HinduCalendar.in New Delhi

Ganesh Chaturthi

Also called Vinayaka Chaturthi, Vinayaka Chavithi, Ganeshotsav

When

Monday, 14 September 2026 in 18 days

New Delhi ยท change location

Sunrise6:09 AM
Sunset6:23 PM
Tritiya until 7:07 AM
at sunrise. This observance is governed by madhyahna, not by the sunrise tithi โ€” which is why the tithi named here is often not the one the festival is named for.
Chitra until 1:55 PM
7:41 AM โ€“ 9:12 AM

See the complete panchang for that day โ†’

Governed by

Why this date?

Chaturthi of the Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada, governed by MADHYAHNA โ€” the midday period โ€” because the birth is placed at noon. This is the same reason a sunrise-tithi calendar gets it wrong: Chaturthi at sunrise is not the test.

  • Computed by the panchanga engine for your location
  • Follows a written selection rule, not a copied list
  • The governing period is stated, and the rule is applied to it
  • The written guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar

Dates come from the calculation engine and are independent of the written guide. How we calculate โ†’

Dates in the coming years

Published to 2030. Later years appear as the dataset is extended and validated.

What In short

The birth of Ganesha. A clay image is installed at home or in a public pandal, worshipped for one, three, five, seven or ten days according to the household's custom, and then immersed.

Why The reason behind it

Ganesha is invoked first in any undertaking as the remover of obstacles, and this is his day. The public form of the festival in Maharashtra dates to Lokmanya Tilak's reorganisation of it in the 1890s as a lawful public assembly โ€” an unusual case of a festival's modern shape having a documented, recent and political origin.

Traditional basis

Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana โ€” The birth accounts and the vrata.

Skanda Purana โ€” Carries the Chaturthi vrata and the well-known injunction against looking at the moon on this night.

How At home, step by step

  1. Bring the clay image home; prefer unbaked clay and natural colour, since it is going into water.
  2. Install it at madhyahna with pranapratishtha if a priest is performing the rite, or with the household's simpler avahana.
  3. Offer durva grass in bunches of twenty-one โ€” durva is to Ganesha what bilva is to Shiva, and it is not optional.
  4. Offer modak; twenty-one is the traditional count.
  5. Perform the worship morning and evening for as many days as the family keeps.
  6. On the final day perform uttarapuja and immerse the image โ€” in a household bucket or tank if the local water body cannot take it.

เฅ เค—เค‚ เค—เคฃเคชเคคเคฏเฅ‡ เคจเคฎเคƒ

oแน gaแน gaแน‡apataye namaแธฅ

Salutations to Ganapati.

Short bija-namah form in universal household use.

What you'll need
  • An unbaked clay image
  • Durva grass (21 blades, tied in threes)
  • Modak โ€” steamed or fried
  • Red hibiscus and red flowers
  • Coconut, jaggery, banana
  • Ghee lamp, incense, betel leaves and nuts
Fasting and breaking the fast

A fast until the midday worship is common. The better-known restriction is not a fast at all: the tradition holds that the moon should not be looked at on this night, on pain of unfounded accusation โ€” the Syamantaka story in the Bhagavata is the source.

Fasting guidance here describes traditional practice. It is not medical advice โ€” if you are pregnant, diabetic, on medication or unwell, ask a doctor about your own circumstances.

Personal In your region

For children

It is Ganesha's birthday. He has an elephant head, he loves modaks, and he clears away problems before you start something new. We make him out of clay so he can go back to the water at the end.

Common questions

Is it really wrong to look at the moon tonight?
It is a widely-kept custom rather than a rule with consequences. The story is that Krishna was falsely accused of stealing the Syamantaka jewel after seeing the Chaturthi moon. Households that see it accidentally read that story as the remedy.
Can I immerse the image at home?
Yes, and many cities now ask you to. A bucket or tank, with the clay later returned to soil or a plant, keeps the rite intact without loading a lake with plaster and paint.

Not the same day

These fall nearby or share the tithi, and are often confused with this observance. They are separate, and this site dates them separately.

This guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar or practising priest. The dates and times on this page come from the calculation engine and are independent of it; the explanatory text is editorial and may not reflect your family's practice. Tell us if something is wrong.