwa Chauth — 1 November 1985
- Dhanteras — 10 November 1985
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 11 November 1985
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 12 November 1985
- Govardhan Puja — 13 November 1985
- Bhai Dooj — 14 November 1985
- Chhath Puja — 17 November 1985
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 27 November 1985
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 27 November 1985
- Hindu Festivals 1985 →