Kanya Puja (Kanjak): How the Ashtami-Navami Ritual Is Done

Kanya Puja - called Kanjak in Punjab and Kumari Puja in Bengal - is the worship of young girls as living forms of the Goddess, performed on the Ashtami or Navami of Navratri. Girls who have not yet reached puberty, traditionally between two and ten years of age, are invited home, their feet are washed, they are fed a special bhog and sent off with gifts. It is one of the most intimate rituals in the Hindu year: the deity you have worshipped as a murti for a week is now sitting cross-legged on your floor, asking for more halwa. This guide covers how the puja is done, who is invited, the food, and where a purohit fits in. For the dates of the upcoming Navratris, see Navratri 2026 and Navratri 2027.

Why girls are worshipped

The Devi Bhagavata Purana, in its chapters on Navratri (book 3, chapters 26-27), asks the worshipper to honour young girls during the festival as forms of the Goddess, and counts the Navratri puja complete only when the kumari puja has been done along with the worship, the homa and the feeding of brahmins. It names a form for each age: a two-year-old is Kumari, a three-year-old Trimurti, and so on up to the ten-year-old as Subhadra. Few households track the ages that precisely; the spirit of the ritual is that the girls, whoever they are, are the Goddess for that hour.

Alongside the kanyas, one young boy is traditionally included - he represents Bhairav or Hanuman, the Goddess's guardian, and is called the langur or langura in north Indian homes. The usual count is nine girls and one boy, though seven, five or even two girls is perfectly acceptable. What matters is the honouring, not the headcount.

Ashtami or Navami?

Both days are used, and the choice mostly follows household custom. Punjabi and many north Indian households do Kanjak on Ashtami morning, often after the Ashtami havan. Others, particularly those observing the full nine-day fast, do Kanya Puja on Navami as the closing act of Navratri, breaking their fast only after the girls have eaten. Some do it on both days. If your tradition is unclear, either day is correct - ask the elders in your household first, and if there is no settled custom, Ashtami is the more common choice in the north.

Who is invited, and how

The girls are usually from the neighbourhood, from relatives, or classmates of the children of the house. Inviting them is itself part of the ritual - traditionally done a day in advance, in person, with the girl (and her parents) told the time. A few practical notes hosts learn quickly:

• Book your kanyas early. On Ashtami morning every home on the street wants the same nine girls. Girls routinely do a circuit of four or five homes, so agree a time slot.
• Small girls come with a parent. Plan seating and prasad for the accompanying adults too.
• Do not turn a girl away over caste or background. The Devi Bhagavata does set rules on which girls to choose, caste among them, but many households today treat every kanya as the Goddess and make a point of inviting girls beyond their own circle.

The puja, step by step

• Welcome - the girls are greeted at the door like deities arriving, sometimes with flower petals and a blown conch.
• Pada prakshalana - the host washes each girl's feet with water (some use milk and water), dries them, and touches them in respect. This is the emotional heart of the ritual: an adult bowing to a child.
• Tilak and kalava - kumkum or roli is applied on the forehead, and the red sacred thread is tied on the wrist. The boy gets his tilak too.
• Bhog - the girls are seated in a row on mats or chowkis and served the meal. In north India this is almost always halwa, puri and kala chana - the sookhe chane cooked with mild spices. The food is first offered to the Goddess at the home altar, then served.
• Gifts and vidai - each girl receives a small gift: bangles, hair clips, a chunni, stationery, and commonly some money. The girls bless the household - many hosts touch their feet again as they leave.

The whole thing takes under an hour. The room fills, the halwa disappears, and it is over before the girls get restless - which is exactly how it should be.

The purohit's role - and household-led Kanjak

Kanya Puja is one of the rituals a household can fully conduct on its own, and most do - the host performs the washing, tilak and serving directly, because the point is personal service to the Goddess. No mantras beyond a simple invocation are required, and the host, not a priest, does the serving.

A purohit enters the picture when Kanya Puja is part of a larger observance: an Ashtami or Navami havan at home, a full Durga puja with sankalpa and path (recitation of the Durga Saptashati), or a first-time Kanjak where the household wants the sequence done properly. In that case the purohit conducts the havan and invocations, and the household still performs the foot-washing and serving themselves. If you are planning a havan alongside, book ahead - Ashtami and Navami mornings are the most requested purohit slots of the entire Navratri, and you can request a verified purohit in advance.

Regional forms

Region	Name and character
Punjab, Haryana, Delhi	Kanjak or Kanjika - Ashtami morning, halwa-puri-chana, the langur boy, gifts of chunni and money
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, MP	Kanya Pujan or Kumari Bhoj - Ashtami or Navami, often after havan; kheer-puri appears alongside halwa
Bengal	Kumari Puja - most famously at Belur Math on Maha Ashtami, where a single kanya is ritually worshipped as the Goddess with full upachara; homes may do a simpler version
Gujarat, Maharashtra	Kanya bhojan woven into Navratri and often into Chaitra Navratri too; the meal may be the regional festive plate rather than halwa-puri
South India	Overlaps with Kanya puja during Navaratri and with Vijayadashami customs; in Kerala and Tamil Nadu the emphasis shifts to Saraswati puja and Vidyarambham on the same days

Small courtesies that matter

Serve the girls before anyone else eats. Do not rush them, and do not quiz them or correct their manners - they are guests of honour, not children at a birthday party. Give the accompanying boy the same attention as the girls. And if a girl cannot finish her plate, pack it - the bhog going home with her is part of the blessing, not a waste.