Saraswati Balidan is celebrated on the third day of Saraswati Puja during Navratri.
The sacrifice on Maha Navami should always be done on Uday Vyapini Navami. According to Nirnaysindhu, the best time to perform Balidan is Aparahna Kala.
It should be noted that the fasting Maha Navami and Puja could fall one day before Durga Balidan, depending on the start time of Navami Tithi the day before. If Navami Tithi starts before Sanyakal at Ashtami Tithi, Ashtami Puja and Navami Puja end on the same day, that is Ashtami Tithi. If this happens, Ashtami Puja, Sandhi Puja and Navami Puja are assembled at Ashtami Tithi. However, Durga Balidan always ends with Navami Tithi.
Devotees who abstain from sacrificing animals perform symbolic Bali with vegetables such as banana, cucumber or pumpkin. For the Brahmins, any form of animal sacrifice is forbidden by the Scriptures and the Brahmanic community is symbolically only Bali. Even the famous Belur Math from West Bengal make symbolic Bali with white pumpkin and sugar cane during Navami Puja. The white pumpkin used for Durga Balidan is known as Kushmanda.