2026 Vinayaka Chaturthi Dates

What is Vinayaka Chaturthi?

Vinayaka Chaturthi is the monthly worship of Ganesha on the fourth tithi of the waxing fortnight. Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, is honoured at midday — the muhurta associated with his birth — with durva grass, modak and the chanting of his names. Devotees keep the vrat for wisdom, success and the removal of obstacles from new undertakings.

Vinayaka vs Sankashti

Each lunar month carries two Chaturthis: the Shukla one (Vinayaka) and the Krishna one (Sankashti). The rhythm of the two — midday worship in the bright fortnight, moonrise worship in the dark — frames the month with Ganesha at both ends. The lists on this site compute both, so you can keep either or both vows.

The midday puja

The Vinayaka puja is performed during madhyahna kaal, roughly the middle of the day, held to be the hour of Ganesha's birth. The fast is typically broken after this puja — a simpler observance than Sankashti's wait for the moon.

How the vrat is kept

The fast runs through the morning and is broken after the madhyahna puja. Devotees bathe, take a sankalp, and worship Ganesha with durva grass — twenty-one blades are the customary count — along with red flowers, modak and laddu. The Sankatnashana Ganesha Stotra or the Ganapati Atharvashirsha is recited where it is known. Unlike Sankashti, which is broken after moonrise, Vinayaka Chaturthi is completed in daylight.

Vinayaka Chaturthi samagri

Gather these before the midday puja:

• An image or idol of Ganesha
• Durva grass
• Red flowers, especially hibiscus
• Modak or laddu as naivedya
• Sindoor and chandan
• A ghee lamp and incense
• Coconut and betel leaves
• Akshat (unbroken rice)
• Panchamrit