Navami Tithi: The Ninth Day, Ram Navami and Maha Navami

Navami is the ninth tithi, when the Moon is between ninety-six and a hundred and eight degrees from the Sun. In the bright half the Moon is now past the first quarter and fattening towards full, and in the dark half it is a waning Moon that rises after midnight.

Navami is a day of two quite different reputations. In the almanac it is one of the three Rikta tithis, the empty ones, which are generally kept clear of weddings and housewarmings. In devotion it is the day of Rama’s birth, the culmination of Navaratri, and the day of several small festivals to the goddess and to the earth. Both statements are true and they do not conflict.

The tithi at a glance

Group and deity

The Rikta group is Chaturthi, Navami and Chaturdashi. Rikta means empty, and muhurat texts treat the group with caution for the kind of work that one hopes will grow, such as a marriage, a business or a new home. The group is a classification of the almanac, and it does not say that the days are inauspicious in any wider sense.

A common list gives Durga, also called Ambika, as the deity of Navami, and the link is strongest in Navaratri, where the ninth day is the day of Siddhidatri, the ninth form of the goddess, and the day on which the fast is broken in many homes. Another list in another text may give a different name, and Rama’s birthday on the same tithi shows how the day carries more than one devotion.

Festivals on Shukla Navami

Ram Navami falls on Chaitra Shukla Navami and celebrates the birth of Rama at midday, the end of Chaitra Navratri. The steps of the worship are in Ram Navami Puja Vidhi. Maha Navami falls on Ashvin Shukla Navami, the ninth day of Sharad Navratri and the day before Dussehra; in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala it is also the day on which tools, books and vehicles are worshipped in the Ayudha Puja.

Sita Navami falls on Vaishakha Shukla Navami and is observed as the birthday of Sita in many places, with a fast kept by married women. Akshaya Navami, also called Amla Navami, falls on Kartika Shukla Navami and is kept with a meal under the amla tree and a charitable gift, which tradition says does not diminish.

Festivals on Krishna Navami

Krishna Navami has one widely known observance: Matri Navami, also called Avidhava Navami, on the Navami of Pitru Paksha, the fortnight of remembering ancestors, when the mother and the women of the family who died during their husbands’ lifetimes are offered a shraddha. It is described alongside the ancestral days on the page for Amavasya.

Pitru Paksha is the dark half of Bhadrapada in the amanta reckoning and the dark half of Ashvin in the purnimanta, so the same Matri Navami is placed in different months by different calendars. The explanation is on the page about amanta and purnimanta.

What muhurat practice says

As a Rikta tithi, Navami is generally left out of the lists of days recommended for marriage, a housewarming, buying a vehicle or starting a business. If a date on a Navami is proposed for one of those, an astrologer will look hard at the other factors and may suggest a neighbouring day.

There is a recognised line between ceremonies of growth and acts of worship. Fasting, puja and the worship of Rama and the goddess are carried out on Navami with great devotion, and Navami of Navaratri and Ram Navami are treated as days that carry their own strength. Some astrologers treat Ram Navami as a day on which tradition permits new beginnings as well, but that is a local view and not a general rule.

The weekday, nakshatra and individual charts also count in any choice. For a real date, the muhurat section shows how all of these factors are weighed together, and a family astrologer can confirm the details for you.

A simple way to observe the day

On Ram Navami the simplest observance is a lamp, a flower, the reading of a few verses about Rama, and a sweet offering at midday. On Maha Navami many families worship the tools of their trade and then eat together, and the day is often a quiet family meal rather than a long ritual.

If you keep a fast on any Navami, treat it as a personal choice. Speak to your doctor if you have a health condition, are pregnant, nursing, elderly or on regular medicine, and keep a lighter observance if you need to.

Reading the tithi in the calendar

Navami is the tithi where the rule for Ram Navami is the clearest example of a time-of-day test: the tithi must be in force at midday, the hour of Rama’s birth, so the date can differ from the sunrise tithi. In some years Navami begins just after midday one day and runs into the next, and the calendar then names the day on which it covers midday.

Navami can also be shortened to nothing or double on the calendar. A kshaya Navami begins and ends between two sunrises, and Navaratri then has a shorter sequence of named days, a point that often surprises people who expect nine fixed days.

To see whether Navami is the tithi running today in your own city, open the daily panchang. Navami follows Ashtami in the cycle and is followed by Dashami; the whole set is described in the guide to the thirty tithis.

Related pages

• Ram Navami and Ram Navami Puja Vidhi: the Chaitra festival.
• Sharad Navratri and Navratri Daily Puja: the nine nights that end at Navami.
• Dussehra: the day after Maha Navami.
• Amavasya: the other day of remembering ancestors.
• Muhurat: how Rikta tithis are treated.
• Amanta and purnimanta: how the month name of a Krishna Navami differs.

Frequently asked questions