Monday, 19 October 2026
Ashwin, Shukla Paksha · Vikram Samvat 2083 · Shaka 1948
Ashtami · Durga Ashtami
19 October 2026 is Ashwin Shukla Paksha Ashtami, a Somvaar (सोमवार). It is Durga Ashtami, also called Maha Ashtami, Mahashtami, Ashtami Puja, Virashtami and Sandhi Puja. The tithi runs from 8:28 AM on 18 October 2026 until 10:52 AM. Sunrise at New Delhi is 6:24 AM and sunset is 5:47 PM. Rahu Kaal falls between 7:49 AM and 9:14 AM, and the Abhijit Muhurat is 11:42 AM to 12:28 PM. DevPunya performs 3 rituals on this date.
Tithi, Paksha and Vaar (तिथि)
Ashtami begins 8:28 AM, 18 Oct and ends 10:52 AM.
Durga Ashtami
Durga Ashtamiदुर्गा अष्टमी
Ashwin Shukla Paksha Ashtami
Also known as Maha Ashtami, Mahashtami, Ashtami Puja, Virashtami and Sandhi Puja.
The eighth night, on which Durga is worshipped as Mahagauri and the weapons of the goddess are honoured. The last twenty-four minutes of Ashtami and the first twenty-four of Navami form Sandhi Puja, the moment at which Durga is held to have taken the Chamunda form and killed Chanda and Munda -- the most charged hour of the entire festival.
What devotees do
- Kanya Pujan: nine young girls are worshipped as the nine forms, fed and given gifts.
- Offer the Ashtami havan.
- Sandhi Puja at the junction of Ashtami and Navami, with 108 lamps.
Shubh Muhurat (शुभ मुहूर्त)
Abhijit is the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas between sunrise and sunset, so it is 46 minutes long today rather than a fixed 48 — it stretches and shrinks with the length of the day.
Ashubh Kaal (अशुभ काल)
We do not publish Varjyam, Dur Muhurat or Godhuli Muhurat. The rules behind them are known, but the underlying tables differ between sources by enough to move a window by the better part of an hour — and these are windows whose whole purpose is telling you not to begin something. We would rather leave them out than print a number we cannot stand behind.
Pujas and chadhaava being performed on 19 Oct 2026
Choghadiya (चौघड़िया)
The day and the night are each divided into eight parts. Amrit, Shubh and Labh are auspicious; Char is neutral; Udveg, Kaal and Rog are best avoided. It is the quickest check there is for whether the next hour and a half is a good time to begin something.
Day — sunrise 6:24 AM to sunset 5:47 PM
Night — sunset 5:47 PM to sunrise 6:24 AM
The night choghadiya belongs to Somvaar, not to the next day: in the panchang the weekday changes at sunrise, not at midnight.
Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana (नक्षत्र)
The Moon is in Uttara Ashadha at sunrise, in its 3rd pada. A karana is half a tithi, which is why there are more of them in a day than anything else here.
Sun and Moon (सूर्य और चंद्र)
Day length is 11 hours 23 minutes, night 12 hours 37 minutes. A missing moonrise or moonset is not missing data: the Moon rises about fifty minutes later each day, so roughly once a lunar month a calendar date contains neither one nor the other.
Hora (होरा)
Twenty-four planetary hours from sunrise, in the Chaldean order. The first is always ruled by the lord of the weekday — Moon (Chandra) today, which is what makes it Somvaar. Day horas and night horas are not sixty minutes each; they are a twelfth of the actual day and a twelfth of the actual night.
Rashi, Masa and Samvat (मास)
The two masa reckonings differ through every waning fortnight, which is why a calendar from Delhi and one from Chennai can name the same day differently. Today it is Ashwin in the north and Ashwin in the south — the same, as they always are in a waxing fortnight.
Questions about 19 October 2026
What tithi is 19 October 2026?
19 October 2026 is Ashwin Shukla Paksha Ashtami. The tithi runs from 8:28 AM on 18 October 2026 until 10:52 AM, calculated for New Delhi.
Is 19 October 2026 Durga Ashtami?
Yes. 19 October 2026 is Durga Ashtami, also known as Maha Ashtami, Mahashtami, Ashtami Puja, Virashtami and Sandhi Puja. The eighth night, on which Durga is worshipped as Mahagauri and the weapons of the goddess are honoured. The last twenty-four minutes of Ashtami and the first twenty-four of Navami form Sandhi Puja, the moment at which Durga is held to have taken the Chamunda form and killed Chanda and Munda -- the most charged hour of the entire festival.
What is the Rahu Kaal on 19 October 2026?
Rahu Kaal on 19 October 2026 is from 7:49 AM to 9:14 AM at New Delhi. Yamaganda is 10:40 AM to 12:05 PM and Gulika Kaal is 1:30 PM to 2:56 PM. These are the periods in which new work is traditionally not begun.
What is the shubh muhurat on 19 October 2026?
Abhijit Muhurat, the window good for almost any undertaking, is 11:42 AM to 12:28 PM. Brahma Muhurat is 4:43 AM to 5:33 AM before dawn, and Vijaya Muhurat is 1:59 PM to 2:44 PM.
What time is sunrise and sunset on 19 October 2026?
At New Delhi, sunrise on 19 October 2026 is 6:24 AM and sunset is 5:47 PM. Moonrise is 1:44 PM The Moon does not set on this calendar date.
Which pujas does DevPunya perform on 19 October 2026?
DevPunya performs 3 rituals on 19 October 2026: Ma Varahi Mahayagya Evam Tantrokta Havan for Land, Wealth & Property Blessings at Varahi Devi Shaktipeeth, 5 Himachal ShaktiPeeth Chunri Chadhawa & Prasad Kit Delivery - Maa Baglamukhi, Chamunda Devi, Maa Chintpurni, Jwalamukhi Devi, Kangra Brijeshwari at 5 Sacred Mata Temples and Devi Dhura ShaktiPeeth Sapt Matrika Maa Varahi Chadhawa at Devi Dhura ShaktiPeeth. Each is performed by pandit jis at the temple itself, in your name and gotra.
All timings are calculated for New Delhi, India (28.61°N, 77.21°E) in Indian Standard Time, using the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsha. Sunrise and every muhurat derived from it shift by up to an hour across India, so times will differ for your city.