Thursday, 17 December 2026
Margashirsha, Shukla Paksha · Vikram Samvat 2083 · Shaka 1948
Ashtami · Masik Durgashtami
17 December 2026 is Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Ashtami, a Guruvaar (गुरुवार). It is Masik Durgashtami, also called Durga Ashtami, Masik Durga Ashtami, Ashtami Vrat and Mahashtami. The tithi runs from 10:46 PM on 16 December 2026 until 11:26 PM. Sunrise at New Delhi is 7:07 AM and sunset is 5:26 PM. Rahu Kaal falls between 1:33 PM and 2:51 PM, and the Abhijit Muhurat is 11:55 AM to 12:37 PM.
Tithi, Paksha and Vaar (तिथि)
Ashtami begins 10:46 PM, 16 Dec and ends 11:26 PM.
Masik Durgashtami
Masik Durgashtamiमासिक दुर्गाष्टमी
Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Ashtami
Also known as Durga Ashtami, Masik Durga Ashtami, Ashtami Vrat and Mahashtami.
The monthly fast to Durga on the eighth of the waxing moon. The Ashwin one, inside Sharad Navratri, is Maha Ashtami; the rest are kept in the same spirit for strength and for protection of the household.
What devotees do
- Fast through the day.
- Worship Durga with red flowers, kumkum and a lit lamp.
- Kanya Pujan where the household keeps it monthly.
Shubh Muhurat (शुभ मुहूर्त)
Abhijit is the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas between sunrise and sunset, so it is 41 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We do not publish Varjyam, Dur Muhurat or Godhuli Muhurat.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.
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 7:07 AM to sunset 5:26 PM
Night — sunset 5:26 PM to sunrise 7:07 AM
The night choghadiya belongs to Guruvaar, 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 Purva Bhadrapada 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 10 hours 19 minutes, night 13 hours 41 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 — Jupiter (Guru) today, which is what makes it Guruvaar. 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 Margashirsha in the north and Margashirsha in the south — the same, as they always are in a waxing fortnight.
Questions about 17 December 2026
What tithi is 17 December 2026?
17 December 2026 is Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Ashtami. The tithi runs from 10:46 PM on 16 December 2026 until 11:26 PM, calculated for New Delhi.
Is 17 December 2026 Masik Durgashtami?
Yes. 17 December 2026 is Masik Durgashtami, also known as Durga Ashtami, Masik Durga Ashtami, Ashtami Vrat and Mahashtami. The monthly fast to Durga on the eighth of the waxing moon. The Ashwin one, inside Sharad Navratri, is Maha Ashtami; the rest are kept in the same spirit for strength and for protection of the household.
What is the Rahu Kaal on 17 December 2026?
Rahu Kaal on 17 December 2026 is from 1:33 PM to 2:51 PM at New Delhi. Yamaganda is 7:07 AM to 8:24 AM and Gulika Kaal is 9:41 AM to 10:59 AM. These are the periods in which new work is traditionally not begun.
What is the shubh muhurat on 17 December 2026?
Abhijit Muhurat, the window good for almost any undertaking, is 11:55 AM to 12:37 PM. Brahma Muhurat is 5:17 AM to 6:12 AM before dawn, and Vijaya Muhurat is 1:59 PM to 2:40 PM.
What time is sunrise and sunset on 17 December 2026?
At New Delhi, sunrise on 17 December 2026 is 7:07 AM and sunset is 5:26 PM. Moonrise is 12:16 PM The Moon does not set on this calendar date.
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.