Sankashti Chaturthi — Dates, Vrat, Moonrise & Ganesh Puja Vidhi

Sankashti Chaturthi dates 2026 & 2027

What is Sankashti Chaturthi?

Sankashti Chaturthi (संकष्टी चतुर्थी) is the Chaturthi tithi — the fourth day — of the Krishna Paksha, the waning fortnight, of every lunar month. Because each lunar month carries one Krishna-Paksha Chaturthi, there are twelve in a normal year and thirteen when an Adhik Maas (extra month) is added. The word “Sankashti” means deliverance from difficulty, and the entire vrat is kept to ask Lord Ganesha — Vighnaharta, the remover of obstacles — to clear the difficulties, debts and blocked work in a devotee's life.

Unlike Ganesh Chaturthi (the Shukla-Paksha festival of Bhadrapada that marks Ganesha's birth), Sankashti Chaturthi is a monthly fasting vrat broken only after sighting the moon. The date can never be picked from the English calendar; it is fixed by the exact Chaturthi tithi of the waning moon, which is why every date in the table above is computed from real planetary positions using the Swiss Ephemeris engine, never copied from a generic list.

Angarki Sankashti Chaturthi — the most powerful one

When Sankashti Chaturthi falls on a Tuesday (Mangalvaar) it becomes Angarki Chaturthi — the most revered Sankashti of the year. “Angarak” is a name of Mangal (Mars), and a Chaturthi on Mars's own day is said to carry the merit of a full year of Sankashti vrats. It is the traditional day to seek relief from Mangal Dosh, from karz (debt), and from obstacles that keep returning despite every effort.

Angarki dates are marked in the table above — the weekday in each entry is derived from the engine-computed date, never added by hand. Because Mangal rules debt, courage and the drive to push past blocks, Angarki Chaturthi pairs the obstacle-removing grace of Ganesha with a remedy for an afflicted Mars. Whether Mangal is the planet behind a blocked pattern in your life depends on your chart.

Sankashti Chaturthi vrat rules & Chandra Darshan

The Sankashti vrat is a day-long fast broken only after moonrise. Devotees wake early, bathe, and worship Lord Ganesha with durva grass, red flowers, sindoor, modak and laddoo, chanting “Om Gan Ganpataye Namah” and the Sankashti Ganesha stotra through the day. Many keep a strict fast taking only fruit, milk and vrat food; others take a single phalahar meal. Speech is kept truthful and the mind stays on the obstacle to be cleared.

The defining rule is Chandra Darshan — the fast is broken only after sighting the moon and offering it Arghya. On the waning Chaturthi the moon rises late at night, and the exact moonrise changes with your city. Breaking the fast before the moon is sighted is avoided. For the precise moonrise time on any Sankashti for your city, use the daily Panchang.

Sankashti Chaturthi puja vidhi

1. 1Take the sankalp at sunrise. Rise before sunrise, bathe, wear clean clothes, and resolve to keep the Sankashti vrat for Lord Ganesha. From this point take only fruit, milk and permitted vrat food until the fast is broken at moonrise.
2. 2Worship Lord Ganesha. Set up an idol or image of Lord Ganesha, light a ghee diya, and offer durva grass (in blades of three or five), red flowers, sindoor, modak and laddoo. Durva is essential to Ganesha worship — the puja is incomplete without it.
3. 3Chant the Ganesha mantra and stotra. Chant 'Om Gan Ganpataye Namah' 108 times, and read or listen to the Sankashti Ganesha stotra or the Sankat Nashan Ganesh stotra. Keep speech truthful and the mind on the obstacle you wish cleared.
4. 4Keep the fast through the day. Take only fruit, milk, water and permitted vrat foods. Stay in japa and remembrance, avoid anger and gossip, and do not sleep through the day. On Angarki Chaturthi (Tuesday) the fast is kept with extra strictness.
5. 5Offer Arghya to the moon at moonrise. Wait for moonrise — on the waning Chaturthi the moon rises late at night. When the moon is sighted (Chandra Darshan), offer Arghya (water given to the moon) and pray to Ganesha to clear the obstacle.
6. 6Break the fast after Chandra Darshan. Break the Sankashti fast only after seeing the moon and offering Arghya — never before. Offer modak or prasad first, then take your own simple meal. Distribute the prasad to the family.

Upay for blocked work and obstacles on Sankashti

When effort keeps failing to turn into results — plans stall, work is blocked, the same difficulty returns — the tradition reads it through the chart and Sankashti Chaturthi is the day to address it. Worship Ganesha as Vighnaharta, offer durva and modak, chant “Om Gan Ganpataye Namah” 108 times, keep the fast, and on Angarki Chaturthi add a Mangal remedy — a red flower offering and a recitation of the Sankat Nashan Ganesh stotra. Donate to the needy before breaking the fast.

Which planet is actually creating the ceiling — an afflicted Mangal, a heavy Shani on the 10th house, or a Rahu-Ketu pattern — and which dosha remedy fits, depends on your chart. Generate your free kundali to see your Mangal, the 10th house of karma, and the dosha remedy that fits the pattern that keeps blocking you.

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