Akshaya Navami 2026

About Akshaya Navami

Akshaya Navami, also called Amla or Aonla Navami, is the bright ninth of Kartik, when Hindu families worship the amla tree and eat a meal in its shade. In 2026 it falls on Wednesday, 18 November 2026, two days before Dev Uthani Ekadashi. It is kept across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and the Hindi belt, with a walking parikrama of Mathura and Vrindavan, and in Odisha as Anla Navami, the one day Radha's feet are shown at Sakhigopal.

Akshaya means "that which does not decay": worship and charity done on Kartik Shukla Navami are believed to bring merit that never runs out. The day falls nine days after Diwali, a day after Gopashtami and two days before Dev Uthani Ekadashi, when Vishnu is said to wake from his four-month sleep.

Amla, Aonla and Dhatri Navami name the tree. Iccha Navami, the "wish ninth", comes from the belief that a wish made at the amla puja comes true. Kushmanda Navami refers to the ash gourd given away on this day; Bharatdiscovery tells of Vishnu killing a demon named Kushmanda, from whose body an ash gourd vine grew.

Why the amla tree is worshipped

The best-known story in north India is about Lakshmi. She wanted to worship Vishnu and Shiva together, but Vishnu's favourite offering is tulsi and Shiva's is bel. She noticed that the amla tree carries the qualities of both, so she worshipped the tree as a form of the two gods. Pleased, both appeared, and Lakshmi cooked under the tree and fed them before eating herself. That meal is the reason families still eat in the amla's shade on this day.

Odisha tells it a little differently. In the version recorded on the Odia Wikipedia, Lakshmi and Parvati both want to worship their husbands, and Narada points them to the amla as the tree that combines bel and tulsi.

Hindi writers often cite the Padma Purana's praise of amla as dear to Vishnu, and many families say Vishnu lives in the tree from this Navami until Kartik Purnima.

Sources disagree on one point. Drik Panchang and the Odia Wikipedia say Satya Yuga, the first age, began on this day, which is why it is sometimes called Satya Yugadi. The Hindi encyclopaedia Bharatdiscovery and the Hindi Wikipedia, which cites it, say Dvapara Yuga began instead.

How the amla puja is done

Women usually lead the puja and the family joins for the meal. Details vary by family and priest.

1. Early bathBathe before sunrise. Many women keep a fast until the puja is over.
2. At the treeGo to an amla tree in a garden, temple compound or park. Pour milk or water at its root.
3. WorshipOffer roli, haldi, rice grains, flowers and incense, and light a ghee lamp. Amla fruit is offered to Vishnu as bhog.
4. Thread and parikramaWalk around the trunk while winding raw cotton thread around it. Seven rounds is common; some priests advise eight or 108.
5. KathaListen to or read the Akshaya Navami story, usually the Lakshmi legend or a family's own version.
6. Meal in the shadeCook or carry food to the tree and eat there together, traditionally facing east. Kheer, puri and sweets are usual.
7. CharityGive grain, fruit, flowers or an ash gourd to a priest or someone in need. This is the "akshaya" part of the day.

The Mathura and Vrindavan parikrama

In Braj, Akshaya Navami is the day of the panchkosi parikrama, a barefoot walk around Mathura, and for many around Vrindavan too, often called the jugal jodi or "teen van" parikrama. Pilgrims start at Vishram Ghat with a dip in the Yamuna and walk past Bengali Ghat, Rangeshwar Mahadev, Bhuteshwar, Potara Kund, Saraswati Kund and Gau Ghat, chanting Radhe Radhe.

In 2024 Amar Ujala reported pilgrims from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh forming an unbroken human chain from dawn into the night. Volunteers served aloo-puri and tea, and walkers stopped to worship amla trees on the way. Bharatdiscovery ties the walk to Krishna, who is said to have circled Braj's forests three times on this Navami before facing Kansa.

Anla Navami in Odisha

In Odisha the day is Anla Navami, from anla, the Odia word for amla. Its centre is the Satyabadi Gopinath temple at Sakhigopal, on the Bhubaneswar to Puri road. Radha's feet are covered all year. On Anla Navami she is dressed in Odia style, in Odiyani besha, and her feet are shown to devotees. This is Radha Pada darshan, and many believe seeing her feet brings liberation.

Queues form before dawn. In 2022, Odisha TV reported, the doors opened at 1 am, public darshan began at 6 am, and devotees could look at the feet but not touch them.

Two explanations are told. One account says a Radha image brought from the north was later dressed in an Odia-style saree, which left her feet visible, and the priests took this as a sign. A folk story told to OrissaPOST in 2018 says Krishna, ill, asked his eight sakhis for the dust of their feet as medicine. They held back out of fear, and only Radha gave it without hesitating.

Away from Sakhigopal, Odia homes bathe an image of Vishnu under an amla tree, a ritual some continue until the end of Kartik. Devotees keeping the Kartik vrat, known as havishyali, cook their havishyanna, the plain vegetarian food of the vrat, at the root of the tree. Married women offer conch bangles, red bangles, thread, sindoor and lamps to the tree for their husbands' well-being.

The Bengal connection, and why dates can differ

In Bengal the same Navami is the main day of Jagaddhatri Puja, the worship of Durga as Jagaddhatri, "holder of the world". Drik Panchang credits its public form to Raja Krishnachandra Roy of Krishnanagar in the 18th century.

Drik Panchang sets Akshaya Navami on the day Navami covers the forenoon, the preferred time for the puja. When Navami starts just after one dawn and ends just after the next, calendars can split: Drik Panchang may then list Akshaya Navami on the first day and Jagaddhatri Puja in Kolkata on the second. A family worshipping a day apart from yours may simply follow a different panchang.

Writing an Akshaya Navami wish

How to wish someone on Akshaya Navami

A good Akshaya Navami wish is about merit that does not run out and about the amla tree itself, the family puja and the meal shared beneath it. Many women keep the day for their husband's and children's well-being, so a line for the household's health fits well. For a friend in Braj mention the parikrama; for an Odia friend, Anla Navami and Radha's feet at Sakhigopal. Keep it devotional and short, and send it to people who actually keep the day.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Hindi + Odia.

When is Akshaya Navami in each year?

Akshaya Navami is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions