- Reference city
- Delhi (other cities in the table)
- Moon's nakshatra then
- Shatabhisha (at about 6:45 am on 18 November)
What Akshaya Navami is
Akshaya Navami, also called Amla Navami, is kept on Navami, the ninth tithi, of the bright fortnight of Kartika. The amla (Indian gooseberry) tree is worshipped and in many families a meal is cooked and eaten under it. 'Akshaya' means that which does not decay.
The rites belong to the morning, so the date follows the Navami that covers more of the forenoon. It comes two days before Dev Uthani Ekadashi.
How Akshaya Navami is commonly observed
- The amla tree is watered and worshipped with a thread, turmeric and a lamp.
- The tree is circled, often seven times.
- A meal is cooked and eaten sitting under the tree, where one is available.
- Food is shared, and some families give food to others.
- The story of the day is read or heard.
These are common practices. Families and regions differ, and none of them is needed to read the date on this page.
The date for 2026, worked out
A tithi is the time in which the Moon gains 12 degrees on the Sun. Navami is tithi number 9 of the bright fortnight, when the Moon is 96 to 108 degrees ahead of the Sun. By the chart engine it begins 18 November at about 6:05 am and ends 19 November at about 7:05 am, Indian time.
The rite belongs to the morning, the first two fifths of the daylight, so the day is the one on which the tithi covers more of it. Delhi's sunrise, sunset and the rule's moment are below.
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Morning window, Delhi | Navami covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, 18 November 2026 | 6:45 am | 5:26 pm | 6:45 am to 11:01 am | all of it |
| Thursday, 19 November 2026 | 6:46 am | 5:26 pm | 6:46 am to 11:02 am | 8 percent of it |
Navami reaches the morning (the first two fifths of the daylight) in Delhi on both 18 November and 19 November. It covers more of it on 18 November (the whole window against 8 percent), so by this rule the day is Wednesday, 18 November 2026.
Calendars that weigh the two days differently can show the other date. Mumbai gives the same day.
Why calendars can differ on Akshaya Navami
This tithi is in the bright fortnight after the new moon that closes Ashwin, so it belongs to Kartika in both the purnimanta and the amanta calendars.
The same rule at other cities, for the day or days the tithi touches:
| City | Date | Window begins | Navami covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 18 November | 6:45 am | all of it |
| Delhi | 19 November | 6:46 am | 8 percent of it |
| Mumbai | 18 November | 6:47 am | all of it |
| Mumbai | 19 November | 6:47 am | 7 percent of it |
In 2026 Navami begins about half an hour before sunrise on the first day and ends a little after sunrise on the next, so it is running at sunrise on both mornings.
The forenoon rule used here picks the day that holds more of the morning, but a calendar that looks only at the sunrise tithi could show either. Check your family's own panchang.
Method and limits
Positions come from the same engine that draws the free kundli, with the Lahiri ayanamsa. The tithi comes from the angle between the Sun and the Moon, so it does not depend on the ayanamsa.
Sunrise, sunset and moonrise are for the upper edge of the body with standard refraction, in Indian Standard Time. Tithi times are shown to the nearest five minutes because other panchangs can differ by a minute or so, and a different city moves sunrise and moonrise by minutes to an hour or more.
Regional traditions differ, and for the day and hour you keep the observance, follow your local panchang or temple. The full list of settings is on the method page.
Your own chart on this day
Dates on this page describe the sky only. The nakshatra finder and the current dasha tool show the facts of your own chart for any birth, and the festival calendar for 2026 lists the other festivals of the season with their dates.
Calculated with the Lahiri ayanamsa and whole sign houses; every setting is on the method page. Last checked 15 October 2026.