Sandhya KathaRāmāyaṇa · Mahābhārata · Purāṇas · Upaniṣads

Navarātri · Durga Puja, Golu, Dussehra week

Navarātri stories for children

Nine nights for the Devī — who was assembled, in a hurry, out of whatever each of the gods had left when none of them could win alone.

When it falls

1 October 2027
2 October 2027
3 October 2027

The Devī stories are the ones most children's collections skip, and they are the best material in the Purāṇas for a child who is tired of being told to be gentle.

Why it has more than one name

Navarātri is nine nights, but they are not counted the same way everywhere. The most widely known arrangement gives each night one of the Navadurgā — Śailaputrī, Brahmacāriṇī, Candraghaṇṭā, Kūṣmāṇḍā, Skandamātā, Kātyāyanī, Kālarātri, Mahāgaurī and Siddhidātrī. In Tamil Nadu and much of the south the nine are kept instead as three sets of three, for Durgā, Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī in turn, which is why the last three days belong to Sarasvatī and to the Āyudha Pūjā, and why the Golu is arranged the way it is. Both countings are real. Most pages pick one and do not mention the other.

8 stories for this night

Śvetaketu and the SaltChāndogya Upaniṣad · 6.13 · ages 10+His father drops salt into water and asks him to bring it back the next morning. He cannot.Read it →Satyakāma Says the Hard ThingChāndogya Upaniṣad · 4.4 · ages 8+A boy is asked his family name at the school gate, and has to say the one thing he was hoping not to.Read it →The Buffalo Nobody Could FightDevī Māhātmya (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) · Chapters 2–3 · ages 8+No god can beat him alone, so they each give up a piece of what they have, and out of the pile something walks that none of them expected.Read it →The Woman Who Fed the WorldDevī Māhātmya (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa) · Chapter 11 · ages 6+A hundred years without rain. She arrives with vegetables growing out of her own body, and hands them out before she says a word.Read it →Śiva Goes Begging at His Own DoorKāśī Khaṇḍa, Skanda Purāṇa · The Annapūrṇā episode · ages 6+Śiva says the world — and food — are an illusion. Annapūrṇā turns the kitchens off. Soon he appears with a bowl.Read it →The Foot She Almost Stepped OnDevī Bhāgavata; Śiva Purāṇa · The dance of Kālī · ages 10+Kālī has won and cannot stop. Śiva lies down in her path and waits to see whether she looks down.Read it →The First Poem Was an AccidentVālmīki Rāmāyaṇa · Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 2 · ages 8+Vālmīki goes to the river to bathe. He returns having spoken the first poem — without meaning to write one.Read it →The Garland Indra Did Not Get Down ForViṣṇu Purāṇa · Book 1, chapter 9 · ages 7+Indra accepts a sage's gift without getting off his elephant. That small discourtesy is how the world loses its luck.Read it →

Questions parents ask

When is Navratri?
1 October 2027, 2 October 2027 and 3 October 2027. Nine nights, with Vijayadaśamī on the tenth morning.
How are the nine nights counted?
Two ways, both current. One night each for the nine forms of the Navadurgā; or three nights each for Durgā, Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī, which is the arrangement common in Tamil Nadu and much of the south. The second is why Sarasvatī Pūjā and Āyudha Pūjā fall at the end of the nine.
Which goddess belongs to which night?
Under the Navadurgā counting, in order: Śailaputrī, Brahmacāriṇī, Candraghaṇṭā, Kūṣmāṇḍā, Skandamātā, Kātyāyanī, Kālarātri, Mahāgaurī, Siddhidātrī. Under the southern counting, nights one to three are Durgā's, four to six Lakṣmī's, and seven to nine Sarasvatī's.
What stories should I read my child during Navratri?
One a night for the nine, matched to the way your family counts them. They range from ages six upward; the buffalo who could not be fought is the usual opening, and the last three are quieter stories about learning rather than battle.

Sandhya Katha chooses one story each night against the pañcāṅga, for your child's age, and lays it out to be read aloud. Free, nothing to install.

Open tonight's story

If you know a parent who would read this to their child tonight, this is the whole of how Sandhya Katha travels.