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According to Sanatan Dharma and Panchang, every year the holy festival of ‘Radha Ashtami’ (Radha Ashtami 2026) is celebrated with utmost devotion, gaiety and grandeur on the Ashtami date of Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month. This special day is dedicated to the birth anniversary of Shri Radha Rani, the controller of the world and the better half of Lord Krishna. According to religious beliefs, any devotee who worships Radha Rani with a true heart, gets freedom from every sorrow of life and also automatically receives the immense blessings of Lord Shri Krishna. This year, there is doubt in the minds of devotees regarding the date of Radha Ashtami whether this festival will be celebrated on 18th September or 19th September. Let us know the exact date of Radha Ashtami in the year 2026, importance of Udaya Tithi, auspicious Choghadiya Muhurta, complete method of offering and fasting.
According to Hindu calendar and Vedic calculations, this year the Ashtami Tithi of Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month is starting on 18th September 2026, Friday at 1:02 pm. At the same time, this date will end the next day i.e. 19 September 2026, Saturday, at 3:28 pm. Udaya Tithi has special significance in Sanatan tradition, hence as per the rules of Udaya Tithi, this year the main festival of Radha Ashtami will be celebrated on 19th September 2026, Saturday only. On this day, the festival of appearance of Shri Radha Rani will be organized with great pomp in temples and homes and devotees will keep fast with rituals.
On this auspicious occasion, many very auspicious Yogas and Choghadiya Muhurtas are being created for performing pujas and rituals, by doing Sadhana in which one gets many times more results.
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Auspicious Choghadiya Muhurta: It will last from 7:39 am to 9:11 am.
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Benefits Choghadiya Muhurta: It will start from 1:46 pm and will last till 3:18 pm.
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Amrit Choghadiya Muhurat: It will last from 3:18 pm to 4:50 pm.
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Evening Benefit Choghadiya: It will last from 6:22 pm to 7:50 pm.
A special and disciplined process of fasting and worshiping on the day of Radha Ashtami has been described, following which brings happiness, prosperity and peace in the house.
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Brahma Muhurta Bath: On this day, the seeker should wake up in the morning during Brahma Muhurta, retire from all daily activities and take bath by mixing Ganga water in the holy river or home water and wear clean clothes.
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Sankalp and Surya Arghya: After bathing, offer water to Sun God and sit facing east. After this, remember Radha Rani and take a firm resolve to fast.
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Setting up the altar and stool: Place a clean stool in the home temple or place of worship and spread a yellow or red cloth on it. Install the joint idol or beautiful picture of Shri Radha Rani and Lord Shri Krishna on this cloth.
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Purification and puja materials: Sanctify the place of worship by sprinkling Ganga water on it. After this, offer Shodashopachar materials like Roli, sandalwood, Akshat, yellow flowers, vermilion, incense, lamp, and perfume etc.
According to religious texts, the manifestation of Shri Radha Rani took place in the afternoon (noon), hence the main puja of Radha Ashtami should always be done in the afternoon. It is considered very auspicious to offer things dear to Radha Rani during the puja. On this day, one should especially offer sweet kheer and colocasia vegetable to the mother goddess. After offering Bhog, chant the basic mantra or names of Radha Rani as per your capacity. The person observing fast should remain virtuous throughout the day and if possible, should eat fruits or food only once. On the next day of the fast, Brahmins should be fed and given donations and gifting wedding items to married women is considered extremely virtuous.