Ganesh Chaturthi

What Ganesh Chaturthi is

Ganesh Chaturthi, also called Vinayaka Chaturthi, celebrates the birth of Shri Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, on the fourth day (Chaturthi) of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada, in August or September. Ganesh is worshipped first in every Hindu ritual as Vighnaharta, the remover of obstacles, and as the lord of wisdom and new beginnings. On his own festival he is welcomed into homes and public pandals as an honoured guest, worshipped for one and a half to ten days, and then given a joyful farewell in water.

Every month has two Chaturthis sacred to Ganesh: the waxing-moon Vinayaka Chaturthi and the waning-moon Sankashti Chaturthi. The Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi is the greatest of them, the "Maha" Chaturthi.

Ganesh Chaturthi dates in 2026 and 2027

Dates below are for New Delhi, from Drik Panchang. For the midday puja muhurat and the moon-sighting times in your city, check the Panchang.

	2026	2027
Ganesh Chaturthi (sthapana)	Monday, 14 September	Saturday, 4 September
Anant Chaturdashi (visarjan)	Friday, 25 September	Tuesday, 14 September

The day before Ganesh Chaturthi is Hartalika Teej, the fast kept by women in honour of Parvati, Ganesh's mother.

The birth of Ganesh

The best-known account, from the Shiva Purana, tells that Parvati, wanting a guard of her own, shaped a boy from the turmeric paste she used while bathing and gave him life. She set him at her door with orders to let no one in. When Shiva came home and the boy, who did not know him, barred the way, a fight followed and Shiva's ganas could not move him; in the end Shiva cut off his head. Parvati's grief and anger shook the worlds. To make amends, Shiva sent his ganas north to bring the head of the first creature they found, which was an elephant, restored the boy to life, made him the leader (pati) of his ganas, hence "Ganapati", and declared that he would be worshipped before every other god.

Other Puranas tell it differently. In the Brahmavaivarta Purana, for example, the child's head is lost when Shani's glance falls on him. The versions agree on the essentials: a child of Parvati, an elephant head, and a blessing of first worship.

The elephant head is read symbolically too: large ears to listen, a small mouth to speak less, a trunk that can lift a log or pick up a needle, one broken tusk that, in one story, he used to write the Mahabharata as Vyasa dictated it. His vehicle is a mouse, and his favourite food the sweet modak.

Why the moon is not seen on this night

A well-known tradition forbids looking at the moon on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi. The story goes that the moon laughed at Ganesh's round belly when he fell from his mouse, and Ganesh cursed that whoever saw the moon on this night would be falsely accused. The Bhagavata tells how Krishna was once falsely accused of stealing the Syamantaka jewel until he cleared his name, and later Puranic and popular tellings connect that accusation to his having seen the moon on this Chaturthi. That is why this Chaturthi is also called Kalank Chaturthi or Patthar Chauth. Those who see the moon by accident traditionally hear or read the Syamantaka story. The Panchang gives the times to avoid.

Bringing Ganesh home: sthapana and puja

A step-by-step method with samagri is in our Ganesh puja vidhi. The main stages:

1. Choose and bring the murti. Families bring a clay murti home, often to the sound of "Ganpati Bappa Morya", covering its face until it is installed. A seated Ganesh with the trunk turned to his left is the usual choice for homes.
2. Install it on a clean, raised seat with red or yellow cloth, facing east or north if possible, with a kalash, lamp, flowers and decorations around it.
3. Prana pratishtha. The deity is invoked into the murti with mantras, usually by a priest or by the head of the family following a guide.
4. Shodashopachara puja at midday. Tradition holds that Ganesh was born in the middle of the day, so the main puja is done in the madhyahna period. Offerings include red flowers (especially hibiscus), durva grass in bunches of 21 blades, sindoor, and 21 modaks or laddoos. Tulsi is not offered to Ganesh in most traditions.
5. Aarti morning and evening for as long as Ganesh stays: Jai Ganesh Deva in the north and Sukhkarta Dukhharta, composed by Samarth Ramdas, in Maharashtra. The Ganesh Chalisa, Ganesha Pancharatnam, Sankat Nashan Ganesh Stotra and Ganesh Gayatri Mantra are also recited.

How long Ganesh stays: 1.5 to 10 days

Each family keeps Ganesh for the number of days its tradition sets: one and a half days (the next afternoon), three, five, seven or the full ten days. Public mandals almost always keep him until Anant Chaturdashi, the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight. During these days relatives and friends visit for darshan, bhajans are sung in the evening, and in Maharashtra Gauri (Parvati) is welcomed into many homes for three days in the middle of the festival.

Visarjan: the farewell

On the last day an uttar puja is done, thanking Ganesh and asking his forgiveness for any shortcomings in the worship, and the murti is carried in procession to water with music and the cry "Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya", "come back soon next year". Immersion expresses an old idea: the form made of earth returns to the earth, while the deity it held returns to the formless. The parting is meant to be joyful, because the guest will come again.

From home festival to public festival

Ganesh Chaturthi was long a household and temple festival, patronised by the Maratha court and the Peshwas in Pune. In 1893 Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak promoted the sarvajanik (public) Ganeshotsav, with community pandals, lectures and cultural programmes, as a way of bringing people together across caste and class under British rule. The public form spread across Maharashtra and beyond. Today some of the best-known pandals are Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai and Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati in Pune, and the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai sees some of its largest crowds of the year.

Across India

• Maharashtra and Goa: the heartland of the festival; in Goa, Chavath is mainly a family festival.
• Karnataka: Gowri Habba, worship of Gauri, comes the day before, and the two are kept together.
• Tamil Nadu: Vinayagar Chaturthi, with kozhukattai, the southern modak.
• Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Vinayaka Chavithi; Hyderabad's Khairatabad Ganesh is among the tallest murtis in the country.
• Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and beyond: public celebrations have grown steadily, and the festival is widely celebrated by the Indian diaspora.

An eco-friendly Ganeshotsav

Plaster-of-Paris murtis do not dissolve, and chemical paints harm rivers and the sea, so many cities now ask for a greener festival:

• Choose a murti of natural clay (shadu) with natural colours, or a small metal murti that can be worshipped every year with a symbolic immersion.
• Immerse at home in a tub or bucket and use the dissolved clay for plants, or use the artificial tanks most municipalities set up.
• Decorate with flowers, cloth and paper rather than thermocol and plastic, and keep flowers and other offerings out of rivers.
• Follow police and municipal rules on processions, sound levels and immersion points.

Frequently asked questions

When is Ganesh Chaturthi in 2027?

Ganesh Chaturthi is on Saturday, 4 September 2027 and Anant Chaturdashi, the day of visarjan, on Tuesday, 14 September 2027, in New Delhi. In 2026 the dates were 14 and 25 September.

What is the best time to install Ganesh at home?

The main puja is done in the madhyahna (midday) period of the Chaturthi, because tradition holds that Ganesh was born at midday. Check the Panchang for the exact window in your city.

Why is the moon not seen on Ganesh Chaturthi?

According to tradition, Ganesh cursed the moon for mocking him, and anyone who sees the moon on this night may be falsely accused, as happened to Krishna in the Syamantaka jewel story. Those who see it by accident read or hear that story.

How many days should Ganesh be kept at home?

One and a half, three, five, seven or ten days, according to family tradition. There is no single rule; what matters is that the puja and aarti are done with care for as long as he stays.

Why are 21 modaks and durva offered?

Modak is Ganesh's favourite sweet, and durva grass is especially dear to him in the Puranic stories. Twenty-one is a traditional count for offerings to Ganesh, matching his 21 names recited in the puja.

Can a Ganesh murti be immersed at home?

Yes. A natural clay murti can be immersed in a tub or bucket of water at home after the uttar puja, and the clay later used for plants. This is now encouraged by many cities.

Who started the public Ganesh festival?

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak popularised the public (sarvajanik) Ganeshotsav from 1893, using it to bring people together during the freedom movement.

Which way should the trunk of a home Ganesh murti face?

For homes, a murti with the trunk turned to Ganesh's own left (vamamukhi) is the usual choice. Murtis with the trunk to the right are associated with stricter rules of worship and are more often found in temples.