Ahoi Ashtami 2026

Dates around the world · 2026

Date source: drikpanchang.com (New Delhi, Edison, New Jersey, San Jose, California, London, Toronto, Sydney). Dates are taken from the cited published panchang for each region and year; regions we could not verify are left out.

How to observe

Tick the steps as you go. The ticks are saved on this device only.

1. 1Before sunrise, many mothers have a little food and water, then take a sankalp for the fast and for their children's wellbeing.
2. 2Fast through the day. Many keep it nirjala, like Karwa Chauth; others take water or fruit. Go by your health and your family's custom.
3. 3In the afternoon, make the Ahoi Mata picture: Ahoi Mata with the syahu (porcupine) and her cubs, and in many homes seven sons drawn beside her. Traditionally it is drawn on the wall in geru. In a rented flat, draw it on chart paper with red or brown pens and tape it up, or use the printed Ahoi Mata picture sold at Indian stores.
4. 4Place a karwa or kalash of water in front of the picture, tied with kalava. Many families use the same karwa they kept on Karwa Chauth. Put out a thali with roli, rice, a diya and the bhog: puri, halwa, boiled chana or sweets. What is offered, and how many, differs between families.
5. 5In some families the mother wears a silver Ahoi (syau) pendant on a thread for the puja, adding a bead for each child. Follow your family's custom.
6. 6In your city's puja muhurat, light the diya and begin with Vakratunda Mahakaya. Then read or listen to the Ahoi Ashtami vrat katha, with the children nearby if you can. Some mothers hold seven grains of wheat in the hand while listening.
7. 7Sing the Ahoi Mata aarti if your family knows it, or Jai Parvati Mata.
8. 8At star-sighting time for your city (in the table above), go to a balcony, a window or outside. When you see the first stars, offer arghya from the karwa and pray. Families who break the fast on the moon wait until it rises, much later.
9. 9Break the fast with the prasad. Give the baya (a share of the food with a gift or some money) to your mother-in-law or an elder woman in the family, and take her blessings.
10. 10Many families keep the water from the karwa and use it at home on Diwali. Customs differ, so ask an elder in your family.
11. 11Apartment note: keep the diya on a plate, away from curtains and smoke detectors, and don't leave it burning alone. An electric diya is a common choice where flames are not allowed. In the US and Canada, clocks go back one hour at 2 AM on 1 November, and the times in the table are already the new time.

Customs differ by family and region. Follow your family tradition and temple where they differ from these steps.

What you will need

• Ahoi Mata picture: drawn in geru, or with red and brown pens on chart paper, or the printed Ahoi Mata picture from an Indian grocery (Patel Brothers in the US, and the Indian shops in Southall, Leicester, Brampton or Harris Park often have them before Diwali). A printout works too.
• Karwa or kalash: the karwa from Karwa Chauth if you kept it, or a small steel or brass lota.
• Kalava or mauli (plain red thread is fine), roli, akshat (unbroken rice) and a diya with ghee or oil. Use an electric diya if your building doesn't allow flames.
• Bhog: puri, halwa, boiled chana or sweets, made at home. Families differ on what and how many.
• Seven grains of wheat for the katha, if your family keeps that custom. Whole wheat is sold at Indian grocers.
• Silver Ahoi (syau) pendant on a thread, only if your family uses one. Indian jewellers abroad sell them around Diwali.
• Water for arghya, and a few drops of Ganga jal if you have some.
• Baya for your mother-in-law or an elder: a share of the bhog with a small gift or some money.

Texts to recite

• Vakratunda MahakayaVakratunda Mahakaya is a two-line Sanskrit shloka to Lord Ganesh and one of the most widely recited. It asks the Lord with the curved trunk, radiant as ten million suns, to keep all our work free of obstacles. Tradition says it before any puja, study, journey or new venture, and many people chant it 11, 21 or 108 times on Wednesdays and on Ganesh Chaturthi.
• Ahoi Ashtami Vrat KathaThe Ahoi Ashtami vrat katha is the story mothers read on Ahoi Ashtami, the fast they keep for their children a few days after Karwa Chauth. It tells of a merchant's wife who accidentally killed a porcupine's cub while digging clay, lost her seven sons, and had them restored by Ahoi Mata after she owned her mistake and kept the fast. It is read in the evening, before the fast is broken at the sight of the stars.
• Jai Parvati MataJai Parvati Mata is a short Hindi aarti to Goddess Parvati, Shiva's consort and the mother of Ganesha. Its refrain and seven stanzas recall her birth as Sati and then as the daughter of the Himalaya, her victory over Shumbha and Nishumbha, and her joyful life with Shiva. Women sing it at Teej, Karwa Chauth and Gauri puja, and on Mondays.

Questions