Chaitra Navratri Ashtami 2027 Date

About Chaitra Navratri Ashtami

The eighth day of Chaitra Navratri belongs to Mahagauri — the once-dark Parvati restored to radiant white after Shiva bathed her in Ganga water from his matted hair. Households mark it with Kanya Puja: feeding young girls puri, halwa and black chana as living forms of the goddess.

Two stories explain the name Maha-Gauri (literally 'the very fair one'). In one, years of forest penance to win Shiva had blackened Parvati's skin; pleased at last, Shiva washed her with the Ganga flowing from his hair and her complexion returned. In the Devi Mahatmya version, the dark sheath she shed at Lake Manasarovar became Kaushiki — the warrior goddess who went on to fight Shumbha and Nishumbha. The ritual signature of Ashtami is Kanya Puja (also called Kanjak): girls aged two to ten stand in for the nine Durgas, their feet are washed, and they are served puri, semolina halwa and black chana before receiving gifts. Coconut is the specific prasad offered to Mahagauri, and donating coconuts to Brahmins is believed to bless childless couples. At Belur Math the Kumari Puja is famously held on this day.