ಮಾಸ ದುರ್ಗಾಷ್ಟಮಿ | Masik Durgashtami

Masik Durgashtami, the monthly Durgashtami, is the worship of the goddess Durga on the ashtami, the eighth tithi, of every shukla paksha. It is also called Masa Durgashtami or simply Durga Ashtami. It comes once in every lunar month, the adhika month included, a week or so after each new moon, and those who keep it fast and worship the goddess. The most important Durgashtami of the year is the one that falls in the Navaratri of Ashwayuja, the Mahashtami; the monthly observance carries that day’s worship through the rest of the year.

Why the ashtami

The eighth tithi is kept for worship in both fortnights. In the bright half it is Durga’s; in the dark half it is Bhairava’s, kept as Kalashtami. The great autumn worship of Durga reaches its height on the eighth day of Navaratri, and the two Gupta Navaratris, of Ashadha and Magha, have their own ashtamis. The monthly vrata takes the same tithi in every other month and keeps it on a smaller scale.

How it is kept

The form is simple and much the same everywhere. The day begins with a bath and the morning puja to Durga, with flowers, fruit and sweets. Many keep a fast through the day. The Devi Mahatmya, the seven hundred verses known as the Durga Saptashati, is read, in full or in part, or Durga stotras and mantras are recited. Lamps are lit and an arati is done in the evening. The reasons usually given for keeping it are courage, and freedom from fear and from obstacles. Families and temples keep it in their own ways, and the form described here is the common core rather than a fixed rule.

Which day Anudina gives

Anudina gives Masik Durgashtami on the day on which the ashtami of the bright fortnight is running at sunrise. When the ashtami covers two sunrises, the first day is taken; when it is so short that no sunrise falls within it, the day on which it begins. The next dates it gives are 17 November and 17 December 2026.

In the month of Ashwayuja the monthly entry is not shown separately. That ashtami is Durga Ashtami of Navaratri, and Anudina lists it under that name alone. Masik Durgashtami is shown whichever custom, North or South, the reader has chosen.