On the sixth day of Navratri the Goddess is worshipped as Katyayani, the warrior. After the gentle forms of the first five days, this is the day on which Navratri turns towards the great battle of the festival’s story. In many families it is also the day on which the evening puja grows larger.
This page belongs to the Navadurga guide. The order of the nine days is the widely followed one, and families in some regions arrange it differently.
The day of Navratri
Katyayani is worshipped on Shashthi, the sixth tithi of the bright half. In 2026 Shashthi is in force at sunrise on Friday 16 October 2026 in New Delhi and Pune, running until 5:54 am the next morning. This is also Maha Shashthi, the day on which Durga Puja begins in Bengal; see the Durga Puja page. In Chaitra Navratri 2027 the sixth day is Monday 12 April 2027. The Sharad Navratri page and the Chaitra Navratri page cover other cities, and the Navratri day by day page lists all nine days. The day before is Skandamata, and after it comes Kalaratri.
Form and iconography
Katyayani is shown with four arms (in some images ten or eighteen). In her right hands one is raised in reassurance and one gives a blessing. In the left she holds a sword and a lotus. She rides a lion, and her complexion is bright. Of the nine forms she is the one most often pictured as a young woman at the start of a battle, steady and unhurried.
In this role she is the form closest to the Goddess of the Devi Mahatmya, who is born from the combined power of the gods and defeats Mahishasura. The hymn of the Mahishasura Mardini tradition is on its own page: the Mahishasura Mardini Stotram.
The story as tradition tells it
The name comes from the sage Katyayana. The tradition says that he performed severe penance in order to have the Goddess as his daughter, and she was born to him as Katyayani. In the accounts told in the Puranas, when Mahishasura was oppressing the gods, the combined anger of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva became a blazing light, and the light took the form of a girl. The sage worshipped her first, and then the gods did, and she went out to face the demon. The details differ from Purana to Purana, so we describe the common pattern and do not follow a single source.
This is the same battle that the Devi Mahatmya tells in chapters 2 and 3, where the goddess arises from the radiance of the gods and defeats Mahishasura: see chapter 3 for his death. The Devi Mahatmya does not use the name Katyayani for her in that story. The identification of the two comes from the later tradition.
The gopis and Katyayani. Another well-known account is in the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana. The young women of Vraja, in the month of Margashirsha, make an image of the goddess Katyayani from sand on the bank of the Yamuna, worship her each day and ask that Krishna should be their husband. This is the Katyayani vrata, and in some regions unmarried girls still keep it. Katyayani also appears in the verse known as the Durga Gayatri, in the older Taittiriya Aranyaka, in the line “Katyayanaya vidmahe”: the verse is evidence that the name is very old, and does not itself connect her to the sixth day.
The brow centre
In the yoga-influenced reading that is popular today, Katyayani is linked to the brow centre, ajna, the seat of clear sight and decision. Like the other links of this kind, it is a modern reading and not found in the older texts.
The dhyana shloka
Modern booklets print a short dhyana verse for Katyayani. We have not been able to match it to an old printed edition that we can check, so we do not quote it here. If your family recites a verse, use it as it stands. It will describe the picture above: the lion, the sword, the lotus and the moon-bright face.
Offerings and customs
The offering commonly given to Katyayani is honey, and it is said in tradition to bring a pleasant voice and an easy temper. Honey is also given in the form of sweets made with it. In many homes a small amount is offered and shared.
Katyayani is prayed to in particular by young unmarried women who hope for a good marriage. This is a custom drawn from the story of the gopis and some families keep it; it is neither a rule nor a promise. Nobody needs to feel that a particular outcome depends on a prayer.
In Maharashtra the popular colour for the day depends on the weekday and changes each year; the day by day page lays it out as a regional custom. Red is the colour linked with Katyayani in many places. The evening aarti, Jai Ambe Gauri, and a few verses of the Durga Chalisa are common. See the daily puja guide for a short order.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Which day of Navratri is Katyayani worshipped?
Katyayani is worshipped on the sixth day, Shashthi. In 2026 that is Friday 16 October 2026 in New Delhi and Pune.
↳ Why is she called Katyayani?
The tradition names her for the sage Katyayana, who prayed to have the Goddess as his daughter. The name itself is old and appears in a verse of the Taittiriya Aranyaka.
↳ Who worshipped Katyayani in the Bhagavata Purana?
The young women of Vraja worshipped her in the month of Margashirsha and asked that Krishna should be their husband. The practice is known as the Katyayani vrata.
↳ What is offered to Katyayani?
Honey is the commonly given offering. It is a custom and not a rule.
↳ Is Katyayani the same as the goddess who killed Mahishasura?
Tradition identifies them. The Devi Mahatmya does not use the name Katyayani in that story, and the identification comes from later Puranic and devotional accounts.