Ayudha Puja 2026: 20 October

City-wise times

The Navami and Dashami times are the same in every city; the Vijaya muhurat and sunrise change with the city. For another city, pick it in the box above.

At a glance

Ayudha Puja

Tuesday, 20 October 2026 (Drik Panchang; Karnataka government list)

Tamil Nadu holiday

Ayudha Puja on Monday, 19 October (state government list)

Tithi

Ashwina Shukla Navami: 10:53 AM on 19 October to 12:52 PM on 20 October

Saraswati Puja (South)

20 October, with Ayudha Puja (Drik Panchang)

Saraswati Puja by nakshatra

Avahan 16, Puja 17, Balidan 18, Visarjan 19 October (Drik Panchang)

Vidyarambham

Wednesday, 21 October 2026; Dashami at sunrise (until 2:13 PM)

Vijayadashami

20 October (Drik Panchang); 21 October in the Karnataka and Kerala government lists

Other names

Astra Puja, Shastra Puja, Vahana Puja; Ayutha Poojai in Tamil; in Kerala, Vidyarambham is also called Ezhuthiniruthu

What Ayudha Puja is

According to Drik Panchang, Ayudha Puja is performed during Navratri on Navami tithi, mostly on Maha Navami, and is kept mainly in South India: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. It is also called Astra Puja and Shastra Puja. It was once the worship of weapons; today tools and instruments of every kind are worshipped on this day. Craftsmen worship their tools, much as on Vishwakarma Puja elsewhere in India, and many people worship their vehicles, which is called Vahana Puja. Many South Indian calendars also mark Saraswati Puja on this day: students place their books, and artists their instruments, before the goddess. These are customs; every family and temple may have its own way.

Ayudha Puja 2026: 19 or 20 October?

Ashtami tithi ends at 10:53 AM on 19 October and Navami begins, lasting until 12:52 PM on 20 October. So Navami holds at sunrise on 20 October, and Drik Panchang gives Ayudha Puja on that day: for Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi, and in its Tamil calendar (Chennai) too, where Ayutha Poojai and Saraswati Poojai are on 20 October. The Karnataka government’s 2026 holiday list also has Mahanavami and Ayudha Puja on 20 October. The Tamil Nadu government’s list has Ayudha Puja on Monday 19 October and Vijayadashami on 20 October, that is, on the day Navami begins; temples and families there keep the day their panchang gives. North India’s Maha Navami puja is on 19 October this time, together with Durga Ashtami (Drik Panchang’s rule; see the Durga Ashtami page); Drik gives the day of Ayudha Puja by the Navami at sunrise.

The days by state in 2026

Saraswati Puja: four days by nakshatra

Drik Panchang gives the Navratri Saraswati Puja over four days, set by the nakshatra rather than the tithi: Saraswati Avahan in Mula (16 October; Mula from 6:48 AM on 16 October to 9:48 AM on 17 October), the main Saraswati Puja in Purva Ashadha (17 October; Purva Ashadha until 12:50 PM on 18 October), Saraswati Balidan in Uttara Ashadha (18 October; until 3:39 PM on 19 October) and Saraswati Visarjan in Shravana (19 October; Shravana from 3:39 PM). According to Drik, most Dharma Shastras place the Navratri Saraswati Puja in Purva Ashadha nakshatra, while many South Indian calendars give it on the day of Ayudha Puja, on Navami; that is why Drik also lists a “South Saraswati Puja” on 20 October. Nakshatra moments are the same all over India; Drik gives the Avahan, Puja and Balidan muhurat in the last fifth of the day (Kochi, 17 October: 3:44–6:07 PM).

Kerala: from Pooja Vaypu to Vidyarambham

According to Kerala Tourism, the last three days of Navratri in Kerala, Durgashtami, Mahanavami and Vijayadashami, are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. By tradition, books are placed in the puja room of the home or the temple on Ashtami (Pooja Vaypu), tools and instruments are worshipped on Navami (Ayudha Puja), and on Vijayadashami the books are taken back after the Saraswati Puja and reading begins again. Children do not study from those books in these days, and workers also place their tools for worship. Onmanorama says the books are placed on the evening when Ashtami tithi holds; the Kerala government list for 2026 has no Pooja Vaypu day, so check it with your temple or Malayalam panchang.

Vidyarambham (Ezhuthiniruthu)

On the morning of Vijayadashami, young children are introduced to letters; this is Vidyarambham, called Ezhuthiniruthu in Kerala too. The sources give the children’s age as between two and five. By tradition the child sits in the lap of an acharya or an elder before a picture of Saraswati; the acharya holds the child’s finger and writes “Om Hari Sri Ganapataye Namah” in rice spread on a plate, and then writes the same letters on the child’s tongue with a gold ring. In Kerala the Panachikkad Saraswati temple at Kottayam and Thunchan Parambu at Tirur are known for it, and in Karnataka the Kollur Mookambika temple. In 2026 Drik Panchang gives Vidyarambham on Wednesday 21 October, when Dashami holds at sunrise (Dashami from 12:52 PM on 20 October to 2:13 PM on 21 October; sunrise in Kochi 6:14 AM).

Ayudha Puja at the Mysuru Dasara

At the Mysuru palace the royal family performs Ayudha Puja on Mahanavami: the royal sword (Pattada Katti) and other weapons are cleaned, worshipped and readied for the procession (Outlook Traveller, 2025). In 2019 the puja was held on 7 October, Mahanavami, in the palace courtyard; with the Wadiyar dynasty’s weapons the palace horses and elephants were worshipped, and the weapons were then carried in a golden palanquin to the Bhuvaneshwari temple (ETV Bharat). In 2026 the Mysuru Dasara runs from 11 to 21 October, with the Jamboo Savari on 21 October.

Checked against Drik Panchang

The times on this page are from our panchang calculation (Indian Standard Time). In Drik Panchang, Navami runs from 10:51 AM on 19 October to 12:50 PM on 20 October and Dashami until 2:11 PM on 21 October, about two minutes before ours; the nakshatras differ by a minute or two (Mula 6:47 AM to 9:47 AM, Purva Ashadha until 12:48 PM, Uttara Ashadha until 3:38 PM). Drik’s Ayudha Puja Vijaya muhurat is 2:02–2:49 PM in Bengaluru, 1:51–2:39 PM in Chennai and 1:59–2:45 PM in New Delhi; our calculation gives 2:02–2:49, 1:52–2:39 and 1:59–2:45 PM. Every date is the same in both.

How to perform the puja

1. Step 1

   Cleaning and decorating

   By tradition, tools, machines, books, instruments and vehicles are cleaned and decorated before Ayudha Puja. According to Drik Panchang, vehicles are decorated with vermilion, garlands, mango leaves and banana saplings.

2. Step 2

   Placing them for worship

   Books, pens, instruments and tools are placed before a picture of Goddess Saraswati or Durga, near a lit lamp. In Kerala, Kerala Tourism describes tools worshipped along with pictures of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati.

3. Step 3

   Ayudha and Vahana Puja

   On Navami, offer kumkum, sandal paste and flowers to what has been placed, and recite your tradition’s prayer or mantra. According to Drik Panchang, in many places a white pumpkin (ash gourd) is broken in front of the vehicle; in 2019 a pumpkin-cutting rite was part of the Mysuru palace Ayudha Puja too (ETV Bharat).

4. Step 4

   Left until the puja

   By tradition, the books and tools placed for worship stay there until the Vijayadashami puja; in Kerala children do not study from those books in these days.

5. Step 5

   Vijayadashami: taking them back, and Vidyarambham

   On the morning of Vijayadashami, after the Saraswati Puja, the books and tools are taken back (Pooja Eduppu in Kerala), and children’s Vidyarambham is held that morning. In 2026, according to Drik Panchang, this is Wednesday 21 October; in Tamil Nadu and wherever Vijayadashami is kept on 20 October, follow your temple’s custom.

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Frequently asked questions