Akshaya Navami (Amla Navami) 2026

Puja Vidhi: Mithila (Kushmanda Navami)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Maithil Families: Families, neighbours and the village youth keep this festival together, worshipping the amla tree and sharing a meal beneath it.
• Devotees with a Wish: Devotees who seek the fulfilment of a wish (Ichha) worship the amla tree and go round it 108 times.
• Devotees Who Keep a Vrat: Some devotees keep a vrat after offering water to the amla tree, which is said to remove sins.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Morning Worship: The bath, the offering of water and the worship of the amla tree are done in the morning. Check the puja muhurat for your city on this page.
• Feast and Daan: The shared meal under the amla trees is enjoyed through the day, and the Kushmanda Daan is given on the same day.

About the Festival

Dhatri Navami is a much-loved Maithil observance in which families worship the amla tree, give Kushmanda Daan and feast together beneath the amla. Lord Vishnu is believed to dwell in the amla tree from this Navami until Kartik Purnima (the full moon day). It takes place on the Navami (ninth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Krishna and Kushmandaka)

On this day Lord Krishna circled the regions of Mathura, Vrindavan and Govardhan mountain, and then defeated the demon Kushmandaka.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• Worship Items: Pure water, Chandan (sandalwood paste), Akshat (unbroken rice grains), and flowers
• Thread & Milk: Yellow thread, and milk for the root of the tree
• Food Offerings (Bhog): Kheer, Puri, vegetables, and sweets
• For the Feast: Amla pickles, marmalades and chutneys
• Kushmanda Daan: A Kuvindo (ash gourd), a copper vessel, gold, silver, yellow cloth, and sesame seeds

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Bath and Offering of Water

1. Bathe in the morning.
2. Offer pure water to the amla tree.

Step 2: Worshipping the Amla Tree

1. Face east in front of the amla tree and worship it with water, Chandan, Akshat and flowers.
2. Pour milk at the root of the tree while chanting "ॐ धात्र्यै नमः".
3. Offer Tarpan to your ancestors.

Step 3: Circling the Tree

1. Go round the amla tree (Parikrama), winding a yellow thread around it as you go.
2. Going round 108 times is said to fulfil your wishes.

Step 4: Worshipping Vishnu and Offering Bhog

1. Worship Lord Vishnu together with the amla tree.
2. Offer a Bhog of Kheer, Puri, vegetables and sweets.

Step 5: Marriage of the Amla and the Peepal

1. Some families have the amla tree married to a peepal tree.

Step 6: The Shared Feast

1. Cook and eat together with your family, neighbours and the village youth under amla trees near home, in a garden or in the forest.
2. Eat amla pickles, marmalades and chutneys with the meal.
3. Some families also feed Brahmins in the shade of the amla tree.

Step 7: Kushmanda Daan

1. Give a Kuvindo (ash gourd), gold, silver, yellow cloth and sesame seeds, placed in a copper vessel, as Kushmanda Daan.

Puja Vidhi: North India (Amla Navami)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Women: Women keep this vrat for the happiness and wellbeing of their children, and those who wish for a child also observe it (Santan Prapti). Many keep a fast until the puja is done.
• Families: Families worship the Amla tree together, and cook and eat beneath it. Anyone may join, as merit earned on this day is believed never to fade.
• Pilgrims in Ayodhya: In Ayodhya, pilgrims begin the 14 Kosi Parikrama on this day, walking barefoot round the city after a bath in the Saryu.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Bath and Sankalp: Done early in the morning, before sunrise.
• Puja Muhurat: The Amla puja is done in the morning during Purvahna (the forenoon). Check the puja muhurat for your city on this page.
• Meal Under the Tree: The family eats beneath the tree after the puja and the feeding of the Brahmins.
• Evening Lamp: A Ghee Diya is lit under the tree in the evening, as a separate rite from the morning puja.

About the Festival

Akshaya Navami, also called Amla Navami, is a much-loved North Indian observance in which families worship the Amla (Indian gooseberry) tree as the abode of Lord Vishnu, and cook and eat their meal beneath it. It is called Akshaya because the merit earned on this day is believed never to decay. It takes place on the Navami (ninth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Lakshmi and the Amla Tree)

Once upon a time, Goddess Lakshmi came down to roam the earth. On her way she wished to worship Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva together, and she wondered how both could be worshipped at once.

Then she realised that the qualities of the Tulsi, dear to Vishnu, and of the Bel, dear to Shiva, are found together only in the Amla. Taking the Amla tree as the sign of Vishnu and Shiva both, she worshipped it with full devotion.

Pleased with her worship, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva appeared before her. Lakshmi then cooked a meal beneath the Amla tree and lovingly served it to them.

After they had eaten, she took the food herself as prasad. That day was the Navami of the Shukla Paksha in Kartik. Since that day, families worship the Amla tree on Akshaya Navami and eat their meal beneath it.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• Tree & Roots: An Amla tree with the ground around it cleaned, and water and raw milk for its roots
• Tilak & Worship: Roli, Kumkum, Haldi, Chandan, Akshat (unbroken rice grains), and flowers
• Lamp & Incense: A Diya with Ghee, and Dhoop (incense)
• Thread & Cloth: Red thread or Mauli (sacred thread) to wind round the trunk, and a yellow cloth for the tree
• Food Offerings (Bhog): Kheer, Puri, and sweets for the meal, with Amla fruit in the bhog
• For Daan: A pumpkin, Amla fruit, grain, clothes, and Dakshina for the Brahmins

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Bath and Sankalp

1. Wake up early and bathe before sunrise, in the Ganga or a river if you can; otherwise mix a little Gangajal in your bath water. Wear clean clothes.
2. Take a Sankalp (solemn vow) of the vrat, holding water, Akshat and flowers in your right hand.
3. Keep the fast, which many families hold until the puja and the meal under the tree are done.

Step 2: Going to the Amla Tree

1. Go to an Amla tree and clean the place around it.
2. Sit or stand under the tree facing east.
3. Chant "ॐ धात्र्यै नमः" as you perform the sixteen-part worship (Shodashopachar Puja).

Step 3: Offering Water and Milk at the Roots

1. Pour water at the roots of the tree.
2. Offer raw milk at the roots as well.
3. With the milk and water, offer Tarpan to your ancestors.

Step 4: Worshipping the Tree

1. Lighting the Lamp: Light a Ghee Diya before the tree.
2. Applying Tilak: Offer Roli, Akshat, flowers, Haldi, Kumkum and Chandan to the tree.
3. Offering Cloth: Offer a yellow cloth to the tree.
4. Winding the Thread: Wind red thread or Mauli round the trunk.

Step 5: Parikrama, Katha and Aarti

1. Walk round the tree seven times (Parikrama).
2. Sit near the tree and read or listen to the Akshaya Navami Vrat Katha.
3. Perform the Aarti of the Amla tree with Dhoop and the lit lamp, and pray for the happiness of your family.

Step 6: Feeding the Brahmins and the Meal Under the Tree

1. Feed Brahmins beneath the tree and give them Dakshina.
2. Cook the meal under the tree, such as Kheer, Puri or sweets, and offer it first to Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Goddess Lakshmi, with Amla fruit in the bhog.
3. Then the family sits beneath the tree and eats the meal as prasad.
4. If cooking under the tree is hard, cook at home, worship at the tree and eat the meal there. If worship at the tree is not possible at all, eat at least one Amla on this day.

Step 7: Daan and the Evening Lamp (Evening)

1. Give Daan of a pumpkin, Amla fruit, grain and clothes, as you can.
2. In the evening, light a Ghee Diya under the Amla tree.
3. Walk round the tree seven times again with the lamp lit.

Puja Vidhi: Odisha (Anla Navami)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Women: Women sit around the amla tree and pray for their children and their family.
• Odia Households: Families in Odisha worship the amla tree (Indian gooseberry, called Anla in Odisha) and spend the day beneath it.
• Pilgrims: Devotees travel to the Sakhi Gopinath temple at Sakhigopal to see the feet of Goddess Radha (Radha Pada Darshan), which are seen on this one day.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Dawn: The holy bath and the recitation of the Vishnu Sahasranama and the Kartik Purana are done at dawn. Check the timings for your city on this page.
• Through the Day: The worship, the cooking and the Naivedya are done under the amla tree, where the day is spent.
• Radha Pada Darshan: Pilgrims see the feet of Goddess Radha at Sakhigopal on this one day of the year.
• After Anla Navami: Women begin the Habisha (one meal a day), which goes on through Panchuka up to Kartik Purnima.

About the Festival

Anla Navami is an Odia observance on which families worship the amla tree and pilgrims gather at Sakhigopal to see the feet of Goddess Radha. It takes place on the Navami (ninth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Radha's Feet at Sakhigopal)

Once upon a time, the temple of Sakhigopal had no image of Radha. Lakhmi, the daughter of a priest, who is believed to have been an incarnation of Radha, asked how Gopala could be worshipped without Radha at his side.

An image of Radha was then brought from North India and installed in the temple. She was dressed in a ghagra and choli.

When the image was dressed again, this time in an Odia saree, her feet became visible. The priests took this as a holy sign.

Since that day, Radha is dressed in a saree on Amla Navami, and pilgrims may see her feet. It is believed that whoever sees the feet of Radha gains moksha (liberation).

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the puja:

• Amla: An amla tree to worship beneath, and amla fruits for Lord Vishnu
• Lamp: A Diya
• Incense: Dhoop
• Food Offerings (Naivedya): Food to be cooked under the amla tree

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Dawn Bath and Recitation

1. Take a holy bath at dawn.
2. Recite the Vishnu Sahasranama (the thousand names of Lord Vishnu) and the Kartik Purana.

Step 2: Worship under the Amla Tree

1. Anoint Lord Vishnu with amla fruits.
2. Light the incense and the lamp under the amla tree.
3. Go round the tree seven times (Pradakshina).
4. Worship Goddess Lakshmi as well.
5. Women sit around the amla tree and pray for their children and their family.

Step 3: Naivedya and Charity

1. Cook the food under the amla tree.
2. Offer it as Naivedya.
3. Give in charity.

Step 4: Radha Pada Darshan at Sakhigopal

1. If you can, go to the Sakhi Gopinath temple at Sakhigopal (Satyabadi, Puri) for the Radha Pada Darshan.
2. See Goddess Radha in the Odiani Besha and Lord Krishna in the Natabar Besha, with the public darshan of Radha's feet, which is possible on this one day.
3. Pilgrims also worship the amla plant there.

Step 5: Habisha after Anla Navami

1. After Anla Navami, women observe the Habisha, taking one meal a day.
2. Keep it through Panchuka up to Kartik Purnima.
3. Pray to Radha and Krishna at the Tulasi Chaura (the platform of the Tulasi plant).

Puja Vidhi: Rajasthan (Aanvla Navami)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Women of Rajasthan: Women keep Aanvla Navami by worshipping the amla (Aanvla) tree, and the day is kept with the Aanvla Navami katha.
• Neighbourhood Women Together: The women of a neighbourhood go to the tree together and sit together for the katha.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Morning Puja: Women rise early in the morning, bathe, and do the worship at the tree. Check the puja muhurat for your city on this page.
• Katha and Feeding the Brahmani: The katha is told after the worship at the tree, and a Brahmani (a Brahmin woman) is invited to eat on the same day.

About the Festival

Aanvla Navami is a much-loved Rajasthani observance in which women worship the amla tree together and tell the katha of the Aanvalya Raja. It takes place on the Navami (ninth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

The Vrat Katha (Story of the Aanvalya Raja)

Once upon a time there lived a king, the Aanvalya Raja, and his queen. They had vowed to eat each day only after giving away a sava man (about forty kilograms) of amla, made of gold, to the Brahmins. Day after day they kept the vow.

The king's son objected that the treasury would be emptied. The king and queen left the palace and went into the forest. For seven days they could give nothing away, and so they ate nothing. Then God came to the king in a dream and told him to eat.

In the morning the king found wealth before him and an amla tree with fruits of gold. The king and queen gave away amla once more and then ate. Meanwhile the son and his wife had lost the kingdom, and, not knowing who he was, they came to the generous king to ask for work. The queen recognised them and had them given light work. One day, as the daughter-in-law was bathing the queen, she began to weep on seeing a mark on the queen's back that was like her own mother-in-law's. The queen told her that she was that mother-in-law.

The son and his wife asked forgiveness and were taken back, and all of them gave amla together every day. May the one who tells this katha, the one who hears it and the one who keeps this vrat be blessed, as the Raja and Rani were blessed. After the Aanvla Navami katha, the Bindayak ji kahani is told; its text is not given on this page.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• The Tree: An amla tree, or a branch of the amla set in earth or in a Kalash filled with water
• Water & Milk: Water and milk for offering
• Tilak & Thread: Roli, Moli (red sacred thread), and raw white thread
• Offerings: Rice, Gur (jaggery), Batasha (sugar drops), amla fruit, a blouse piece, and some money
• Lamps & Incense: A lamp and Dhoop (incense)
• For the Katha and the Brahmani: A few grains to hold during the katha, and food, clothes and Dakshina for the Brahmani

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Preparation

1. Rise early in the morning and bathe.
2. Wear new or freshly washed clothes.

Step 2: Gathering at the Tree

1. Go together with the women of your neighbourhood to an amla tree.
2. If there is no amla tree near you, set a branch of the amla in earth or in a Kalash of water.
3. Sit facing east.

Step 3: Offering the Puja

1. Offering Water and Milk: Offer water first, and then milk.
2. Offering Moli, Roli and Rice: Offer Moli, Roli and rice.
3. Offering Sweets and Fruit: Offer Gur, Batasha and amla.
4. Offering the Blouse Piece and Money: Offer a blouse piece and some money.
5. Lighting the Lamp: Light a lamp and Dhoop, and put a Roli Tilak on your forehead, as the women do.

Step 4: Parikrama of the Tree

1. Go round the tree eight times or one hundred and eight times.
2. As you go, wind raw white thread or red Moli round the tree.

Step 5: Hearing the Katha

1. Sit together and hold a few grains in your hand.
2. Tell or hear the Aanvla Navami katha, and then the Bindayak ji kahani.
3. When the katha is finished, put the grains in the Kalash of water by the tree.

Step 6: Feeding the Brahmani and Eating Amla

1. Invite a Brahmani to eat, and give her clothes and Dakshina.
2. Eat amla on this day.
3. Give daan (charity), which brings merit.