How South India ends Navratri: Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja on Navami, when tools, vehicles and books are worshipped, and Vidyarambham, a child's first letters on Vijayadashami.
Vehicles garlanded for Ayudha Puja, with an ash gourd ready in front. Photo: Balasubramanian G Velu, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Ayudha Puja falls on Mahanavami and Vidyarambham on Vijayadashami. Calendars disagree by a day in 2026: Navami falls on 19 or 20 October and Vijayadashami on 20 or 21 October, depending on the panchang.
Vehicles garlanded for Ayudha Puja, with an ash gourd ready in front. Photo: Balasubramanian G Velu, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Saraswati, the goddess of learning, music and the arts, is worshipped in the last three days of Navratri across the south.
Sabudana khichdi, a common Navratri fasting food. Photo: Mrudit161187, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Ayudha means implement or weapon.
Vehicles garlanded for Ayudha Puja, with an ash gourd ready in front. Photo: Balasubramanian G Velu, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Vidyarambham ("the beginning of learning"), also called Ezhuthiniruthu in Malayalam, is the initiation of a child, usually aged two to five, into letters on Vijayadashami.
Vehicles garlanded for Ayudha Puja, with an ash gourd ready in front. Photo: Balasubramanian G Velu, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Ayudha Puja and Saraswati Puja sit inside the Golu season in Tamil and Telugu homes, and share their spirit with Bengal's Vishwakarma Puja, when tools are worshipped in September.
An idol of Vishwakarma, the divine architect, at a Vishwakarma Puja. Photo: AjayDas, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
How South India ends Navratri: Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja on Navami, when tools, vehicles and books are worshipped, and Vidyarambham, a child's first letters on Vijayadashami.
Ayudha Puja, Saraswati Puja and Vidyarambham → Next story: Bathukamma: Telangana's festival of flowers All photo storiesMusic: Garba dance during Navaratri festival in Mehsana Gujarat India, Nizil Shah, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.