Durga Puja—a celebration of all that is good and light—is one of the most significant events in the Hindu calendar and in India. The festivities are usually a time of devotion, cultural expression, community bonding and, most importantly, blending the metaphor of everything the Goddess epitomizes in our everyday lives. 

Continue reading as Wego reveals everything about Maha Saptami, including the dates, celebrations, and significance.

Maha Saptami 2025 date and time 

Maha Saptami 2025 will be celebrated on Monday, 29 September. 

The auspicious hours of Saptami, according to tithi (holy lunar hour as per the Vedic calendar), are as follows: 

  • Saptami Tithi begins – 2:27 PM on 28 Sep 2025
  • Saptami Tithi ends – 4:31 PM on 29 Sep 2025

According to the Vedic almanac, the Sun timings on the Navpatrika Day is as follows:

  • Dawn: 5:05 AM
  • Observational sunrise: 5:27 AM 

Maha Saptami significance 

Saptami, also known as Maha Saptami/Mahasaptami or the Navpatrika Day, is the first official day of Durga Puja when the essence of Goddess Durga and her warrior companions are incited within a group of nine plants as mediums to be worshipped for their divinity and pay homage to their strength and resilience. 

Maha Saptami is also the seventh day of the ten-day Durga Puja festival. It is believed that the epic battle between Goddess Durga and the demon king Mahishasura began on the seventh day. 

Saptami is also the seventh day of the Navaratri festival. 

Maha Saptami 2025 celebrations 

Traditionally

The Navapatrika is an elemental aspect of Mahasaptami. The nine leaves, or Nabapatrika, comprise leaves of—banana or Brahmani, colocasia or Kalika, jayanti or Kartiki, wood apple or Shiva, pomegranate or Raktadantika, ashoka or Sokrahita, arum or Chamunda, paddy or Lakshmi and turmeric or Durga. 

In Hinduism, a living medium is essential to invoke the spirit of a deity, interact with divinity and pay homage. On Mahasaptami, Goddess Durga, along with eight of her warriors, is invoked in a group of nine plants known as Navpatrika. The eight other warriors represent eight different forms of Shakti or strength, and Goddess Durga is the ninth form of Shakti. 

After invoking their spirits in the leaves, Navapatrika is tied together with Koyala and Aparajita plants to resemble a lady and taken to the river for a ceremonial holy dip, such as the Holy Ganges for the people worshipping the Goddess in Kolkata. 

Pran pratishtha 

After the bathing ceremony or the Navapatrika Snan is completed, the ritual of Pran Pratishtha takes place. 

During the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, a pot filled with holy water, covered with coconut and surrounded by five mango leaves, is placed in front of the clay idol of the Goddess Durga to be consecrated by the priest with the spirit of the Goddess as they chant divine hymns. 

Shodashopachar Puja 

Once the spirit of Durga is invoked, the Goddess is worshipped with sixteen different puja or holy items, known as Shodashopachar Puja. 

Social 

Usually, people go out for pandal hopping on Maha Saptami, similar to other days of Durga Puja.

We recommend checking our dedicated Durga Puja article to learn about the cultural festival of Durga Puja. 

 

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